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Risk Factor
Are you likely to develop cardiovascular disease, have a heart attack or
stroke? Knowing is the first line of defence.
What causes cardiovascular disease?
There are a number of risk factors that increase your chances of developing
cardiovascular disease (CVD), some of which you can change and some you can't. Risk
factors that you can change are called modifiable risk factors.
These include:
- smoking
- high blood pressure
- high blood cholesterol
- physical inactivity
- being overweight
Risk factors over which you have no control include:
- having diabetes
- a family history of heart disease
- your age
- your ethnic group
For example, South Asian people living in the UK are one and a half times more likely
to die from coronary heart disease before the age of 75 than the rest of the UK
population. People's income, and the type of jobs they do, all appear to have an
effect on how likely they are to get cardiovascular disease. For example, people
who work in manual jobs have a higher rate of cardiovascular disease than people
in other jobs, and people who live in poorer areas or are on lower incomes are also
more likely to get the disease. The more risk factors you have, the greater your
chances are of developing CVD.
How can I find out about my risk of CVD?
A heart health check can be done to determine your future risk of cardiovascular
disease. It gives you valuable information on what you can do to keep your
heart healthy and prevent the risk from becoming a reality. It can also help
your doctor decide if you need treatment.
The assessment takes into account all the risk factors that may affect you so
you will:
- be asked about your lifestyle, for example, whether you smoke, how much physical
activity you do, and the type of food you eat.
- have your weight, height and waist measurements taken
- have a blood pressure check
- have a blood test to measure your cholesterol
- be asked about your ethnic background
- be asked if there is any family history of CVD
Rather than focusing on just one thing (such as your cholesterol level),a heart
health check takes account of all these factors because the more risk factors you
have, the greater your chance of having a heart attack or stroke. Computer programmes
are now available for assessing the risk of having a cardiovascular event such as
a heart attack or stroke. These are not normally used for people who already have
cardiovascular disease or diabetes, because they are already at high risk and likely
to already be getting treatment to protect their heart.
The information is entered into the computer, which then works out your estimated
risk of having a heart attack or a stroke over a particular period of time, usually
ten years. The programme often gives you a percentage' risk score' from one
to 100 percent, (or a number between one and 100, the higher the number, the higher
the risk). Alternatively, you may be told you have a high, moderately high
or low risk.
For example, if you're a man living in the UK and you're told that you have a ten
percent risk of getting cardiovascular disease over the next ten years, it means
that ten in every 100 men in the UK (with the same risk score as you) will get the
disease in the next ten years. Remember that having a one in ten chance, or
even a five in ten chance, of developing cardiovascular disease doesn't mean that
you are definitely going to develop the disease. It simply means that you
are more likely to develop the disease. A person with a five in ten chance
is much more likely to get cardiovascular disease than a person with a one in ten
chance.
The purpose of these tests is to give you and the medical team a chance to prevent
the risk from becoming a reality. Making healthy changes to your lifestyle
will greatly reduce your risk, and you should take the advice given to you by your
doctor or nurse and set goals to try to achieve a healthier lifestyle.
How can I prevent cardiovascular disease?
CVD can often be prevented and there are many things you can do to reduce the risk
of developing it and help keep your heart healthy. Eating a healthy balanced diet,
drinking moderate amounts of alcohol and taking regular physical activity will also
help to keep your heart healthy. Even if you already have CVD, doing these
things will help to reduce your risk of having an event such as a heart attack or
from having further events.
Some computer programmes will also allow you to see how changing your lifestyle
can reduce your risk. Watching how the lifestyle changes can lower your risk
of cardiovascular disease can be very motivating.
Current guidelines suggest that, if you are at high risk, you may need to be treated
with medicines such as statins, which can help to lower cholesterol levels to reduce
your risk and protect your heart.
How often you need to have a heart health check depends on the risk score you get
when it is first worked out. If you have a low risk, you may not need to have
another assessment for some time. However, if your risk score is high, another
assessment within the next few months may be suggested.
It is worth noting that even if your risk of cardiovascular disease is low, or you
have risk factors you cannot change such as age or ethnicity, you will still benefit
from looking at your lifestyle to make sure that you are keeping yourself and your
heart healthy.
Things that you can do to reduce your risk:
- Giving up smoking
- Controlling high blood pressure
- Reducing cholesterol
- Keeping physically active
- Controlling your weight
- Controlling your blood glucose as much as possible if you have diabetes
The BHF produces a range of free resources containing further information on preventing
heart disease and heart health checks. To order them call 08706006566 or email orderline@bhf.org.uk and ask for Risking
It (DVD),Keep your heart healthy (booklet), or Looking after your
heart (booklet aimed at the South Asian community).
Heart Health magazine © British Heart Foundation 2008.
This article was taken from Heart Health, a free bi-monthly magazine from
the British Heart Foundation specifically for people affected by heart disease.
Sign up for a FREE subscription by calling 0870 850 5281.
For more information please visit our website : www.bhf.org.uk
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