Four out of five heart attacks in men could be prevented by adopting a super-healthy lifestyle that avoids junk food, smoking, excessive drinking and lack of exercise, a study has found.

Scientists assessed the lifestyles of 20,721 Swedish men aged 45 to 79 and monitored their health for 11 years.

The best behaved from a health point of view were 86 per cent less likely to suffer a heart attack than those who threw caution to the wind and led a high-risk life.

Men at the lowest risk were non-smokers, walked or cycled for at least 40 minutes a day, exercised an hour or more per week, consumed moderate amounts of alcohol and regularly ate fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, reduced-fat dairy products, whole grains and fish.

They also had a waist circumference measuring less than 95cm.

Lead researcher Agneta Akesson, from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, said: “It is not surprising that healthy lifestyle choices would lead to a reduction in heart attacks. What is surprising is how drastically the risk dropped due to these factors.

Lifestyle behaviours are modifiable

“It is important to note that these lifestyle behaviours are modifiable, and changing from high-risk to low-risk behaviours can have great impact on cardiovascular health. However, the best thing one can do is to adopt healthy lifestyle choices early in life.”

The findings are published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

On their own, a healthy diet combined with moderate alcohol consumption led to an estimated 35 per cent reduced heart attack risk.

Maureen Talbot, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: “Most heart attacks are caused by coronary heart disease, which is a largely preventable condition.

That’s why it’s important we’re all aware of the health risks our lifestyles can lead to.”