Risk factors
Cardiovascular risk factors are factors that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.
There are several risk factors. Some you can influence yourself, others you cannot. The main risk factors are:.
- Smoking
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes
- Hereditary predisposition
- Elevated cholesterol levels
- Little exercise
- Unhealthy eating habits
- Overweight
- Alcohol
- Age
- Gender
Smoking
Smoking is bad for your heart and blood vessels. The heart gets less oxygen due to carbon monoxide. The nicotine allows the vessel walls to damage, making them more rigid. Cholesterol and fat can therefore stick to the blood vessels more easily. This causes blood vessels to clog up, increasing the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
High blood pressure
High blood pressure can cause damage in the vessel walls. Cholesterol and fat can therefore adhere to these vessel walls more easily, causing blood vessels to clog and increasing the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
Diabetes
High levels of sugar in the blood can cause damage to the vessel walls. Cholesterol and fats can bind more easily on the vessel walls, narrowing the blood vessels. This is called arteriosclerosis.
Hereditary predisposition
If you have immediate family members, such as parents, brothers and/or sisters, who have been affected by cardiovascular disease before the age of 60, you also have an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
Risk factors reinforce each other. As a result, you have an even greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
Raised cholesterol levels
While transporting cholesterol through the body, bad cholesterol easily litters the walls of blood vessels. This can cause blood vessels to clog and increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Bad cholesterol is caused by saturated fats and trans fat. Trans fat is an unsaturated fat that is even worse for health that saturated fat.
Unhealthy eating habits
The more saturated fat and trans fat there is in food, the higher the risk of cardiovascular disease. Trans fat is an unsaturated fat that is even worse for health that saturated fat. As bad cholesterol rises, fatty layers can deposit in the vessel walls. This clogs blood vessels and increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
Obesity
Being overweight can lead to several health problems, including:
- diabetes
- increased cholesterol
- high blood pressure
Diabetes, elevated cholesterol and high blood pressure can cause damage in the vascular walls. Cholesterol and fat can therefore adhere more easily to these vessel walls, causing blood vessels to clog and increasing the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
Alcohol
The risk of health damage from alcohol depends on total consumption and on the drinker's drinking pattern. Drinking pattern means how much alcohol a person drinks at a time and how often.
- Alcohol inhibits the electrical currents in the heart, making the contraction of the heart muscle less efficient
- Alcohol has a toxic effect on proteins important for the pumping function of the heart
Alcohol may additionally have the following effects:
- Increasing blood pressure
- Increase adrenaline in the blood. This may also cause cardiac arrhythmia.
Age
The risk of developing cardiovascular disease increases with age. As one gets older, it therefore becomes increasingly important to avoid the modifiable risk factors. Healthy eating habits, a healthy body weight, sufficient exercise and not smoking play an important role in this.
Gender
There are differences between men and women when it comes to cardiovascular disease. For instance, men have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease at a relatively younger age and women are affected later in life, often after menopause.