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Understand Risk Factors for Heart Disease

Heart disease, which affects 13 million Americans, is the number one killer of Americans and significantly contributes to disability. These numbers may be even higher because much heart disease goes unrecognized. Minimizing the risk factors is a critical part of reducing your risk of death and disability.

Many factors increase the risk of developing heart disease. Some of the risk factors are modifiable – or ones you can change – some are not. 

A positive family history includes having a first degree relative with heart disease. A first-degree relative is a parent, sibling or child. It is considered a particularly strong risk factor if your family member had an onset of disease before age 50.

Gender is another risk factor for heart disease. Males have a higher risk for heart disease at a younger age. Men and women are at equal risk for heart disease at the age of 70 and beyond.

Age is the last non-modifiable risk factor. The older one becomes the more at risk he or she is for heart disease.

Modifiable risk factors are traits you can change to reduce your risk of heart disease. These are the most important risk factors to understand as controlling these risk factors will reduce the risk of heart disease.Cholesterol:

Three subtypes of cholesterol are reported on a lipid panel. Total cholesterol should be less than 200 mg/dl. The low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol is the most damaging cholesterol particle. This is the one that can result in the most benefit from lowering – the lower the LDL the better. Most recent guidelines recommend if you have heart disease or are at high risk for heart disease that values should be less than 100 mg/dl and patients who are very high risk should have values less than 70 mg/dl.

The high-density lipoprotein (HDL) is considered the good cholesterol. The HDL cholesterol takes the LDL cholesterol away from the vessel where it does the most damage. The minimum number that should be achieved is 50 mg/dl – the higher the better.

When assessing cholesterol it is important to look at the LDL and HDL cholesterol to determine risk of disease. The total cholesterol is not correlated with heart disease as well as the components of cholesterol.

Triglycerides are another number reported on the lipid panel. The role of triglycerides is less clear in the development of heart disease. It is recommended that the people strive to achieve triglyceride levels less than 150 mg/dl.

For more information on chronic disease including heart disease visit www.mini-medicalschool.com or check out Chronic Disease Guide: How to Prevent and Treat Common Chronic Diseases.

Hypertension: High blood pressure puts you at increased risk for heart disease. Optimal goals include reducing the blood pressure to less than 120/80 mm Hg. Elevated systolic blood pressure (top number), which is more common in the older population, is correlated more with heart disease than increases in the diastolic blood pressure (bottom number).

Physical inactivity: Lack of exercise is a clear risk for heart disease. Exercise can affect a variety of other risk factors. Regular exercise has been shown to decrease blood pressure, raise HDL cholesterol and decrease insulin resistance (a factor associated with diabetes).

Smoking: Cigarette smoking is a strong risk factor for heart disease. Toxins in cigarette smoke have been shown to damage the vascular wall and may precipitate plaque formation. Smoking only one cigarette a day significantly increasing the risk of heart attack over a non-smoker.

Stress: Chronic daily stress increases your risk for heart disease.

Abdominal obesity: A waist circumference of greater than 32 inches in females and 34 inches in men is a predicator of heart attack. Weight gain negatively affects many of the other risk factors for heart disease. The direct effect of obesity on the risk for heart disease is a question of debate but weight gain increases the risk of insulin resistance, blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol.

Eating few fruits and vegetables: Fruits and vegetables have antioxidants and fiber that are protective against heart disease.

Drinking too much alcohol: It is believed that drinking 1 drink a day for the female and 2 per day for men reduces the risk of heart disease. Drinking more than this amount has the potential to increase you risk of not only heart disease but also many other diseases.

High level of blood homocysteine: This is a relatively new risk factor. High levels of this chemical have been shown to increase the risk of vascular events. These levels can be reduced with the addition of folic acid, vitamins B6 and B12. Homocysteine levels are higher in patients with cardiovascular disease and they may damage the vascular wall making it more likely to develop plaque.

Inflammation: Another relatively new risk factor, high levels of inflammation, can increase your risk for heart disease. A test that is often run to detect this is the high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP).

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/diseases-and-conditions-articles/understand-risk-factors-for-heart-disease-1286586.html

Raymond Lengel, a certified family nurse practitioner, holds a Bachelor of Science degree in exercise science, a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing and a Master of Science degree in nursing. His writing career includes over 80 on-line continuing education courses developed for nurses, multiple articles and nine books. He may be contacted at http://www.mini-medicalschool.com.

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