As a smoker, you just have to accept that you are now at more risk for heart disease. Besides quitting smoking, there are steps you can take to help minimize the risk of heart attack now that you’re at higher risk.

1. Get plenty of exercise. At least 30-60 minutes of moderate exercise 3-5 times a week as a minimum. Cardiovascular exercise is must for people who have already experienced a heart attack. Exercise not only reduces the risk of heart attack, it reduces stress, a common reason to smoke!
2. Change your thinking. Think positive. Write down positive notes to yourself and same them out loud. Become an optimist. Your mindset, alone, can help reduce stress and calm you.
3. Eat a balanced diet full of green, leafy vegetables and drink 8 to 10 glasses of water everyday.
4. Try to associate yourself more with the good habits that raise your quality of life and improve your lifestyle. Start thinking healthy in everything you do.
5. Take a walk every day, for at least 20-30 minutes.
6. Practice deep breathing exercises. Use simple techniques or even learn meditation from an instructor. The benefits can be tremendous and some have experienced that instructed meditation alone can be the major therapy to keep them from smoking.
7. Laugh with abundance, every day, getting in at least 15 minutes of laughing a day. The effects of laughter on your body have been recently documented to be tremendously beneficial in more ways than one.
8. Avoid eating fried food and junk food and also the food that contains too many saturated fats. These habits can lead to higher cholesterol which can lead to higher risk of heart attack.
9. Avoid drugs, even prescription drugs, as much as possible. Always consult your doctor to discuss your risks.
10. Avoid red meat. Eat it sparingly, or preferably, not at all.