Once this begins If plaque and atherosclerosis are a beginning for CVD, a number of risk factors accelerate the process. As we age, risk increases. About four out of five people who die of a heart attack are over age 65. At older ages, women who have heart attacks are twice as likely as men who have heart attacks to die from them within a few weeks. Gender and genes make a difference.
Males are more likely to have coronary heart disease than females, whether younger or older.
Children of those who have had some type of CVD are more likely to develop it. Smokers risk of heart attack is more than twice that of nonsmokers , and smokers risk of sudden cardiac death is two to four times that of nonsmokers . High cholesterol levels bring increased risk. When other risk factors are present, risk increases even more. A person s lipid levels are also affected by age, sex, heredity, and diet.