Heart disease - risk factors

Heart disease - prevention; CVD - risk factors; Cardiovascular disease - risk factors; Coronary artery disease - risk factors; CAD - risk factors

A risk factor is something about you that increases your chance of getting a disease or having a certain health condition. Some risk factors for heart disease you cannot change, but some you can. Changing the risk factors that you have control over may help you live a longer, healthier life.

Some of your heart disease risks that you CANNOT change are:

• Your age. Risk of heart disease increases with age.
• Your gender. Men have a higher risk of getting heart disease than women who are still menstruating. After menopause, the risk for women gets closer to the risk for men.
• Your genes or race. If your parents had heart disease, you are at higher risk. African Americans, Mexican Americans, American Indians, Hawaiians, and some Asian Americans also have a higher risk for heart problems.

Some of the risks for heart disease that you CAN change are:

• Not smoking. If you do smoke, quit.
• Controlling your cholesterol through diet, exercise, and medicines.
• Controlling high blood pressure through diet, exercise, and medicines, if needed.
• Controlling diabetes through diet, exercise, and medicines, if needed.
• Exercising at least 30 minutes a day.
• Keeping to a healthy weight by eating healthy foods, eating less, and joining a weight loss program, if you need to lose weight.
• Learning healthy ways to cope with stress through special classes or programs, or things like meditation or yoga.
• Limiting how much alcohol you drink to 1 drink a day for women and 2 a day for men.

Good nutrition is important to your heart health and will help control some of your risk factors.

• Choose a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
• Choose lean proteins, such as chicken, fish, beans and legumes.
• Choose low-fat dairy products, such as 1% milk and other low-fat items.
• Avoid sodium (salt) and fats found in fried foods, processed foods, and baked goods.
• Eat fewer animal products that contain cheese, cream, or eggs.
• Read labels, and stay away from "saturated fat" and anything that contains "partially-hydrogenated" or "hydrogenated" fats. These products are usually loaded with unhealthy fats.

Follow these guidelines and the advice of your health care provider to lower your chances of developing heart disease.