Heart Disease is the Leading Killer of American Men and Women: Are You At Risk?

There are many factors that determine your risk for heart disease — some you can control (such as exercise and smoking), and some you can't (such as age and family history). Understanding your risk is the first step in preventing a heart attack or stroke. Take a look at the list of risk factors below (courtesy of the American Heart Association), then work with your health-care provider to reduce and control as many as possible.

Personalized Framingham Assessment

If you would like to know more about your individual cardiac risk, click here to get a personalized Framingham Assessment.

You have a greater risk for cardiac problems if any of the following are true:

Age

You are a man over 45, or a woman who is either over 55, passed menopause or had her ovaries removed and is not taking estrogen.

Family History

You have a father or brother who had a heart attack, stroke or bypass surgery before age 55, or a mother or sister who had one before age 65.

Smoking

You smoke cigarettes, cigars or are exposed daily to second-hand smoke.

Blood Pressure

Your blood pressure is higher than 120/80, or you've been told that your blood pressure is too high.

Exercise

You get less than a total of 30 minutes of physical activity on most days.

Diabetes

You have diabetes (a fasting blood sugar of 126 mg/dl or higher) or have been told you have pre-diabetes (a fasting blood sugar of >100 mg/dl).

Lipids (Blood Cholesterol Levels)

Your HDL (High Density Lipo-protein or "good" cholesterol) is less than 50mg/dl in women or 40mg/dl in men.

Your LDL (Low Density Lipo-protein or "bad" cholesterol) is greater than 130.

Weight and Obesity

Your Body Mass Index (BMI) indicates that you are overweight (score of 25-29) or obese (30 or greater).

Stress

You endure high levels of stress from things such as a divorce, death in the family, high-pressure work environment, commuting, etc.

Medical History

You have been diagnosed with coronary heart disease or have already had a heart attack.

You've been told that you have carotid artery disease, or you've had a stroke or TIA, or you have a disease of the leg arteries, a high red blood cell count or sickle cell anemia.

Excess Alcohol

You have more than the occasional alcoholic drink or two, (i.e., more than 2oz. of alcohol per day, such as a glass of wine, one beer or one cocktail)

Risk Factors Specific to Women

You are a woman who has had a hysterectomy and your ovaries removed, or you have completed menopause more than 7 years ago.

You are a woman on birth control pills who is regularly exposed to cigarettes.

Other Indicators

You are especially at risk if you have three or more of the following indicators:

• High blood sugar (as defined above)
• Low HDL (as defined above)
• High blood pressure (as defined above)
• You triglycerides are 150mg/dl or higher
• Your waist measurement or "central obesity" is greater than 35" for women and 40" for men. (A waist-to-hip ratio greater than .08 is a predictor of high triglycerides and low HDL levels.)

Get a personalized Framingham Assessment with more detail about your cardiac risk.