Risk Factors for Heart Disease

Many forms of heart disease can be prevented or treated with healthy lifestyle choices, diet and exercise. However, certain things can exacerbate or accelerate your risk for heart disease.

If you have one or more of the following risk factors, talk to your Lake Forest Hospital cardiologist or physician about diagnostic cardiac tests that can detect your risk and/or progression of heart disease.

• Your age. Simply getting older increases your risk of damaged and narrowed arteries, as well as weakened or thickened heart muscle. Each of these factors contribute to heart disease.
  
  
• Your sex. Men are generally at greater risk of heart disease. However, the risk for a woman increases after menopause.
  
  
• Family history. A family history of heart disease increases your risk of coronary artery disease, especially if a parent developed it at an early age — before age 55 for a male relative (brother or father) and before age 65 for a female relative (mother or sister).
  
  
• Smoking. Nicotine constricts your blood vessels, and carbon monoxide can damage their inner lining, making them more susceptible to atherosclerosis. Heart attacks are more common in smokers than in nonsmokers.
  
  
• Poor diet. A diet that’s high in fat, salt and cholesterol can contribute to the development of heart disease.
  
  
• High blood pressure. Uncontrolled high blood pressure can result in the hardening and thickening of your arteries, narrowing the vessels through which blood can flow.
  
  
• High cholesterol. High levels of cholesterol in your blood can increase the risk of formation of plaques and atherosclerosis. Plaques can be caused by a high level of low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), known as “bad” cholesterol, or a low level of high-density lipoproteins (HDLs), known as “good” cholesterol.
  
  
• Diabetes. Diabetes increases your risk of heart disease. Both conditions share risk factors, such as obesity and high blood pressure.
  
  
• Obesity. Excess weight typically worsens other risk factors.
  
  
• Physical inactivity. Lack of exercise also is associated with many forms of heart disease and some of its other risk factors.
  
  
• High stress. Unrelieved stress in your life may damage your arteries as well as worsen other risk factors for heart disease.
  
  
• Poor hygiene. Not regularly washing your hands, or neglecting other habits that can help prevent viral or bacterial infections, can put you at risk of heart infections — especially if you already have an underlying heart condition. Researchers also believe that poor dental health may contribute to heart disease; germs on your teeth and gums can travel from your mouth to your heart, potentially worsening coronary artery disease.

Find a Lake Forest Hospital physician or cardiologist at our Online Physician Directory or by calling (847) 535-6171.

Learn more about how Lake Forest Hospital diagnoses heart disease >