Cardiac Risk Factors

Cardiac Risk factors

The authors of the 2004 INTERHEART study surprised even themselves when they identified risk factors for 90% of myocardial infarction as avoidable through lifestyle modifications. When they designed this massive international study (including tens of thousands of individuals from 52 countries), it was estimated that about 50% of cardiovascular risks were avoidable. The results of the study indicate the following avoidable risks (in order of importance):

• Smoking
• Abnormal blood lipid profile
• Hypertension
• Diabetes
• Abdominal obesity
• Psychological (e.g. stress/anxiety)

Some cardiac risk factors are non-modifiable:

• Age
• Family history of coronary heart disease
• Ethnicity