The biggest lifestyle change that can impact atherosclerosis is quitting smoking[1]. Getting aerobic exercise is also extremely important. To reduce atherosclerotic risk, people should ideally perform at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, or a combination of the two each week.[2] A rule of thumb to measure intensity is the talk test: moderate aerobic activity makes it hard to sing but not to talk, whereas it’s hard to say more than a few words at a time during vigorous aerobic exercise.
