Healthy Heart

The Biggest Risk Factors for Heart Disease, and How to Reduce Your Risk

The good new is that there is so much you can do to reduce your risk of heart disease. Here are the main risk factors:

Smoking

Smoking is the single biggest risk factor for heart disease. You're at even higher risk if you are a heavy smoker, have smoked for a long time, or if you're a female smoker. If you quit smoking this is the single biggest thing you can do to reduce your risk of heart disease. If you breathe in smoke from other smokers, you're also at high risk of heart disease, so if you live with someone who smokes, it's in your interests to encourage them to quit.

High Blood Pressure

You can lower your blood pressure by taking more exercise, losing excess weight, and eating a healthier diet, particularly reducing your salt intake.

Physical Inactivity

Your heart is your most important muscle - it needs to be exercised to stay healthy. Do at least 30 minutes moderate physical exercise a day (such as walking). In addition, make sure you do some cardiovascular exercise (where your heart level is raised) for 20 - 30 minutes three times a week.

Obesity

If you're obese (over 30% body fat for men, over 40%  body fat for women) you're in the danger zone for heart disease. The best way to reduce excess weight is regular exercise and healthy diet.

Unhealthy Diet

The key is to reduce your intake of saturated fat (found mainly in red meat, cheese, cream, butter, the skin of chicken) and also hydrogenated fat (also known as trans-fats) found in some junk food and takeaways. Then make sure you get plenty of fruit and veg. And keep an eye on your carbohydrate intake - avoid refined carbs, and go for complex carbs.

Alcohol

If you're drinking over 21 units a week for men, or over 14 units a week for women, you're in the danger zone for heart disease. Ideally drink half these units if you want to reduce your risk significantly.

High Blood Cholesterol (hyperlepidaemia)

Saturated fat is the main culprit in high cholesterol. Most GP surgeries in London can arrange a free cholesterol test, so you can check that your cholesterol levels are healthy.

Diabetes

80% of diabetics eventually die from heart disease. But with regular exercise and a healthy diet, you can avoid Type 2 diabetes, which is mainly lifestyle related. Even if you get Type 2 diabetes, you can manage it by exercise and good diet, which will reduce your risk of heart disease significantly.

Stress

Any form of stress over a period of time can raise your risk levels, but it's mainly workplace stress that is the biggest factor. Working long hours (over 10 hours a day on a regular basis), excessive workplace noise (such as heavy industry, building sites), and psychological stress of not being in control of your workload, have all been shown to raise your risk of heart disease.

Oral Health

Recent studies have shown that gum disease and poor oral health generally, increase your risk of heart disease. If you brush your teeth twice a day, chew sugar-free gum after meals, floss regularly, visit your dentist once a year for a check-up, use Listerine, and see your dentist as soon as any problems appear, you'll reduce this risk factor significantly.

Genetic Factors and Age

Your family history, your gender, and your ethnicity and your age, are all risk factors. These four are outside your control, but there is a lot that you can do to reduce your risk of heart disease, because most of the risk factors listed on this page are in your control.

Heart disease is Britain's biggest killer,
responsible for 50% of all deaths.

What are the warning signs of heart disease?

Changes in heart rhythm, shortness of breath, tightness in the chest, pains in the chest or arms. If you get sudden chest pains, dial 999 straight away.