Risk factors for heart attacks

There are many factors, also known as risk factors, which make a person more susceptible to heart attacks or coronary artery disease. Many of these are preventable. Prevention of these can prevent heart attacks.

Preventable Lifestyle risk factors (that can be prevented or changed) Tobacco use and smoking. Lack of physical activity (a sedentary lifestyle). Obesity. (being overweight) An unhealthy diet . Excess alcohol. Treatable or partly treatable risk factors: High blood pressure (Hypertension). High cholesterol levels in the blood (raised lipids ). High triglyceride (fat) blood level. Diabetes. Kidney diseases causing diminished kidney function. Fixed risk factors - ones that you cannot change: A strong family history. This means if you have a father or brother who developed heart disease or a stroke before they were 55, or in a mother or sister before they were 65. Being male. An early menopause in women. Age. The older you become, the more likely you are to develop atheroma. Ethnic group. For example, people who live in the UK with ancestry from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, or Sri Lanka have an increased risk.

If you have a fixed risk factor, you must make an extra effort to tackle the lifestyle risk factors that can be changed and the risk of heart attacks can then be decreased.

Use of tobacco/smoking:  The chemicals in tobacco get into the bloodstream to do the damage to the arteries and other parts of the body. Lifetime smoking roughly doubles your risk of developing heart disease. If you smoke or consume tobacco, your risk of having a stroke, and developing other diseases such as lung cancer, mouth cancer and throat cancer, are also increased. Giving up tobacco and stopping smoking is the single most effective thing that you can do to reduce your health risk. The increased risk falls rapidly immediately after giving up tobacco and stopping smoking.

Lack of physical activity - a sedentary lifestyle:  People who are physically active have a lower risk of developing cardiovascular diseases compared to inactive people. To gain health benefits you should do at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity, on most days (at least five days per week).