Quick Search

The first steps in preventing heart disease are knowing the risk factors and taking action in reducing the ones that can be controlled. Some risk factors cannot be changed like age, gender or heredity; however, there are some that you can modify, treat or control through lifestyle changes or by taking medicine.

The risk factors for heart disease include:

About four out of five people who die of coronary heart disease are age 65 or older. At older ages, women who have heart attacks are more likely than men to die from them within a few weeks.

Men have a greater risk of heart attack than women, and they have attacks earlier in life. Even after menopause, when women's death rate from heart disease increases, it's not as great as men's.

Children of parents with heart disease are more likely to develop it themselves. African Americans have more severe high blood pressure than whites and a higher risk of heart disease. Heart disease risk is also higher among Mexican Americans, American Indians, native Hawaiians and some Asian Americans. This is partly due to higher rates of obesity and diabetes. Most people with a strong family history of heart disease have one or more other risk factors. Just as you can't control your age, sex and race, you can't control your family history. It's even more important to treat and control any other risk factors you have.

Smokers' risk of heart attack is more than twice that of nonsmokers. Cigarette smoking is the biggest risk factor for sudden cardiac death; smokers have two to four times the risk of nonsmokers. Smokers who have a heart attack are more likely to die and die suddenly (within an hour) than are nonsmokers. Cigarette smoking also acts with other risk factors to greatly increase the risk for coronary heart disease. People who smoke cigars or pipes seem to have a higher risk of death from coronary heart disease (and possibly stroke), but their risk isn't as great as cigarette smokers'. Constant exposure to other people's smoke - called environmental tobacco smoke, secondhand smoke or passive smoking - increases the risk of heart disease even for nonsmokers. The Presbyterian Center for Preventive Cardiology offers a smoking cessation program to help reduce your heart disease risk due to tobacco smoke.

The risk of coronary heart disease rises as blood cholesterol levels increase. When other risk factors (such as high blood pressure and tobacco smoke) are present, this risk increases even more. A person's cholesterol level is also affected by age, sex, heredity and diet.

High blood pressure increases the heart's workload, causing the heart to enlarge and weaken over time. It also increases the risk of stroke, heart attack, kidney failure and congestive heart failure. When high blood pressure exists with obesity, smoking, high blood cholesterol levels or diabetes, the risk of heart attack or stroke increases several times.

An inactive lifestyle is a risk factor for coronary heart disease. Regular, moderate-to-vigorous exercise is important in preventing heart and blood vessel disease. Even moderate-intensity physical activities are beneficial if done regularly and long term. More vigorous activities are associated with more benefits. Exercise can help control blood cholesterol, diabetes and obesity, as well as help lower blood pressure in some people.

People who have excess body fat - especially if a lot of it is in the waist area - are more likely to develop heart disease and stroke even if they have no other risk factors. Excess weight increases the strain on the heart, raises blood pressure and blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and lowers HDL ("good") cholesterol levels. It can also make diabetes more likely to develop. Many obese and overweight people have difficulty losing weight. By losing 10 to 20 pounds, you can help lower your heart disease risk.

Diabetes seriously increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Even when glucose levels are under control, diabetes greatly increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. About two-thirds of people with diabetes die of some form of heart or blood vessel disease. If you have diabetes, it's critically important to work with your healthcare provider to manage your diabetes and control any other risk factors you can.