Risk Factors

Did you know that the American Heart Association identified physical inactivity as a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease? The major risk factors for cardiovascular disease can be divided into two types: noncontrollable and controllable. The following are the major noncontrollable risk factors:

• Increasing age: About four out of five people who die of coronary heart disease are age 65 or older.
• Male sex (gender): Men have a greater risk of heart attack than women, and they have attacks earlier in life.
• Heredity (including race): Children of parents with heart disease are more likely to develop it themselves.

Major controllable risk factors relate to your lifestyle and behaviors. They include the following:

• Tobacco smoke: 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 they are more likely to die suddenly (within an hour) than nonsmokers.
• Physical inactivity: An inactive lifestyle is a risk factor for coronary heart disease. Regular, moderate- to vigorous-intensity exercise is important in preventing heart and blood vessel disease. Even moderate-intensity physical activities are beneficial if done regularly and over a long term. More vigorous activities are associated with more benefits.
• Obesity and overweight: 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.
• High blood pressure: High blood pressure increases the heart's workload, causing the heart to enlarge and weaken over time.
• Diabetes mellitus: Diabetes seriously increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
• High blood cholesterol levels: 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.