Things We Can't Change
Certain factors increase the risk of a heart attack. Some can be
changed, while others are inherited. The major factors individuals
can't change include: age, gender and heredity.
Age
Four out of five deaths from the disease are in people over age
65. In this age group, women are twice as likely to die from heart
attacks as men.
Gender
Women are more likely to die from heart disease than from all
forms of cancer, chronic lung disease, pneumonia, diabetes,
accidents and AIDS combined. However, men have a greater life-long
risk of heart attack, and experience attacks earlier in life.
Heredity
You're at greater risk if your parents had heart disease.
Things We Can Change
The major factors individuals can change include: smoking, high
blood cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, obesity, physical
inactivity and being overweight.
Smoking
Smokers have twice as high a risk of heart attack as nonsmokers,
and have two to four times the risk of sudden cardiac death.
Smokers are also more likely to die quickly and suddenly than
nonsmokers.
High blood pressure
African-Americans have the highest death rates from the disease.
This may be due to their higher rates of high blood pressure; about
1 in 3 black adults have high blood pressure, compared to about 1
in 4 white adults. High blood pressure is also generally more
severe among elderly African-Americans than elderly whites, leading
to more cases of strokes, heart disease and kidney failure.
Cholesterol and cholesterol levels
Cholesterol is a waxy substance found in all parts of your body.
It helps make cell membranes, some hormones, and vitamin D.
Cholesterol comes from two sources: your body and the foods you
eat.
Blood cholesterol is made in your liver. Your liver makes all
the cholesterol your body needs. Dietary cholesterol comes from
animal foods like meats, whole milk dairy foods, egg yolks, poultry
and fish. Eating too much dietary cholesterol can make your blood
cholesterol go up. Foods from plants, like vegetables, fruits,
grains, and cereals, do not have any dietary cholesterol. The 2
types of cholesterol - (1) LDL (bad), (2) HDL (good) Like oil and
water, cholesterol and blood do not mix. So, for cholesterol to
travel through your blood, it is coated with a layer of protein to
make a "lipoprotein." The two lipoproteins are low density
lipoprotein (LDL) and high density lipoprotein (HDL).
LDL-cholesterol carries most of the cholesterol in the blood.
When too much LDL-cholesterol is in the blood, it can lead to
cholesterol buildup in the arteries. That is why LDL-cholesterol is
called the "bad" cholesterol. HDL-cholesterol helps remove
cholesterol from the blood and helps prevent the fatty buildup.
This is why HDL-cholesterol is called the "good" cholesterol. High
cholesterol increases the risk of coronary heart disease. It makes
the heart pump more and faster, causing it to weaken. The risk is
compounded with other factors, such as smoking and high blood
pressure. On the average, each of these doubles your chance of
developing heart disease. Therefore, a person who has all three
risk factors is eight times more likely to develop heart disease
than someone who has none. Diabetes, obesity and physical
inactivity are other factors that can lead to coronary heart
disease.
Things That Affect Blood Cholesterol Your blood
cholesterol level is influenced by many factors,
including:
What you eat
High intake of saturated fat, dietary cholesterol, and excess
calories leading to overweight leads to increased blood cholesterol
levels.
Warning!
It is now universally recognized that a diet which is high in
fat, particularly saturated fat, and low in complex carbohydrates,
fruit and vegetables increases the risk of chronic diseases -
particularly heart disease, stroke and cancer.
Overweight
Being overweight can make your LDL-cholesterol level go up and
your HDL-cholesterol level go down.
Exercise
Increased physical activity lowers LDL-cholesterol and raises
HDL-cholesterol levels.
Heredity
Your genes partly influence how your body makes and handles
cholesterol.
Age and Sex
Blood cholesterol levels in both men and women begin to go up
around age 20. Women before menopause have levels that are lower
than men of the same age. After menopause, a woman's
LDL-cholesterol level goes up - and so her risk for heart disease
increases.
Exercise
Individuals who don't exercise and/or are obese also put
themselves at greater risk. Excess weight strains the heart;
influences blood pressure, blood cholesterol and tri-glyceride
levels; and increases the risk of diabetes.
Diabetes
Diabetes also increases the risk of heart disease. Heart disease
kills more than 80% of people with diabetes.
Stress
Stress may also contribute to the development of heart disease,
because people may overeat, exercise less or smoke more when
they're under stress.