Studies of both humans and animals have shown links between dietary habits and atherosclerosis. The more risk factors a person has, the greater the likelihood of developing heart disease. Heredity, gender, and age cannot be modified, but the others can be influenced by the individual's behavior. Several of these risk factors are interrelated. Obesity, lack of exercise, and cigarette smoking can raise blood pressure and adversely influence blood cholesterol levels.
Exercise offers many benefits.
If LDL is too high or HDL is too low, a medically supervised corrective program should be started. Steenland K. Passive smoking and the risk of heart disease. Kawachi I and others. A prospective study of passive smoking and coronary heart disease. Blair SN and others.