The list of risk factors mentioned for Heart disease in various sources includes:
The following are statistics from various sources about the risk factors for Heart disease:
Adults with diabetes have heart disease death rates about 2 to 4 times as high as those of adults without diabetes. (Source: excerpt from Diabetes Statistics in the United States: NIDDK)
What damages my heart and blood vessels?
Risk factors are habits or traits that make a person more likely to develop a disease. Many of those for heart disease can be controlled. These include:
The more risk factors you have, the greater your
risk. (Source: excerpt from NHLBI Heart Disease & Women Are You At Risk: NHLBI)
Several recent studies have reported that moderate drinkers--those who have one or two drinks per day--are less likely to develop heart disease than people who don't drink any alcohol. If you are a nondrinker, this is not a recommendation to start using alcohol. And certainly, if you are pregnant or have another health condition that could make alcohol use harmful, you should not drink. But if you are already a moderate drinker, you may be less likely to have a heart attack. (Source: excerpt from NHLBI Heart Disease & Women Are You At Risk: NHLBI)
Birth control pills have little increased risk of heart disease for women who have not gone through menopause (when periods stop). But, they do pose heart disease risks for some women, especially in women with high blood pressure and in women who smoke. (Source: excerpt from HEART AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE: NWHIC)
Menopause may increase a woman’s risk for heart disease, due to lower levels of estrogen. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) works by raising estrogen levels and reducing common symptoms of menopause such as hot flashes and night sweats. While HRT can reduce risk for heart disease after menopause, it also may increase the risk of other diseases, such as breast cancer.
Recent studies have shown that women who have gone through menopause and who have heart disease, may have a greater risk of another cardiac event (like heart attack) after starting HRT, at least in the short-term. For women who have had strokes, their risk for having another stroke goes up when they start taking HRT. Because of these research findings, the American Heart Association recommends that women should not be given HRT to prevent heart disease, and that women with heart disease or who have had a stroke should not start taking hormones.
If you are taking birth control pills or HRT, watch for signs of trouble, such as abnormal bleeding, breast lumps, shortness of breath, dizziness, severe headaches, pain in your calves or chest, and report them to your health care provider right away. Also have, at the least, a yearly exam. Talk with your health care provider about whether hormones are right for you. (Source: excerpt from HEART AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE: NWHIC)
Many people who have had a heart attack are afraid that having sex will cause another attack. The risk of this is very low. Follow your doctor’s advice. Most people can start having sex again 12 to 16 weeks after an attack. (Source: excerpt from Sexuality Later in Life -- Age Page -- Health Information: NIA)
Moderate drinking can have beneficial effects on the heart, especially among those at greatest risk for heart attacks, such as men over the age of 45 and women after menopause. But long-term heavy drinking increases the risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, and some kinds of stroke. (Source: excerpt from Alcohol What You Don't Know Can Harm You: NIAAA)
The following medical news items are relevant to risk factors for Heart disease:
Risk factors for Heart disease are factors that do not seem
to be a direct cause of the disease,
but seem to be associated in some way.
Having a risk factor for Heart disease
makes the chances
of getting a condition higher but does
not always lead to Heart disease.
Also, the absence of any risk factors
or having a protective factor does not necessarily
guard you against getting Heart disease.
For general information and a list of risk factors,
see the risk center.
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