Health Tip: Help Prevent Heart Disease

(HealthDay News) -- You can't control all risk factors for heart disease, but living a healthy lifestyle and taking medication prescribed by your doctor can help prevent many of its dangerous risk factors.

The Womenshealth.gov website suggests these steps to help reduce your risk of heart disease:

• Maintain healthy cholesterol and blood pressure.

• Quit or avoid smoking and drinking too much alcohol.

• Take steps to control diabetes.

• Maintain a healthy body weight.

• Get plenty of regular exercise and adhere to a regular sleep schedule.

• Control conditions such as sleep apnea and metabolic syndrome.