One out of every four deaths that occur in the United States each year is caused by heart disease, according to health officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Heart disease is a term that refers to a number of heart-related conditions, including coronary artery disease, heart failure and heart arrhythmia. Three specific factors--family history, medical problems and lifestyle choices--can influence your risk of developing heart disease. Talk with your cardiologist to determine what you can do to help lower your heart disease risk.
Family History
If you have a parent or sibling who was diagnosed with heart disease before the age of 55 (father or brother) or 65 (mother or sister), you are at an increased risk of developing heart disease, report health officials at the National Heart Lung Blood Institute. Your heart disease risk may be increased due to genetic factors that are beyond your control. In certain cases, elevated heart disease risk due to family history may be a result of learned behavior, such as poor eating and exercise habits, rather than genetics, explains the CDC. Patients with a family history of heart disease, high cholesterol or stroke should talk with a doctor to learn how to maintain a healthy heart.
Medical Problems
If you have high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure (hypertension) or diabetes, you are at an increased risk of developing heart disease. Your risk of heart disease is elevated if you have total cholesterol levels above 200 mg/dL or a blood pressure reading above 140/90 mmHg, explain U.S. Health and Human Services health officials. High cholesterol and hypertension can weaken your heart muscle, making it harder for blood to be pumped efficiently through your body. If the arteries that carry blood to your heart begin to narrow or become damaged due to these medical problems, you can experience a heart attack.
Patients with diabetes have high levels of sugar in their blood, which can weaken and damage the blood vessels and heart muscle. Additionally, diabetes patients often have high cholesterol levels or hypertension, compounding the risk of developing heart disease. The CDC reports that nearly 75 percent of diabetes patients die of some type of blood vessel or heart-related disease. Managing your cholesterol, blood pressure and sugar levels with medication, a healthy diet and exercise can help limit your heart disease risk.
Lifestyle Choices
Lifestyle choices can affect your risk of developing heart disease, explains the Better Health Channel, a health information website provided by the Australian government. If you are overweight or smoke cigarettes, you may be causing undue stress and strain on your heart muscle. Poor exercise habits or inactivity puts you at a higher risk of medical problems, such as high cholesterol and hypertension, which can further increase your heart disease risk, explains the CDC. Monitoring your dietary intake and increasing your exercise levels can allow you to have more control over your heart disease risk.
