The heart is a simple organ that can function like a muscle. Treat it well and strengthen it, it gets more effective and will treat you better over a longer period of time. Ignore it and make decisions that damage it and that is where things get dangerous.

Heart attacks come from plaque build up inside of arteries, making them narrower and more difficult for blood to pump through.

Heart attacks are the number one killer of men every year in the United States according to the American Heart Association. While often deadly, there are ways to prevent many of them and people owe it to themselves to take advantage of them.

Exercise

Of course, the most obvious way to do this is exercise. 30 minutes of cardiovascular  work three times a week (minimum) will go a long way towards taking the strain off your heart. With how many outlets there are to do this, whether it's running, swimming or playing a sport, there really aren't many excuses left for not being more active on a regular basis.

Sleep

What about after you've worked out? Get some rest. According to the National Sleep Foundation the recommended six to eight hours of sleep per night will actively help your heart as well. The problem is that a majority of adults really don't get that much sleep. Moreover, most of them also toss and turn in the night, meaning that even when they lay down they are not getting any quality rest. Setting a regular and valuable sleeping schedule is critical to heart attack prevention.

Cut Out Bad Cholesterol 

If you are trying to live a healthier lifestyle, you may as well go all the way; Cut out a lot of the bad cholesterol (meaning the low-density lipoprotein) from your eating habits. LDL foods create plaque, which speeds up that blockage that causes heart attacks.

Take note: there is such a thing as good cholestorol. High Density Lipoproteins are produced by the liver and is valuable in guarding against aging and cancer. LDL is the cholestorol to guard against since it is one that we can control and avoid.

It is not even necessary to completely cut the fat from your diet. The American Heart Association recommends just keeping it to about 25 to 30 percent of your daily intake to take positive steps in cardiovascular health.

Stress

Then there's avoiding stress. Sometimes this is unpreventable and indeed there are some who work best under pressure. However, as Time Magazine reports, people who have heart attacks and return to stressful careers are twice as likely to have a second attack down the road. 

Obviously, if stress is part of the job it can be pretty hard to step away from that, but there are always options like hanging out with friends after work, going on a walk or even meditating. In fact, if you want to kill two birds with one stone, exercise. It releases endorphins to keep your brain relaxed under periods of stress.

Know Your Family Medical History

Some heart attacks are not always preventable. Even the healthiest of individuals cannot do anything about something that they inherited. However, even if it is in your genes that your heart is not always at its strongest, there are things that can be done. Find out specifically what your family members have suffered from and tell your doctor. See if there is a way that it can be treated or if it was just a lifestyle problem with the older generation. Your fate may not be as settled as you think, you just need to take the information that your family history gives you and use it to your advantage.