Lifestyle Management After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI)

Understanding risk factors

Some risk factors for coronary artery disease can be controlled. These include smoking, high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, and obesity. They can be managed with medicine, diet, and exercise. Support and counseling can also play a role. The effort will pay off! Managing risk factors can help you be more active, feel better, and reduce the risk of heart attack.

If you smoke, get help to quit!

If your healthcare provider has been urging you to quit smoking, it’s for good reasons. Smoking damages your heart, blood vessels, and lungs. The good news is that quitting can halt or even reverse the damage of smoking. To quit now:

• Get medical help. Ask your provider for advice on stop-smoking programs. Also ask about medicine or nicotine replacement therapy products that may help you quit smoking.

• Get support. Join a support group. Ask for help from your family and friends.

• Don’t give up. It often takes several tries to succeed in quitting smoking.

• Stay away from secondhand smoke. Ask family and friends not to smoke around you.