For heart attack, these include diabetes and obesity. Stress may also be a contributing factor. The more risk factors a person has, the greater the chance of developing heart disease. Heredity - A tendency toward heart disease or atherosclerosis seems to be hereditary. That means children of parents with cardiovascular disease are more likely to develop it themselves.
Race is a consideration, too.
African-Americans have moderate high blood pressure twice as often as whites and severe hypertension three times as often. Consequently, their risk of heart disease is greater. After menopause, women's death rate from heart disease increases. Increasing Age - About four out of five people who die of heart attack are age 65 or older. At older ages, women who have heart attacks are twice as likely as men to die from them within a few weeks.