Risk Factors for Heart Disease and How to Control Them

The main risk factors for heart disease include rising cholesterol levels, hypertension and obesity. Most patients who end up with a heart attack have a combination of all three of these symptoms. Therefore these are the risk factors that need to be monitored carefully. The better you are able to control these three factors the less likely you are to develop a heart disorder. So manage your lifestyle in such a way that these three risk factors become non- threatening to your health.Risk Factors

Control cholesterol levels

Amongst the risk factors for heart disease a high level of cholesterol is a major sign of future trouble. The more cholesterol in the body, the more the likelihood of your arteries getting blocked increases. If you are wondering about how to prevent heart disease one of the first things you need to do is control the cholesterol levels.

Keep a check on the levels on a regular basis so that they do not sneak up on you. It is ideal to get your full lipid profile done every five years even if you are not suffering from anysymptoms of heart disorders.

That way you can keep a check on this symptom and get an early alert if the bad cholesterol levels are getting high.

Control blood pressure

The second of the trio of risk factors for heart disease is high blood pressure also known as hypertension. It is called the silent killer as in a mild to moderate form it is asymptomatic.

However hypertension can cause its own set of associated disorders when it gets accelerated such as headaches, eyesight troubles, nausea, and, in rare cases, even brain swelling, it needs to be controlled before it gets out of hand.

It is controlled by maintaining the correct sodium and potassium balance in the body. This usually translates in reducing the salt and sugar intake of the patient. Besides dietary control there will also be the need for regular physical exercise.

Maintain body weight to avoid risk factors for heart disease

Diet control will only work in conjunction with exercise when it comes to maintaining body weight. Obesity is amongst the killer risk factors for heart disease and needs to be kept at bay. You will need to work hard at losing extra fat in the beginning to come sown to your ideal weight and after that you will need to continue to show discipline in your lifestyle modifications to maintain the right body weight.

The physical activities you choose can be mixed up and varied so that you do not get bored of the routine. One day you can take a walk and on another day you can go swimming. You can pick up a game such as basket ball or tennis and ensure you go for practice at least twice a week with your team or partner.

It does not matter what form of exercise you pick, or what dietary restriction you enforce to control these risk factors for heart disease. What does matter is that you are consistent in your efforts and do not give up halfway.