Risk Factors For Heart Disease
Verlyn Ross
This article is written to identify the risk factors for heart
disease. If one does not understand what the risk factors are,
it is difficult to avoid them. I hope that it is very beneficial
to you.
Coronary heart disease is to blame for approximately 1.2 million
heart attacks that take place in the United States every year. Of
these 1.2 million people, more than 40 percent of them will fall
victim to a heart attack that will be fatal. But the numbers get
even scarier from there. An estimated 335,000 individuals who
suffer heart attacks will die en-route to the hospital or else
will not leave the emergency room alive. The American Heart
Association estimates that in the United States, 7 million people
will suffer a heart attack at some point in their lives.
Heart disease is very prevalent and is becoming more and more so
in society. Very often heart disease is known as the silent
killer because it shows no obvious symptoms and it sneaks up on a
person completely unannounced. It is critically important to
become educated about the factors that make one person more
susceptible to developing this disease over another. The risk
factors can be broken down into those that are controllable and
those that are not. Lets take a look at both.
As far as risk factors that cannot be controlled, men are more
likely to suffer heart attacks than are women and the risk of
heart disease increases with age. For example a 50 or 60-year-old
man is more likely to become afflicted than is a 30 or 35-year-
old man. This is not to say however than women never suffer from
heart disease but it is less widespread in women. When women do
suffer from it, it is usually women who are past menopause.
Those with a family history of heart attacks and heart conditions
are more likely to suffer from it, as there is a genetic
connection that has been borne out by research. Certain races of
people are more likely to be afflicted than others. For example,
Caucasians are less likely to suffer from this disease than are
African Americans, African Indians and finally, Mexican
Americans.
But there is some good news as there are factors related to heart
disease that are within a persons control. Cholesterol rates can
be influenced by the foods you consume and how much exercise you
get on a regular basis. What is known as bad cholesterol is a
high level of LDL and good cholesterol is known as HDL. You must
aim to keep your HDL as high as possible and your LDL as low as
possible. Smoking is another controllable risk factor involved
with heart disease. If you smoke, try to kick the habit and if
you do not smoke, then good for you, never start.
A complete or partial lack of exercise can increase your chance
of developing heart disease. Aim for at least 20 to 30 minutes
of physical activity every day or at least every second day for
starters. Obesity can play a role in heart disease and be aware
that you are considered to be obese if you are more than an
estimated 20% over what is deemed your ideal weight. Another
controllable risk factor is anger and stress that has been
allowed to build up over an extended period of time. Seek out
ways to improve your coping mechanisms.
Verlyn Ross owns and operates a website dedicated specifically to providing
health and fitness information. It includes a wealth of free articles in
which you may have an interest. For a great place to get Answers, go here!
http://www.achieve-health-fitness.com
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