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Risk Factors for Heart Disease and Heart Attack
Additional Risk Factors That Can Affect The Risk For Heart Disease
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Individual response to stress.1 While we all feel stress, we feel it in different amounts and react to stress in different ways. Unhealthy response and/or too much stress over a long time may create behavioral problems in some people, such as overeating, start smoking or smoke more than they normally would. Therefore, it is important to find healthy ways to handle stress. Exercise, making a major effort to stop smoking, eating foods low in saturated fat, transfat and cholesterol all may help. Healthcare providers can also help monitor and control risk factors. |
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Excessive alcohol.1 Drinking too much alcohol can raise blood pressure, which in turn can lead to heart disease or stroke. The American Heart Association counsels that if one doesn’t drink, don’t start; if one does drink, it should be done in moderation. Women should not have an average of more than one alcoholic drink per day and men should not have more than an average of two drinks per day. Pregnant women should not drink alcohol in any form because it has been linked to birth defects. |
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Some illegal drugs.1 Intravenous drug abuse is associated with a high risk of endocarditis, or infections of the heart. In addition, cocaine has been linked to heart attacks and strokes, of which some have even been fatal in first-time users.
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