Risk Factors For Heart Disease

With heart disease being the number one cause of death in the United States, it's important to know exactly where you stand when it comes to assessing your risk of falling victim to the disease. There are many things that need to be taken into consideration when it comes to assessing the risk of heart disease, and some of the risk factors are preventable while others are hereditary or otherwise unchangeable. In this article, we'll discuss the risk factors for heart disease so that you will be able to know exactly how closely you need to watch your heart's health.

First, we'll discuss the things that you can change in your life in order to lessen your risk of heart disease. The number one preventable way of avoiding heart disease is to not smoke cigarettes. Cigarette smoking causes a host of problems to the body, especially the heart, and a smoker is as much as two to three times more likely to fall victim to a heart attack or stroke. Your diet also comes heavily into play when it comes to heart disease. You should make sure that you don't eat many saturated fats, as well as ensuring that you are ingesting a small amount of sodium and cholesterol. Be sure to carefully monitor your levels of cholesterol; you should have a total cholesterol that is less than 200 mg/dl, and an LDL level that is less than 130. Having low cholesterol can decrease your risk of developing heart disease by between twenty and thirty percent. In addition to properly maintaining your cholesterol levels via a diet, you should also indulge in exercise. Keeping an exercise program that involves at least thirty minutes of activity five to seven days a week can go a long way to keeping your heart strong. Managing stress also plays a role in your development of heart disease - the better you are able to control your levels of stress, the less likely you are to develop the disease. You should also work towards your ideal weight - the more overweight that you are, the harder your heart has to work and consequently, the more likely you are to develop heart disease.

When it comes to unchangeable risk factors for heart disease, there are many things to consider. Men are more likely to fall victim to heart disease than women. Old age is also a factor which is unchangeable, as well as race. Numerous published studies have shown that Mexican Americans, African Americans, and Native Americans are all more likely to develop heart disease than Caucasians.

While there are many things that you can not change when it comes to your risk factors for heart disease, there are still plenty of things that you can do to decrease your likelihood. Unchangeable risk factors are no excuse for not taking any action when it comes to keeping your body healthy. By following proper guidelines, you'll be able to successfully lessen your chances of developing the often killer disease.