Risk factors

Average rating:

Everybody has some risk of developing atheroma which then may cause one or more cardiovascular diseases. However, certain 'risk factors' increase the risk. Risk factors include:

Lifestyle risk factors that can be prevented or changed:

*Smoking
*Lack of physical activity (a sedentary lifestyle)
*Obesity.
*An unhealthy diet.
*Excess alcohol.

Treatable or partly treatable risk factors:

*Hypertension (high blood pressure).
*High cholesterol blood level.
*High trigliceride (fat) blood level.
*Diabetes.
*Kidney diseases that affect kidney function.

Fixed risk factors - ones that you cannot alter:

*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.
However, if you have a fixed risk factor, you may want to make extra effort to tackle any lifestyle risk factors that can be changed.

Note: Some risk factors are more 'risky' than others. For example, smoking and a high cholesterol level cause a greater risk to health than obesity. Also, risk factors interact. So, if you have two or more risk factors, your health risk is much more increased than if you just have one. For example, a middle aged male smoker who has high blood pressure and a high cholesterol level has a high risk of developing a cardiovascular disease such as a heart attack before the age of 60.