Some factors are even out of your control (such as being male). Here are some of the most common risk factors:
- Smoking: Smoking has been linked to plaque build up and high blood pressure. Smoking also causes your blood to be thicker, which increases the risk of a stroke. Even if you have smoked for years, stroke is one condition that can still be reduced if you quit.
- Poor diet: Reducing the intake of saturated fats, trans fats, and cholesterol decreases plaque build up and risks of ischemic strokes. A diet high in vegetables and fruit can reduce your risks, too.
- Inactive lifestyle: Physical activity is decreasing in all age groups. This lack of movement increases risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, and therefore strokes.
- Obesity: Being overweight is associated with elevated cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, and an increased risk of coronary artery disease. Excess fat increases the heart's work which over time can lead to heart disease.
- Gender and age: Men have a higher risk of heart attack than women. Even though the difference narrows after women reach menopause, men still have a higher risk. Most of heart disease related deaths occur after the age of 65, although the disease likely was present at an earlier age.
- Heredity: Heart disease does tend to run in families. Children of parents with heart disease are more likely to develop it also. Certain ethnic groups, such as African Americans and Hispanics, tend to have a higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease.
Risk factors starting at younger ages are setting the stage for a surge in cardiovascular disease. Childhood obesity and smoking rates are rising and so are the rates of diabetes and high cholesterol. These two diseases were once thought of as diseases of middle-age, but are now being diagnosed in younger populations. Even some autopsies have found plaque in the aorta and coronary arteries of children that have died in accidents.
