I do all that except drink in moderation.
That last part about butter...are you saying Don't eat margarine instead of butter? or Do eat margarine instead of butter?
Not that it matters to me since I rarely eat either one. I don't like margarine, and butter aggravates my heartburn.
btw, how do you know all this?
I meant don't eat margarine instead of butter thinking that it's better for you. I realized after I posted that the wording was misleading.
Margarine is usually made from hydrogenated vegetable oils which the body can't process correctly. Hydrogenated fats end up as bad cholesterol. Olive oil and some other oils are easily processed by the body and a smaller amount proportionally end up as the bad chol. There are lots of studies that have shown the good benefits of olive oil compared to the bad stuff from hydrogenated oils.
After I stopped drinking soda and other drinks filled with sugar and corn syrup I rarely have heartburn. I used to carry Tums in my lunchpail but now I drink black coffee or with a little milk and still get the caffeine but no heartburn.
My Dad's doctor asked him when he was 65 whether he drank because even though he smoked his blood pressure was only slightly over normal and his cholesterol levels were excellent. When my Dad said yes he drinks a couple beers every day, the doctor (who's been in practice about 25 years) said that in his experience, most patients with similar good BP and chol. levels at that age were moderate drinkers. There's been plenty of studies that echo that doctor's opinion.
Garlic and aspirin are both blood thinners. People with very slight high blood pressure are usually told by doctors to try children's aspirin one a day before going to the more potent stuff.
Nicotein is a vasoconstrictor which ups your blood pressure and makes it easier for something to block those blood vessels.
If you did all of the things I suggested it should help but then you might run into genetics. Some families are just predisposed toward heart problems.