These six behaviours reduce the chances of a second heart attack

If you’ve had a heart attack and lived to tell the tale, you’re probably somewhat traumatised, and understandably so. But you’re also not alone.

In September, a study from the American Heart Association (AHA) laid bare the psychological consequences of going through cardiac arrest, revealing that up to 50 per cent of heart attack survivors experience subsequent mental health problems ranging from post-traumatic stress disorder to depression.

The importance of addressing this is increasingly recognised among heart specialists because people who experience these symptoms on a persistent, ongoing basis are nearly one and a half times more likely to have a second heart attack. In the US, for example, studies show that one in five people who have a heart attack are readmitted to the hospi