Who Are At Risk For Heart Attack

Gathered by Neill Abayon

The risk factor is a good way to determine the likelihood of coronary heart disease:

* The most serious risk factor by far is an elevated blood cholesterol. Fifty-year-old men with cholesterol levels over 295 mg% (or 7.6 mmol/l)are nine times more likely to develop artherosclerosis than men the same age with levels under 200mg% (or 5.1 mmol/l). A 20 percent decrease in a persons blood cholesterol level lowers his risk of a coronary by 40 to 50 percent.

* By age 60, smokers are 10 times more likely to die from heart disease than non-smokers. Over 160 000 coronary deaths a year are related to smoking, about 30% of the total.

* Obese men are five times more likely to die of heart disease by age 60 than men of normal weight.

* Other risk factor are diabetes, elevated triglycerides, sedentary lifestyles, and stress.

All of the above risk factors can be controlled by changes in diet and lifestyle. Heredity, age, and gender are risk factors a person cannot control, but they are fortunately the least important.