Heart Disease Prevention

Prevention of Heart Disease

Heart Disease Prevention: An Overview

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. More than 910,000 Americans die of cardiovascular diseases each year, which amounts to one death every 35 seconds. In addition, more than 13 million people are currently living with heart disease. Coronary heart disease is a leading cause of premature, permanent disability in the U.S. workforce. Fortunately, in most cases, heart disease can be prevented, and it is not as hard as most people think.

The steps for effective heart disease prevention involve:

Knowing your heart disease risk factors
Monitoring your health
Making lifestyle changes
Possibly taking medication.

Know Your Risk Factors

The main cause of heart disease (also called

coronary artery disease, or just CAD) is the thickening and hardening of the inside walls of arteries. This is called atherosclerosis. Some hardening of the arteries occurs normally as you grow older, but certain risk factors can increase the rate at which atherosclerosis develops.

Preventing heart disease begins with knowing which risk factors you have and then taking action to reduce that risk. Remember, your chances of developing coronary heart disease increase with the number of risk factors you have.

Risk factors for heart disease include:

Age (beginning at age 45 for men, age 55 for women)
High cholesterol levels, also known as hypercholesterolemia (see Cholesterol and Heart Disease)
High blood pressure, also known as hypertension (see Effects of High Blood Pressure)
Diabetes (see Diabetes and Heart Disease)
Being overweight or obese (see Obesity and Heart Disease; use the BMI Calculator to find your ideal weight)
Not exercising
Smoking cigarettes
Having close relatives with heart disease at younger ages (diagnosed before age 55 in a father or brother; diagnosed before age 65 in a mother or sister).

Preventing Heart Disease by Monitoring Your Health

While the first step in heart disease prevention may be understanding what your risk factors are, the next step is actually knowing whether you have any of these risk factors, especially the ones that you can control, such as diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure.

Diabetes

People with diabetes have high blood glucose (often called blood sugar). People with high blood sugar often have no symptoms of diabetes, so have your blood sugar checked regularly. Having diabetes raises your chances of getting heart disease. If you have diabetes, your doctor will decide if you need medicine, such as pills or insulin shots. Your doctor can also help you design a healthy eating and exercise plan.

(Click Diabetes Treatment for more information.)

Cholesterol

High blood cholesterol can clog your arteries and keep your heart from getting the blood it needs. This can cause a heart attack. Triglycerides are a form of fat in your bloodstream. High levels of triglycerides are linked to heart disease in some people. People with high cholesterol or high triglycerides often have no high cholesterol symptoms, so have your blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels checked (through a lipid panel) at least once every five years. If your triglyceride or cholesterol levels are high, talk to your doctor about what you can do to lower them. You may be able to lower your cholesterol and triglyceride levels by eating better (see Low Cholesterol Diet) and exercising more (see Exercise and Cholesterol). Your doctor may prescribe medication to help lower cholesterol as well.

(Click Lowering Cholesterol for more information.)

Blood Pressure

Your heart moves blood through your body. If it is hard for your heart to do this, your heart works harder and your blood pressure will rise. People with high blood pressure often have no accompanying symptoms, so have your blood pressure checked every one to two years. If you have high blood pressure, your doctor may suggest you make some lifestyle changes, such as eating less salt (see DASH Diet) and exercising more. Your doctor may also prescribe medicine to help lower your blood pressure.

(Click Lowering Blood Pressure for more information.)

Lifestyle Changes as a Part of Heart Disease Prevention

Choosing a healthy lifestyle can help you reduce the risk of coronary heart disease or minimize its damage. Aspects of a healthy lifestyle important for the prevention of heart disease include:

Eating a heart-healthy diet (see Diet and Heart Disease)
Maintaining a healthy weight (see Weight and Heart Disease)
Exercising regularly (see Heart Disease and Exercise)
Quitting (or not starting) smoking (see Smoking and Heart Disease)
Minimizing stress (see Stress and Heart Disease).

Medications Used to Prevent Heart Disease

As part of a heart disease prevention plan, medications may be needed in addition to making lifestyle changes. Some medications decrease the workload on your heart and relieve your symptoms. Others decrease your chance of having a heart attack or sudden death, and prevent or delay the need for a special procedure (such as angioplasty or bypass surgery). By controlling your risk factors with lifestyle changes and medications, you may prevent or slow down the development of coronary artery disease.

(Click Heart Medications for more information.)

Heart Disease Prevention: Final Thoughts

Coronary heart disease can cause serious complications, but by following your doctor's advice and changing your habits, you can prevent or reduce the chance of:

Sudden cardiac death
A heart attack and permanent damage to your heart muscle
Reduced oxygen to your heart, causing damage
Irregular heartbeats (arrhythmia).

If you have any other health conditions, it is important that you follow your doctor's directions to treat those conditions as well. By staying as healthy as possible, you can lower your risk for coronary heart disease and its complications.