Who's at Risk for Heart Disease? Tips
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Gender and Heart Disease Risk
Heart disease is not a picky disease. It can affect anyone, anywhere. However, there are those who more at risk due to their gender and age.
Heart disease was considered a male-dominated disease for many years, because men tend to die earlier from it than women. Men still are more at risk for heart disease, but women's risk for heart disease seem to be catching up with the men, just at a different age.
Men tend to have a higher risk for heart disease between the ages of 50 to 60. More men are diagnosed with heart disease at this age. However, women are being diagnosed more often between the ages of 65 to 70 years, thus resulting in almost a tie between the number of women and men who have heart disease.
The big difference is not the number of men and women who are susceptible to heart disease. The big difference is the age at when most develop the condition.
It is believed that women do not develop heart disease as early as men due to the estrogen a woman develops. This estrogen helps protect a woman's body against certain factors that cause heart disease to develop.
When menopause occurs, the estrogen level is eliminated and the risk for heart disease heightens.
Both men and women of any age can make lifestyle changes that will lessen their chances of devloping heart disease.
Heredity and Heart Disease Risk
Heredity is one cause of heart disease that someone cannot change. Many times heart disease is genetic and passed on from parent to child.
Children who have parents that have heart disease are more likely to develop heart disease themselves. Many times when heart disease is prevalent in families, it is also compounded with other risk factors.
It is always important for a family with a high risk factor of heart disease to treat and control any risk factors that may present themselves. Seeing a doctor regularly for check-ups and heart checks is important in helping to control any heart disease that runs in families.
The more a person knows about the heart disease that may run in their family, the more a person can do to help minimize the risks of developing it.
Obviously, doctors cannot do anything about what is in someone's genes, but the more information a person can share with his or her doctor about a hereditary heart disease, the more a doctor can do more to develop strategies that may help that person in the future.
Populations at Risk for Heart Disease
There are several populations who have factors that put them at higher-risk for heart disease.
-The elderly, those over 65 years old,
-Males are generally more at risk than females. Gender plays a part in heart disease risk factor, however women are catching up with men in diagnosis of heart disease,
-Heredity, meaning heart disease can be genetic and can run in families.
-A person's race
These factors are risk factors that cannot be controlled. If you are one of the people who would be considered high-risk, it is important that you work with your physician on ways to combat the disease.
Heart disease is often controllable or preventable, if a person has good medical care and an awareness of any risk factors in their lives.
Risk Factors for Heart Disease
The following is a list of risk factors for cardiovascular disease:
· Tobacco usage
· Having high total cholesterol, Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL), and/or triglyceride levels
· Having low High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) levels
· Hypertension (high blood pressure)
· A sedentary lifestyle
· Having diabetes mellitus
· Obesity
· Having a family history of cardiovascular disease
· Having impaired thyroid function
· Alcohol abuse
· Having certain liver or kidney diseases
· Illicit drug use
· Use of exogenous steroids
· Hypertension is more prevalent in the African American, Puerto Rican, Cuban American, and Mexican American populations
Race and Heart Disease Risk
Children born to parents of certain races also find themselves at increased risk for heart disease. African Americans often have higher blood pressure compared to other races.
This high blood pressure often results in heart disease. African Americans also have a high rate of CAD, stroke and heart failure.
Heart disease is also more common in Mexican Americans, American Indians, some Asian Americans, and those native to Hawaii. One of the reasons for increased chances of heart disease in these races is due to a higher number of obese people and diabetes within them.
It is estimated that more than 25 percent of the Mexican American population has some form of heart disease. Native Americans at one time had a very low occurance of heart disease, however at this time, it is the leading cause of death in this group.
Many people are surprised to learn that being a certain race increases the risk of heart disease. Some of the above groups are more at risk than others; while some respond poorly to certain treatments and others respond well.
Risk Factors for Heart Disease
The following is a list of risk factors for cardiovascular disease:
· Tobacco usage
· Having high total cholesterol, Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL), and/or triglyceride levels
· Having low High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) levels
· Hypertension (high blood pressure)
· A sedentary lifestyle
· Having diabetes mellitus
· Obesity
· Having a family history of cardiovascular disease
· Having impaired thyroid function
· Alcohol abuse
· Having certain liver or kidney diseases
· Illicit drug use
· Use of exogenous steroids
· Hypertension is more prevalent in the African American, Puerto Rican, Cuban American, and Mexican American populations
The Elderly and Heart Disease Risk
Cardiovascular disease is currently the leading cause of death in people over 65 years of age. Approximately 85 percent of people who die from coronary artery disease are over the age of 65.
The most common type of heart disease in the elderly population is coronary artery disease.
It is believed that the elderly are at higher-risk for heart disease because of their age and the fact that there may have been accumulated heart damage throughout a person's lifetime.
For example, as a person grows older, his or her heart often changes. The muscles in an elderly persons heart may become less able to relax between beats. The end result of this is the chambers that pump the blood become stiff and do not work as well.
An elderly persons heart may not pump as well as it used to, which leads to the heart losing its effectiveness. These factors often leave an elderly person's heart more susceptible to diseases.
It is also believed that as a person ages so does the person's chances of developing high blood pressure. High blood pressure is often associated with heart failure, stroke, and heart attack.
It is important for the population, as it grows older, to have blood pressure checks regularly.
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