Educating people about risk factors and lifestyle changes to reduce risk. Identifying and altering risk factors to prevent the onset of cardiovascular disease leading to heart attack or stroke.
Atherosclerosis is the underlying process that causes most heart disease.
It begins early in adulthood, but it may be decades before clinical disease shows up. That's why more effort should be focused on prevention. We don't fully understand all the causes of heart disease, but large epidemiological studies have identified risk factors and strategies to reduce the risk. The decline in death rates from cardiovascular disease in the United States is probably due largely to the public's adopting a healthier lifestyle. This underscores why it's important for the medical profession to advocate prevention strategies.