Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the United States.
As the American Heart Association points out, the most visible sign of heart disease is a heart attack. All too frequently, the first sign is sudden death. Since the conditions that result in heart disease develop over time, the prevention and postponement of this illness deserve our attention. A risk factor is a condition or behavior that indicates that we are at greater risk of having the disease than if we were not subject to the condition or behavior. Age, gender and heredity are risk factors we can't control.