Heart Disease Causes & Risk Factors

There is no one particular cause or reason behind heart diseases. A combination of several risk factors lead towards acquiring a cardiac disease, which can be classified into modifiable and non-modifiable.

Non-modifiable risk factors

• Ageing

  Getting old is one of the biggest risk factor which cannot be dealt with. As we age, risk of cardiac diseases increases manifold.

• Family History

  A family history of cardiovascular disease makes you prone towards it.

• Gender

  Men are at greater risk of heart disease than a pre-menopausal woman.  Post menopause, the risk for both becomes similar

• Ethnicity

  African and Asians are at higher risks of developing cardiac disease than other racial groups.

Modifiable risk factors

• Hypertension

  High blood pressure plays a significant role in heart attacks and thankfully it can be prevented and successfully treated if diagnosed at early and managed properly.

• Cholesterol

  High total cholesterol and low HDL or good cholesterol increase the risk of heart disease.

• Smoking or tobacco use

  Both of these increases risks of cardiac disease.  Long term passive smoking is also a risk factor. 

• Physical inactivity

  Not moving around too much and as a result gaining weight increase the risk of heart disease.  Obesity is a risk factor for diabetes and diabetes in turn is a big risk factor for heart diseases.

• Diet

  High saturated fat diet increases the risk of heart disease.

• Alcohol

  Binge drinking or excessive consumption of alcohol will damage the heart muscle.

• Medication

  Certain drugs such as the contraceptive pill and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may increase the risk of Coronary heart diseases.