Cardiovascular Health Information, Page 1 of 4

Cardiovascular Health, Part 3

Changeable risk factors
The good news is that even if you have unchangeable risk factors, these are risk factors you can change to lower your risk:

Smoking: A smoker's risk of developing coronary heart disease is two to four times higher than that of non-smokers. Smoking also acts with other risk factors to greatly increase risk.

High blood pressure: High blood pressure increases the heart's workload, causing the heart to thicken and become stiffer.

High cholesterol: High levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) can clog arteries and lead to heart attack or stroke.

Physical Inactivity: Regular, moderate to vigorous activity can help prevent heart and blood vessel disease. Exercise can help control cholesterol, obesity, and diabetes, and can also lower high blood pressure in some people

Overweight and Obesity: People who have excess body fat are more likely to develop heart disease and stroke even if they have no other risk factors. Excess weight increases the work done by the heart, and also raises blood pressure, blood cholesterol and Triglyceride levels, and lowers HDL ("good") cholesterol levels.

Diabetes mellitus: Having diabetes seriously increases your risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Approximately three-quarters of people diagnosed with diabetes will die of some form of heart or blood vessel disease. If you are diagnosed with diabetes, it is important to work with your health care providers to manage and lessen cardiovascular risks.

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