The big risk factors, according to the AHA, are high blood pressure, high cholesterol, a sedentary lifestyle and cigarette smoking. It's often because their mother and father taught them how to eat the foods they eat and how to have the stress they have. Your coronary arteries supply your heart with blood, oxygen and nutrients. If they become blocked by fatty deposits called plaque, heart attack or stroke can occur. Learning about heart disease triggers such as high-fat diet, sedentary lifestyle and high stress is the key to heart disease prevention, although there are some risk factors you can't change.
Age is another risk factor.
Of the nearly 500,000 coronary heart disease deaths reported by the Heart Association in 1992, four out of five victims were 65 or older. And some people inherit a gene that causes the liver to create too much blood cholesterol, a fat-like substance that can clog coronary arteries. And then you can be empowered to do something about it. Whether your family's heart history comes from genes or your family's habits, the strategy for prevention is a heart-healthy lifestyle. If total cholesterol level decreases, your chance of having progressive heart disease goes down, Dr. Rader says.