Healthy Living

Prevention/Risk Factors

Heart disease is America's #1 killer. More lives are claimed each year by cardiovasular dieseases, including heart disease and stroke, then the next seven leading causes of death combined. Simply put, your heart is the organ responsible for keeping the rest of your body going. It pumps blood continuously through your network of arteries and veins, each day beating some 100,000 times and pumping 2,000 gallons of blood. If your heart begins to malfunction, the effects on your body are immediate. And often life-threatening.

That's the bad news. But there is good news. There are many risk factors for heart disease that are within your control. That's why the best way to prevent heart disease is to fully understand those factors that increase your risk.

Risk factors are conditions or behaviors that increase your likelihood of developing a disease. When you have more than one risk factor for heart disease, your risk greatly multiplies. Risk factors for Heart Disease include:

• Smoking
• High Blood Pressure
• High Cholesterol
• Overweight
• Sedentary Lifestyle
• Diabetes

Heart disease risk factors should not be ignored. Simply by better managing your diet, controlling your blood pressure and weight, getting regular exercise, and making changes to your health habits, you can dramatically reduce your risk of heart disease.

Fortunately, most of the heart disease risk factors are largely within your control. For more information on controlling the risk,  click on the risks above.

Risk factors beyond your control are:

• Age (45 or older for men; 55 or older for women)
  
• Family history of early heart disease (having a mother or sister who were diagnosed with heart disease before age 65, or a father or brother diagnosed before age 55)

Source: United States Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health.

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