Cholesterol and Heart Attack

Heart Attack Info

Cholesterol and Heart Attacks: Risk Factors

Besides high cholesterol, you are at risk for a heart attack if you:

Are a man over the age of 55 or a woman over 65
Have an immediate family member who died of heart disease before those ages
Have a personal history of heart disease
Use tobacco products
Have high blood pressure (also known as hypertension)
Have diabetes
Are overweight and/or lead an inactive lifestyle.

The more risk factors for a heart attack you have, the lower your cholesterol needs to be. In fact, your healthcare provider will likely recommend treatment for you at a lower cholesterol level than someone who doesn't have any heart disease risk factors.

(Click Heart Attack Risk to calculate your 10-year risk for a heart attack.)

Cholesterol and Heart Attack: Reducing the Risk

The good news from recent studies is that the progress of atherosclerosis may be stopped by lowering cholesterol. In some cases, it may even be reversed. Be sure to talk with your healthcare provider regularly about cholesterol, heart attacks, and other heart disease risk factors.

(Click Lowering Cholesterol to Prevent Heart Disease to learn more about what these cholesterol research studies have found about heart disease risk factors and how a person can reduce his or her risk. You can also click Reducing Cholesterol to learn how to lower cholesterol.)

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