Preventing a second heart attack follows basically the same approach as averting the first: targeting your risk factors. But the stakes are even higher because that second heart attack is more likely to be fatal.

And even if it doesn’t kill you, the second heart attack is more likely to damage heart tissue, leaving you at greater risk for life-threatening or life-altering complications, including heart arrhythmias and heart failure.

In fact, heart attack survivors’ life expectancy is generally reduced by 8 percent to 10 percent.

But you don’t have to become a statistic. Whether you’re a man or a woman, preventing that second heart attack must be number one on your list of priorities. If you’ve had a heart attack, you probably have underlying coronary artery disease, a condition in which the linings of your coronary arteries become narrowed because of fatty deposits called plaque. If a major blockage occurs, stopping the flow of blood to the heart, the result will be a heart attack.

Coronary artery disease is progressive, so whether or not you’ve undergone treatment, you have to focus on reducing your risk factors. And if you’ve already suffered a heart attack, you have to be very strict about it.

But it’s not only risk factors you need to concern yourself with; there are other factors as well, including taking your cardiac medications, going for follow-up doctor’s visits, and changing your lifestyle to reduce your chances of another cardiac event.