Heart Disease is one of the leading causes of death in the world. The latest statistics show that about 81 million Americans have been diagnosed with some form of cardiovascular disease. In the United States, there are 650,000 deaths attributed to heart disease every year.

What can you do now to make sure that you're not one of the victims?

An effective plan for heart attack prevention includes eating a diet rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants give your body the defense it needs against free radical attacks to your arteries, the source of almost all cardiovascular diseases. If these free radicals are neutralized quickly enough, your artery walls will remain intact and your cholesterol will not form dangerous plaque.

First of all, though, it helps to know what the most effective antioxidants for heart attack prevention are. The antioxidants that have been shown in numerous studies to be the most effective include the following list:

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is probably the most well-known and researched antioxidant for preventing heart disease. There is overwhelming evidence that vitamin E decreases your risk of developing heart disease.

What makes vitamin E so valuable in preventing heart disease and atherosclerosis is that it can penetrate the fatty parts of the cell membrane that are inaccessible to the other antioxidants.

Vitamin C

One of the benefits of vitamin C is that it boosts the effectiveness of vitamin E. This is an example of how the antioxidants work together synergistically. By bolstering vitamin E in your system, vitamin C protects against the oxidation of lipoproteins in your bloodstream that leads to atherosclerosis, a key factor in heart attack prevention.

Several studies have also demonstrated the effect of vitamin C supplementation in lowering high blood pressure. Individuals with high blood pressure (hypertension) are at increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.

Coenzyme Q-10

Your levels of CoQ-10 largely determine the strength and condition of your heart. It has been found that heart muscle biopsies of cardiac patients typically show a CoQ-10 deficiency.

Coenzyme Q-10 is beneficial for heart health in many ways. It helps protect LDL cholesterol from oxidation, maintains healthy blood vessels, and strengthens the heart muscle. CoQ-10 may also help lower blood pressure and strengthen cardiac muscles in patients with heart failure.

It seems logical that supplementing CoQ-10 levels in your body may have positive results for your entire cardiovascular system. CoQ-10 has been shown to reduce angina (heart pains) and irregular heartbeat in cardiac patients. When patients with congestive heart failure were given CoQ-10 supplements, 9 out of 10 showed significant improvement!

Garlic

Multiple scientific studies have demonstrated that consuming garlic can be of benefit to heart attack prevention. It has been documented that in cultures where garlic is consumed daily, the people suffer fewer heart attacks.

Garlic is said to help with high cholesterol levels by lowering the amount of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (so-called ‘bad cholesterol) as well as increasing the amount of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (so-called ‘good’ cholesterol). There are more important factors in heart disease prevention than lowering cholesterol numbers, but a favorable ratio in the numbers is a good sign.

These benefits are said to be a result of phytochemicals present in garlic that seem to work similar to cholesterol-lowering drugs. Garlic does not have any harmful side effects, so using garlic for lowering cholesterol is certainly a safer method.

Cinnamon

The Standard American Diet is a major cause of inflammation in your tissues and organs. This inflammation has also been identified as a primary cause of heart disease. Many nutritional experts recommend an anti-inflammatory diet as a key factor in heart attack prevention.

Cinnamon includes potent anti-inflammatory properties and improves your circulation, due to its blood-thinning properties. Good blood circulation ensures oxygen supply to your cells, leading to higher metabolic activity that is important for preventing heart disease.

Other Antioxidants That are Effective in Heart Attack Prevention

In addition to the antioxidants listed above, others that have been shown to be effective for preventing heart disease include: quercetin, pycnogenol, and resveratrol, all members of the bioflavonoid family; and curcumin, also known as the spice turmeric.

Making sure you get ample amounts of antioxidants is the best way to prevent heart disease and all other degenerative diseases of old age. Getting enough of them can be difficult, especially if you shy away from fresh fruits and vegetables. Fortunately, there are many antioxidant supplements on the market that can offer you the cushion you need.