A family history of coronary artery disease Hysterectomy before age forty-five Certain personality factors and stress These are the risk factors of a person who is more likely to develop artherosclerosis and subsequent heart disease, circulatory problems or stroke. The first four risk factors are the most established at this point. The more you smoke the more likely you are to have a heart attack. High blood pressure . Preventing or treating high blood pressure will reduce the risk of both heart attack and stroke.
Regular exercise is believed to reduce the risk of heart attack and definitely lower blood pressure.
Excess weight may not directly affect the heart however, it may increase blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels which will increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. Oral contraceptives . Women over the age of forty who are using oral contraceptives have five times the risk of heart attack and seven times the risk of stroke. Estrogen replacement therapy . Estrogen is a major impact because of its antioxidant action, protection from free-radical damage, increasing HDLs and decreasing LDLs.