|
Heart Disease Risk Factors |
 |
 |
 |
|
Written by Administrator
|
|
Tuesday, 26 January 2010 12:31 |
|
Know Your Risks
Know your heart disease risk factors.
* What are major risk factors?
* What are contributing factors?
Learn to be heart-smart!
* Take the online heart-health test.
* Visit the Heart Information Center.
* Explore topics on the website.
* See also risk factors for children and teens.
Cardiovascular disease can take many forms: high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease, stroke, or rheumatic fever/rheumatic heart disease. According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular disease causes 17.5 million deaths in the world each year. Cardiovascular disease is responsible for half of all deaths in the United States and other developed countries, and it is a main cause of death in many developing countries as well. Overall, it is the leading cause of death in adults.
In the United States, more than 80 million Americans have some form of cardiovascular disease. About 2400 people die every day of cardiovascular disease. Cancer, the second largest killer, accounts for a little more than half as many deaths.
Coronary artery disease, the most common form of cardiovascular disease, is the leading cause of death in America today. But thanks to many studies involving thousands of patients, researchers have found certain factors that play an important role in a person's chances of developing heart disease. These are called risk factors.
Risk factors are divided into two categories: major and contributing. Major risk factors are those that have been proven to increase your risk of heart disease. Contributing risk factors are those that doctors think can lead to an increased risk of heart disease, but their exact role has not been defined.
The more risk factors you have, the more likely you are to develop heart disease. Some risk factors can be changed, treated, or modified, and some cannot. But by controlling as many risk factors as possible through lifestyle changes, medicines, or both, you can reduce your risk of heart disease.
Link:
http://www.texasheart.org/HIC/Topics/HSmart/riskfact.cfm |