What Can I Do to Lower My Risk of Heart Disease?

Making changes in your lifestyle is a proven method for reducing your risk of heart disease. While there are no guarantees that a heart-healthy lifestyle will keep heart disease away, these changes will certainly improve your health in other ways, such as improving your physical and emotional well being. Also, because some risk factors are related to others, making changes in one area can benefit other areas.

Here are some ways you can reduce your risk of heart disease.

Quit smoking. Smokers have more than twice the risk for heart attack as nonsmokers. Smoking is also the most preventable risk factor. If you smoke, quit. Better yet, never start smoking at all. Nonsmokers who are exposed to constant smoke also have an increased risk.

Improve cholesterol levels. The risk for heart disease increases as your total amount of cholesterol increases. Your total cholesterol goal should be less than 200 mg/dl; HDL, the good cholesterol, higher than 40 mg/dl in men and 50 mg/dl in women (and the higher the better); and LDL should be less than 130 mg/dl in healthy adults. For those with diabetes or multiple risk factors for heart disease, LDL goal should be less than 100 mg/dl (some experts recommend less than 70 mg/dl if you are very high risk). Interpretation and treatment of cholesterol values must be individualized, taking into account all of your risk factors for heart disease. A diet low in cholesterol and saturated and trans fat will help lower cholesterol levels and reduce your risk for heart disease. Regular exercise will also help lower "bad" cholesterol and raise "good" cholesterol. Medications are often needed to reach cholesterol goals.

Control high blood pressure. About 60 million people in the U.S. have hypertension, or high blood pressure, making it the most common heart disease risk factor. Nearly one in three adults has systolic blood pressure (the upper number) over 140, and/or diastolic blood pressure (the lower number) over 90, which is the definition of hypertension. Like cholesterol, blood pressure interpretation and treatment should be individualized, taking into account your entire risk profile. Control blood pressure through diet, exercise, weight management, and if needed, medications.

What Are the Risk Factors for Heart Disease?

There are several risk factors for heart disease; some are controllable, others are not. Uncontrollable risk factors include:

Male sex
Older age
Family history of heart disease
Post-menopausal
Race (African Americans, American Indians, and Mexican Americans are more likely to have heart disease than Caucasians)

Still, there are many heart disease risk factors that can be controlled. By making changes in your lifestyle, you can actually reduce your risk for heart disease. Controllable risk factors include: