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Increased Risk Factors Resulting From a Family History of Heart Disease


Anybody who has a history of heart disease in the family needs to be fully aware of the increased risk of developing the condition themselves. Even having one grandparent who had heart disease can constitute as a family history so it is in everyones best interest to research into their own familys problems. By fully investigating the heart disease history in the family, a person can easily go to their doctor armed with this information in order to be assessed or else aim to lower their chances of history repeating itself by improving their health and diet.

The chances of heart disease being part of a familys history are not exactly known but the reasons normally given for this type of problem is that there is either a defect or a habit that has been inherited. Many illnesses are hereditary but so are lifestyle choices as people pass their behavior on by example. A person whose parents developed heart disease because of a sedentary lifestyle combined with poor eating habits are more than likely bound to repeat these mistakes if they do not have enough knowledge on the subject.

Lowering the Risks of Heart Disease Even with a Family History

Although the risks of developing heart disease are significantly increased if there is a family history, there are ways to lower the overall risk of heart disease. A family history of heart disease is unavoidable and as many people around the world are not in close contact with all of their family members, they may not even realize they are at risk. This means that everyone should be aware of the risks of heart disease and do their best to prevent it occurring for any reason.

The best ways to lower the risks of any form of heart disease even with a family history is to protect and promote a healthy lifestyle. Obesity is a big problem as is diet, exercise, stress, high blood pressure, cholesterol, nicotine and alcohol. Cigarette smoking should be avoided as well as excessive alcohol consumption. A healthy weight should be maintained and a regular exercise regime preferably maintained.

Physical inactivity combined with other factors significantly increases the chances of heart disease occurring. High blood pressure, high LDL cholesterol, high triglycerides and low HDL cholesterol all negatively contribute to the risks of heart disease. Stress is also a major factor and people are advised to learn when to relax as well as pay attention to all the other factors when preparing to protect the body from this type of disease.

Obesity and inactivity are two other factors which are likely to cause heart disease, and being overweight especially increases the likelihood of you developing some type of heart disease. However, for people who currently do smoke, it is important for them to try to quit, because the carcinogens in the cigarettes are what contribute to various heart disease risk factors. No doubt that doctors today, thanks to better and improved technologies, is able to diagnose as well as treat heart disease in women much better than in the past. As well, of the 50 Americans who have high blood pressure 35 percent do not even know they have it, about every 29 seconds an American will suffer from a coronary event, at least 250,000 people each year die of heart attacks before they reach the hospital, half of all heart attack victims wait more than two hours before getting help, and cardiovascular diseases are the number one killer of both men and women. 2 million suffer from angina pectoris, 7 million suffer from heart attacks, 4.