Risk Factors: Improving the Odds

Certain factors can increase your risk for heart disease. You should be familiar with these risk factors and discuss them with your doctor so that you can give yourself the best possible chance of stopping heart disease before it starts.

Some of your risk factors you can’t change:

• Your age and menopausal status
• Your race
• Your family medical history—have any of your family members had heart disease?

But you can take steps to control other risk factors—your “modifiable” risk factors—to improve your chances of avoiding heart disease:

• Eating healthy foods
• Exercising
• Not smoking
• Taking medications if they’re prescribed for you

Click on the risk factors listed on the left to learn more about them.