High Risk Factors For Heart Disease

What is Coronary Heart Disease (CHD)?
When a fatty material called plaque deposits on the inner walls of your coronary or heart arteries, it narrows the arteries. This reduces blood flow to your heart muscle, and blood clots are more likely to be formed, which can partly or completely block blood flow to a section of your heart muscle.

There are several risk factors for heart disease. Most people tend to have at least one risk factor for heart disease. The higher the number of these of risk factors, greater is the risk for heart disease. Plus, the severity of these factors also increases the risk.

Unmanageable Risk Factors
The following factors leading to heart attack can’t be controlled by an individual:

Age
It has been found that over 83 percent of people who die of heart disease are 65 or older. Women are more likely to die from heart attacks within a few weeks than men.

Gender
Men are more prone to risk of heart attack than women. Moreover, they have these attacks earlier in life.

Heredity
If heart disease runs in your family, then one is more likely to develop it themselves. Most people having a strong family history of heart disease tend to have one or more other risk. Just as you have no control on your age, sex and race, you can't control your family history.

Manageable Risk Factors
However, there are some risk factors which you can modify, by changing your lifestyle or taking medicines. These are:

Smoking
Smokers carry a high risk of developing coronary heart disease, which is nearly 2 to 4 times that of nonsmokers. People smoking cigars or pipes seem to have even a higher risk of death from coronary heart disease.

High Blood Cholesterol
A rise in blood cholesterol adds to the risk of coronary heart disease. Coupled with other risk factors, like high blood pressure and smoking, this risk increases even more.

High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure tends to increase the heart's workload. As a result, the heart thickens and becomes stiffer. The risk of heart attack increases several times, if a person develops high blood pressure due to obesity, smoking, high blood cholesterol levels or diabetes.

Lack of Exercise
A sedentary lifestyle is another leading risk factor for coronary heart disease.

Regular exercises can control blood cholesterol, diabetes and obesity, as well as help lower blood pressure in some people, preventing heart disease.

Obesity
People with excess body fat are more likely to develop heart disease and stroke even in the absence of other risk factors. Excess weight increases the heart's work, raising blood pressure and blood cholesterol.

Diabetes
Diabetes is another serious factor which increases your risk of developing cardiovascular disease and stroke. So, if you have diabetes, it's very important that you work with your physician to manage it and control any other risk factors you can.

Word of Advice
Talk to your doctor and find if you have any of the risk factors mentioned above. Start early and create a plan for lowering your risk for heart disease and other problems related to heart. Plan for your children too. Talk to their doctor about their heart health.