Risks.
Tobacco smoke
-Smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke can increase an individual’s risk of developing coronary disease by up to 400 percent.
High blood cholesterol
-The general guidelines for healthy cholesterol numbers according to the American Heart and Stroke Association are detailed below:
Hypertension
-High blood pressure increases the heart’s workload, resulting in thickening and stiffening of the heart muscle and consequent abnormal function of the heart. The combination of high blood pressure with conditions such as obesity, high blood cholesterol levels, and diabetes increases the risk of a heart attack several times.
Physical Inactivity & Obesity
-Excess body fat (especially at the waist) raises blood pressure and blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels and decreases HDL cholesterol levels, thereby increasing the likelihood that the individual will develop heart disease.
Diabetes Mellitus
-Diabetes significantly increases an individual’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease, especially if blood sugar is not well controlled.
-Heart disease is the cause of death in over 65 percent of diabetes patients.
Age
-Roughly 82 percent of heart disease fatalities are in individuals aged 65 or older. Moreover, at older ages and after menopause, women are more likely to suffer fatal heart attacks than men.
Sex
-Men are at increased risk of heart attack than women and tend to suffer heart attacks earlier in life.
Heredity
-Children of individuals who have or have had heart disease are more likely to develop heart disease themselves.
-African Americans have more severe high blood pressure and a higher risk of heart disease than Caucasians.
-Risk of heart disease is greater among Mexican Americans, American Indians, native Hawaiians, and some Asian Americans. This increased risk can be attributed to some extent to higher rates of obesity and diabetes.
-Smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke can increase an individual’s risk of developing coronary disease by up to 400 percent.
High blood cholesterol
-The general guidelines for healthy cholesterol numbers according to the American Heart and Stroke Association are detailed below:
- Total Cholesterol: Less than 200 mg/dL.
- LDL Cholesterol:
- For a patient at high risk for heart disease (including those with existing heart disease or diabetes): Less than 100mg/dL.
- For a patient at intermediate risk for heart disease: Less than 130 mg/dL.
- For a patient at low risk for heart disease: less than 160 mg/dL.
- HDL Cholesterol: 40 mg/dL or higher for men and 50 mg/dL or higher for women.
- Triglycerides: Less than 150 mg/dL.
Hypertension
-High blood pressure increases the heart’s workload, resulting in thickening and stiffening of the heart muscle and consequent abnormal function of the heart. The combination of high blood pressure with conditions such as obesity, high blood cholesterol levels, and diabetes increases the risk of a heart attack several times.
Physical Inactivity & Obesity
-Excess body fat (especially at the waist) raises blood pressure and blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels and decreases HDL cholesterol levels, thereby increasing the likelihood that the individual will develop heart disease.
Diabetes Mellitus
-Diabetes significantly increases an individual’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease, especially if blood sugar is not well controlled.
-Heart disease is the cause of death in over 65 percent of diabetes patients.
Age
-Roughly 82 percent of heart disease fatalities are in individuals aged 65 or older. Moreover, at older ages and after menopause, women are more likely to suffer fatal heart attacks than men.
Sex
-Men are at increased risk of heart attack than women and tend to suffer heart attacks earlier in life.
Heredity
-Children of individuals who have or have had heart disease are more likely to develop heart disease themselves.
-African Americans have more severe high blood pressure and a higher risk of heart disease than Caucasians.
-Risk of heart disease is greater among Mexican Americans, American Indians, native Hawaiians, and some Asian Americans. This increased risk can be attributed to some extent to higher rates of obesity and diabetes.