Exercise lowers LDL and boosts HDL, so it is an excellent weapon against heart disease. In addition to strengthening and toning your body and burning excess calories to help you lose weight, exercise lowers blood pressure, reduces triglyceride levels, and improves the fitness of your entire body, particularly your heart and lungs. A major heart attack risk factor is being sedentary. Twenty to 30 minutes of exercise 3 or 4 times a week is ideal, but you will benefit from exercising in 10-minute increments whenever possible. However, if you are unable to work this into your schedule, at least take walks and stay active as much as possible.
Some people have an inherited tendency toward high cholesterol levels.
When they try to lower their cholesterol by changing their diets, their reductions are influenced by whether they are high or low responders, that is whether a low-fat diet causes a large or small decrease in their cholesterol levels. Age and gender also play a role. In the United States, blood cholesterol levels in men and women start to rise at about age 20. Average cholesterol levels in women prior to menopause are lower than those of men of the same age, and heart attack rates are quite low. Estrogen is a protector against heart attacks.