They attribute the risk of dying from such factors at 42.7 percent from cholesterol, 34.6 percent from inactivity, 32.1 percent from obesity, 28.9 percent from hypertension, 25.1 percent from smoking and 13.1 percent from diabetes. It's a bit more complicated in the sense that many of the risk factors are shared or clustered,'' he said. It is difficult or impossible to actually tease out the individual contributions of risk factors,'' O'Donnell said. People who want to reduce their chance of developing cardiovascular disease, premature death and disability can start by talking with their doctors. The Heart Association recommends a diet for healthy people that does not exceed 30 percent fat, and vigorous, half-hour exercises three times a week.
Women get natural hormonal protection until menopause, when their estrogen levels drop.
Then, women have almost as many heart attacks as men, and can experience more deadly attacks. Men typically die from heart disease 10 years earlier than women. Although not always fatal, the attacks can rattle a man's self-image and masculinity. Blacks and Latinos generally run a greater risk of cardiovascular disease than whites because of a higher incidence of high blood pressure and other risk factors. Diabetics also are more likely than non diabetics to suffer ''silent'' heart attacks, attacks without warning pain.