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Heart
Health Home > Risk Factors
Risk
Factors for Cardiovascular Disease |
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About
Cardiovascular Risk Factors
Risk factors are conditions or behaviors that increase your
chance of getting a certain disease. This page discusses risk
factors for coronary heart disease (also called coronary artery
disease). There are different types of risk factors for other
cardiovascular conditions, but these are not discussed here.
Some risk factors for coronary heart disease can be treated
or controlled and some cannot.
- The more risk factors you have, the greater
your risk of developing coronary heart disease.
- The higher your level of each risk factor,
the greater your risk of developing coronary heart disease.
The best way to prevent coronary heart disease
is to:
- Know your risk factors
- Tell your doctor if you have any risk
factors
- Take steps to control your controllable
risk factors
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Uncontrollable
Risk Factors:
Increasing
Age
- The risk of coronary heart disease increases
with age.
- Men ages 45 and older have increased
risk.
- Women ages 55 and older have increased
risk.
Family
History
- Children of parents who developed coronary
heart disease before age 55 are more likely to develop
it themselves.
Racial or Ethnic Background
- African Americans, Mexican Americans,
American Indians, and other Native Americans have greater
risk than Caucasians.
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Controllable
Risk Factors:
Physical
Inactivity
- People with inactive lifestyles have
increased risk.
- 30-60 minutes of physical activity on
most days helps reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.
Smoking
- People who smoke cigarettes have the
greatest risk.
- People who smoke cigars or pipes seem
to have greater risk, but their risk is not as great as
cigarette smokers'.
- Exposure to other people's smoke increases
the risk of cardiovascular disease even for nonsmokers.
- Quitting smoking helps reduce the risk
of coronary heart disease.
Overweight
or Obesity
- People who have too much body fat, especially
around the waist, have increased risk.
- Women with waist measurements of
more than 35 inches have increased risk.
- Men with waist measurements of more
than 40 inches have increased risk.
- People with Body Mass Index (BMI) values
of 25 or greater have increased risk.
- Losing weight helps reduce the risk of
coronary heart disease.
For more information, see: NIH's Aim
for a Healthy Weight: Assessing Your Risk.
High
Blood Pressure
- People who have blood pressure of 140/90
mm Hg or higher have increased risk.
- Lowering blood pressure reduces the risk
of coronary heart disease.
For more information, see: High
Blood Pressure.
High
Blood Cholesterol
- People with total blood cholesterol levels
of 200 mg/dL or higher have increased risk.
- People with heart disease or diabetes,
who have low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels
of 100 mg/dL or higher, have increased risk.
- People with no other risk factors, who
have low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels of 160 mg/dL
or higher, have increased risk.
- People with high-density lipoprotein
(HDL) cholesterol levels of less than 40 mg/dL may have
increased risk.
- People with triglyceride levels above
150 mm/dL may have increased risk.
For more information, see: High
Cholesterol.
Diabetes
Mellitus
- People who have type 1 or type 2 diabetes
have increased risk.
For more information, see FDA's
Diabetes web site.
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Other
Contributing Factors
Stress
- People who have too much stress or who
have unhealthy responses to stress may be at greater risk
of having coronary heart disease.
Hormone Replacement Therapy
(HRT) for the Treatment of Menopause
- Some women who take hormone replacement
therapy for the treatment of menopause may have increased
risk of blood clots, heart attack, and stroke.
- For more information, see FDA's Menopause
and Hormones web page: http://www.fda.gov/womens/menopause/.
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