Cardiovascular Risk Factors
Quick facts
Cardiovascular disease describes all conditions affecting the heart and circulatory system including coronary artery disease, stroke and heart attack.
Cardiovascular disease and heart disease are not the same.
Heart disease is a general term for conditions affecting the heart’s structure and functions.
All heart diseases are cardiovascular diseases but not all cardiovascular diseases are heart diseases.
Stroke, for example, affects blood vessels in the brain not the heart itself.
Cardiovascular risk factors increase your risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
Cardiovascular risk factors
Risk factors for cardiovascular disease are all the circumstances, medical conditions, habits and behaviours that increase your risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Some you can control, like smoking and exercise, and others you can’t, like age and family history.
Having one or more of the following risk factors increases your risk of developing cardiovascular disease – but it doesn’t make it inevitable.
1. Your family history +
- You are at higher risk if your father or brother developed cardiovascular disease before age 55, or your mother or sister developed it before age 65.
- A family history of high blood pressure (hypertension), high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes can increase your risk of developing these conditions, which increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.
- A family history of cardiovascular disease makes it more likely, but not inevitable.
- A healthy lifestyle is even more important to reduce your risk if you have a family history of cardiovascular disease.
2. Your age +
- Older people are at greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
- Leading a healthy lifestyle as you get older can help reduce your chances of developing heart and circulatory conditions.
3. Ethnic background +
- Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia. This is partly because the risk factors are common among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (including smoking, diabetes and high blood pressure).
- People of South Asian, African or Caribbean descent also have a greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
- People from all backgrounds need to focus on lifestyle factors to help prevent heart and circulatory disease from developing.
4. Your sex +
- Risk factors for cardiovascular disease affect men and women. However, some may be more significant for one over the other.
- Women tend to develop cardiovascular disease later than men. This is thought to be linked to the hormonal changes that follow menopause.
5. Socioeconomic status +
- People who have a low socioeconomic status seem to be at a greater risk of cardiovascular disease.
- Diet is generally considered to be one of the biggest factors behind this, although the reasons are complex.
- Having access to a nutritionally balanced diet is an important tool in preventing cardiovascular disease.
6. Cholesterol +
- Cholesterol is a fatty substance that is carried around the body by proteins.
- Having too much low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or ‘bad’ cholesterol can cause fatty substances to build up in the artery walls and lead to complications.
- An unhealthy diet, smoking, drinking too much alcohol can cause LDL cholesterol levels to build up. Medication may be needed if your levels are too high.
- High-density lipoprotein (HDL) ‘good’ cholesterol helps transport cholesterol and fats from around the body to the liver, where they can be removed. A high level of HDL is a good thing.
7. High blood pressure (hypertension) +
- High blood pressure is where the pressure of blood through the arteries is higher than normal.
- You can have high blood pressure without knowing it – but it is easily diagnosed with a simple test.
- High blood pressure is often linked to being overweight, not being active, having too much salt or alcohol in your diet. It also runs in families but sometimes there’s no obvious cause.
- Lifestyle changes can help to reduce high blood pressure or you might need to take medication to keep it under control.
8. Diabetes +
- Diabetes is a condition that causes high levels of glucose in the blood.
- High glucose levels can damage the artery walls and make the build up of fatty deposits more likely, increasing your risk of coronary heart disease and heart attack.
- Type 2 diabetes is closely associated with a lifestyle that leads to being overweight and inactive.
- Eating a balanced diet, taking regular exercise and leading a generally healthy lifestyle can both help prevent and manage diabetes.
- If you have diabetes, careful management of blood sugar levels is very important to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
9. Smoking +
- Smoking significantly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.
- Smoking damages and narrows the arteries, making conditions like angina and heart attack more likely as the heart muscle doesn’t get enough blood.
- Nicotine also makes the heart beat faster and increases blood pressure, meaning the heart must work harder to pump blood around the body.
- You’ll see immediate health benefits as soon as you stop.
- Ask you doctor if you need help to quit smoking today.
10. Physical inactivity +
- Being physically active reduces your risk of being overweight, having high blood pressure and developing other conditions that make cardiovascular disease more likely.
- The recommended amount of exercise for an adult is 30 minutes x 5 times per week of moderate to high-intensity exercise like walking or swimming.
- Any amount of physical activity is better than none.
11. Being overweight (obesity) +
- Eating an unhealthy diet and being inactive can lead to being overweight.
- If your body mass index (BMI) is outside the normal range, take steps to lose weight by making changes to your lifestyle and what you eat and drink.
12. Your diet +
- Eating a diet high in salt, sugar and processed foods is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
- Try to eat a balanced diet made up of plenty of fruits and vegetables, complex carbohydrates and proteins.
- If you drink alcohol, consume in moderation. In many countries, this is defined as a maximum of 14 units of alcohol per week, with some experts recommending half that for women. (One unit = one small glass of beer or wine, one shot of distilled spirits.)
- Aim for several alcohol-free days per week.