It is important to remember that just because cholesterol is floating around in the blood doesn't mean it will cause plaque to build up in the arteries. However, the more cholesterol you have floating around, and the narrower the artery pathway from high blood pressure, smoking or stress, the more likely that the cholesterol will damage the coronary arteries. Women are placed at risk for heart disease by the same factors which affect men. However, the risk factors which seem to account for the most of the increase in heart disease among women are the increased levels of smoking and elevated stress levels which affect diet, physical activity level and blood pressure. These two factors warrant further discussion.
Cigarette smoking is the most potent risk factor for heart disease.
Smokers are 2 to 3 times more likely to develop heart disease and twice as likely to die of sudden death as compared with nonsmokers. Unfortunately, the fastest growing segment of the population smoking cigarettes are young women. The more you smoke, the greater the risk of heart disease. Even as little as four cigarettes a day doubles your chances of having a heart attack. Unfortunately, the longer you smoke the greater the risk and women are taking up smoking at an ever younger age.