| Many of the risk factors for heart disease are related | | | | saturated fat, and smoking tobacco. While you can't |
| to lifestyle and environmental factors and are typically | | | | control your age, gender, race, or family history, you |
| labeled uncontrollable (non-modifiable) or controllable | | | | can decrease your chances of developing this disease |
| (modifiable). These can be conditions, personal traits | | | | by focusing on the lifestyle changes you can make to |
| and lifestyles that contribute to atherosclerosis | | | | improve your overall health. |
| (hardening of the arteries), which causes coronary | | | | Leading a healthy lifestyle and following medical advice |
| artery disease. | | | | to reduce or remove risk factors is the best way to |
| The seriousness of this disease can be seen in the | | | | reduce the risk of developing heart disease. Although it |
| fact that over 40% of all people in the United States | | | | takes on different specific forms, there are a common |
| who suffer a heart attack will die from its affects. | | | | core of risk factors that influence whether someone |
| Heart disease, which is a term that includes several | | | | will ultimately be at risk for or not. |
| more specific heart conditions, is the leading cause of | | | | There are many factors that can increase your risk of |
| death in the United States and is a major cause of | | | | getting heart disease. Some of these factors are out |
| disability. The major forms of this most deadly of | | | | of your control but most of them can be avoided by |
| diseases include acute rheumatic fever, chronic | | | | choosing to live a healthy lifestyle. Excess body fat is |
| rheumatic heart disease, hypertensive heart disease, | | | | one of the greatest risk factors. Cholesterol levels are |
| coronary heart disease, pulmonary heart disease, | | | | determined by a combination of age, gender, heredity, |
| congestive heart failure and any other heart condition | | | | and dietary choices, and of these four factors, |
| or disease. | | | | changing your diet to a healthier one is something you |
| It is, in simplistic terms, the inability of the heart to pump | | | | can do something about. High blood pressure |
| or receive adequate amounts of blood due to | | | | combined with other risk factors such as being |
| atherosclerosis or damage to the heart caused by | | | | physically inactive, eating a diet high in salt and |
| infection or congenital defects. In fact heart disease | | | | saturated fat, and smoking tobacco greatly increases |
| and stroke both have the same risk factors and | | | | your chances of getting heart disease as well. In some |
| causes. | | | | cases other factors such as stress and drinking too |
| An estimated 25% of all Americans have one or more | | | | much alcohol have been linked to cardiovascular |
| risk factors, increasing their risk for heart attack. Most | | | | disease. |
| risk factors are related to lifestyle while other risk | | | | Fortunately, many risk factors for heart disease are |
| factors that cannot be changed include age, gender, | | | | caused in part by unhealthy lifestyle habits, which can |
| and genetics. | | | | be altered so as to reduce one's chances of |
| Health behaviors associated with a high risk include | | | | developing this deadly disease. |
| being physically inactive, eating a diet high in salt and | | | | |