Heart Disease Risk Factors: What Raises Your Risk and What You Can Change
Heart disease usually has more than one cause. Some risk factors can be changed; others cannot. Knowing yours is the first step to lowering risk.
Risk factors you can change
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes or high blood sugar
- High cholesterol
- Smoking, tobacco and gutka
- Being overweight, especially around the waist
- Physical inactivity
- Unhealthy diet, too much salt and fried food
- Poor sleep and long-term stress
Risk factors you cannot change
- Age
- Family history of early heart disease (father or brother before 55, mother or sister before 65)
- Being of South Asian origin, where heart disease tends to appear earlier
A cardiac risk assessment looks at these together. Read heart health after 40 and heart disease at a younger age.
Need advice about your heart? Call or WhatsApp the hospital team on 95116 13365 (Monday to Saturday, 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM). For chest pain or a suspected heart attack, call 112 or 95116 13365 straight away; emergency services are open 24x7. See the hospital address and directions.
Call 95116 13365Related articles
- A Heart-Healthy Indian Diet: Simple Swaps for Roti, Dal and Oil
- Heart Disease at a Younger Age: Why It Happens and What You Can Do
- Smoking, Tobacco and Gutka: What They Do to Your Heart
This article is for general information and does not replace medical advice. If you have symptoms or concerns, please see a doctor.