The Risks Of Heart Disease

Heart disease has fast become one of the largest killers in the western world with one person dying of heart disease every three minutes in the United Kingdom alone.

It is estimated that one in four people will have some form of heart disease in their life time, yet most people do not know much about the risk factors involved and how they can lower their own risk of becoming one of the heart disease statistics.

What is heart disease?

Heart disease is not just one medical condition, it is a name given to a group of heart related conditions, which can be seen below.

-- High blood pressure

-- Coronary heart disease

-- Angina pectoris

-- Congestive heart failure

-- Congenital cardiovascular defects

-- Rheumatic heart disease

-- Stroke

-- Heart attack

What are the risk factors?

There are two types of risk factor, ones that are outside of human control and others that we can control, below is a list of both types of risk factors.

Risk factors outside human control

Age - As we grow older we increase the risk of heart disease dramatically, over two thirds of all heart disease sufferers are aged 65 or over.

Sex - Although it is an old wives tale that heart disease is a male only condition, men do hold a greater risk of heart disease than women.

Family history - Some families have history of heart problems, this means that if one or both parents have suffered with heart disease then the children hold a higher risk of developing heart disease themselves.

Risk factors we can control

Physical inactivity - General inactivity reduces cardiovascular fitness, this can have a huge impact in the possibilities of risking heart disease.

Smoking - Heart disease is a huge risk from smoking; it is believed that smokers are 2 to 4 times more likely to have heart disease than anyone else.

Obesity - Those who are overweight or obese, especially those who have extra weight around the midriff, hold a greater risk of heart disease because of the extra strain the weight adds to the heart making the heart have to work a lot harder.

High blood pressure - High blood pressure causes the heart to work harder as it pumps blood around the body, this increases the risk of heart disease.

High cholesterol - Those who suffer with high cholesterol hold a great risk of heart disease as cholesterol in high amounts can block the flow of blood carrying oxygen to the heart.

Because the risks are high, especially in those over 65 years in age, it is important to try and look after oneself to reduce the risks that can cause heart disease. By looking at the risk factors we can control, there is a clear evidence that we can physically reduce our risks quite dramatically just by eating healthily, becoming more active and trying to stop smoking.

Heart disease statistics are currently growing year on year, if we manage to take more care with our own bodies then we can try to combat heart disease and reduce the number of people who suffer.