• Every 20 seconds, a person in the United States has a heart attack. Every 33 seconds, a person dies from cardiovascular disease in the United States.  
• Over 50 million people in the U.S. have high blood pressure, making it the most common heart disease risk factor.  
• Risk of stroke doubles every decade after age 55. The risk of heart disease increases in women over the age of 50.  
• Behavioral risk factors, such as unhealthy diet and physical inactivity, are responsible for 80% of coronary heart disease. These risk factors can be altered to reduce your risk.  
• People with African or Asian ancestry have a high risk of developing cardiovascular disease than other racial groups.  

Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors

As the leading cause of death in both men and women in the U.S., it is crucial to understand the risk factors of cardiovascular disease.

There are two types of risk factors that are necessary to be aware of. The first is risk factors that cannot be changed. The more risk factors, the greater chance of developing heart disease. Some of these factors include:

• Increasing age: About 82% of people who die of heart disease are over the age of 65.
• Gender: Men have a greater risk of heart attacks than women.
• Heredity: Children of parents with heart disease are more likely to develop it themselves.

The second type of risk factors are those that can be modified or control by lifestyle changes or medication. These factors include:

• Smoking Tobacco: Smoker’s have 2-4 times higher risk of developing heart disease than nonsmokers.
• High Blood Cholesterol: The higher the blood cholesterol level, the higher the risk of heart disease. A person’s cholesterol level is also affected by age, sex, heredity and diet.
• High Blood Pressure: High blood pressure increases the workload of the heart, causing it to thicken and become stiffer, which increases the risk of a stroke, heart attack, kidney failure and congestive heart failure
• Physical Inactivity: Regular exercise helps prevent heart and blood vessel disease. Physical activity helps regulate blood cholesterol and blood pressure levels, diabetes and obesity.
• Obesity and overweight: excess weight increases the heart’s work, raises blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels.  Obesity can also increase chances of diabetes.
• Diabetes:  Diabetes increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, but the risks are even greater if blood sugar is not well maintained. At least 65% of people with diabetes die of some form of heart disease.

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