Heart attacks are preventable. That’s our mission here at Digital Nomad Health, to help our patients prevent ever having a heart attack. For this, we need to know the factors that increase the risk of a heart attack. Some of these are modifiable and worth focusing on.
Certain risk factors are not only modifiable but major drivers of the risk. For example, while diet is a risk factor, smoking is a far bigger risk factor.
List of Factors That Increase Heart Attack Risk
- Age. Anytime after 40, your risk goes up quite a bit.
- Gender. Men are generally at higher risk than women, though women’s risk increases and can surpass men’s after menopause.
- Family History. A family history of heart disease, especially at an early age, increases risk.
- Smoking. Tobacco use significantly increases the risk.
- High Blood Pressure (Hypertension). It puts additional strain on the heart and the vasculature.
- High Cholesterol. High apoB or non-HDL cholesterol levels are the biggest risk drivers.
- Diabetes. It causes micro and macrovascular damage to the cardiovascular system.
- Obesity. More so, visceral fat, and less so, being overweight.
- Physical Inactivity. A sedentary lifestyle is a well-known risk factor.
- Unhealthy Diet. Diets high in saturated fats, trans fats, sodium, and ultraprocessed foods can increase heart disease risk.
- Chronic Stress. Long-term stress may contribute to heart disease, especially when one cannot cope with it.
- Excessive Alcohol Use. Drinking too much alcohol can raise blood pressure and inflammation.
- Sleep Apnea. Untreated sleep apnea can increase the risk because of the stress it puts on your heart.
- Chronic Kidney Disease. Decreased kidney function is a significant risk factor.
- Ethnicity. Certain ethnic groups have higher rates of cardiovascular disease.
- Inflammation. This can be tracked with symptoms or using biomarkers.
- Autoimmune diseases. Conditions like Lupus and Rheumatoid arthritis are risk factors.
- HIV/AIDS. This viral infection increases the risk of atherosclerotic.
- Air Pollution. Usually linked to inflammation in the body.
- Gum Disease. There is a major correlation between dental health and heart health.
- Drug Use Disorder. Likely due to the stress, inflammation, and chemicals, it is considered a major risk factor.
- Low Health Literacy. This could be due to stress or lifestyle factors.
- History of CVD. This is perhaps the biggest driver.
Selecting For The Major Drivers of Heart Disease
Now, let’s list these heart disease risk factors in descending order. I will focus only on the modifiable ones.
- History of CVD.
- Smoking.
- Hypertension.
- Hyperlipidemia.
- Diabetes.
- Physical Inactivity.
- Unhealthy Diet.
- CKD.
- Obesity.
- Inflammation.
- Stress.
- Substance Use Disorder.
- Gum Disease.
- Alcohol Use Disorder.
Taking Action to Reduce Heart Disease Risk
It makes little sense to worry about your alcohol intake (unless you are dealing with AUD) if you are a smoker. The best way to decrease our heart disease risk is to prioritize actionable steps based on their relative risk.
For example, we know that hypertension is a bigger risk factor than high cholesterol. And yet, most people worry more about their lipid profile than their blood pressure.