Risk factors are conditions or habits that make a person more likely to develop a disease. They also can increase the chances that an existing disease will get worse. Important risk factors for heart disease that you can do something about are cigarette smoking, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, overweight, physical inactivity, and diabetes. Research shows that more than 95 percent of those who die from heart disease have at least one of these major risk factors. Some risk factors, such as age and family history of early heart disease, can’t be changed. For women, age becomes a risk factor at 55. Women who.
