The factors that are responsible for any untoward happenings in your life are many and among them few are controllable and yet few others are beyond your control. Under the above circumstances what best you could do is nothing but taking efforts to minimize the risk through certain preventive measures.

The heart disease risk factor is also based on the same assumptions and the factors can be classified as controllable and beyond control.

Factors that can be Controlled

Smoking habit is one of the major heart disease risk factors and this could easily be controlled by a person with an iron will and a proper mindset.

A study has revealed that habitual smokers are more exposed to heart diseases than non-smokers and hence a preventive measure can reduce this heart disease risk factor. The smoker can try to either reduce the number of cigarettes or better quit the habit itself so as to reverse the harmful effects.

Excess body weight is a yet another heart disease risk factor and any effort made to reduce body weight can be of immense help in reducing the risk factor.

The heart of a person with excess body weight has to work harder more than the necessary and in the process the heart loses its efficiency fast. Further, obesity and excess weight lead to other complications such as diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, etc.

A sedentary lifestyle will also pose a major threat to your heart s health and only an active lifestyle alone can reduce this particular heart disease risk factor. A good exercise schedule coupled with active lifestyle can strengthen your cardio-vascular system and there by reduce your risk of getting heart disease.

Creating Awareness

Ignorance also contributes its due share in heart disease risk factors. For example, the cholesterol levels in blood is a major contributor for your heart disease and people should be made aware of these LDL and HDL cholesterol levels in one s blood.

A high LDL level can serve as a primary heart disease risk factor and it is also possible to get the LDL level controlled through proper diet and good exercise.

Further, many people are yet to realize that a high blood pressure can in fact act as a heart disease risk factor and hence it is necessary for people who have been suffering from hypertension to keep a watch on their pressure levels regularly and to keep a close watch on their heart conditions also.

Factors that are Beyond Our Control

There are few heart disease risk factors on which we cannot have any control and watching over them is the only choice we have today. For example, as a male you are more susceptible to heart disease even at young age, where as the women are more at risk in their post menopause stage. Both of these heart disease risk factors are in fact beyond anybody s control.

The next critical and uncontrollable heart disease risk factor is our age. As you grow older, you are much prone to contract some form of heart disease and you have no option other than enduring it.

Heredity is one of the major heart disease risk factors that nobody could even think of controlling. If there is a history of heart disease in your family tree then you do not have any control over it, be it your contracting it from your parents or passing it on to your siblings.

[tags]Risk Factors, Heredity[/tags]