Risk factors for coronary artery disease

Some risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD), such as your sex, age, and family history, cannot be changed. Other risk factors for CAD are related to lifestyle and often can be changed. Your chance of developing coronary artery disease increases with the number of risk factors you have.

Risk factors you can control

• Cigarette smoking
• High blood pressure (140/90 mm Hg or higher)
• High cholesterol
• Blood sugar levels, if you have diabetes
• Obesity (more than 120% of your ideal weight)
• Lack of exercise
• Personality factors and stress
• Use of birth control pills if you also smoke and are older than 35 or if you also have a family history of atherosclerosis or blood-clotting disorders

Smoking, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and physical inactivity are all risk factors for coronary artery disease that can be modified and in some cases eliminated with lifestyle changes and medicines. Diabetes and obesity can sometimes be prevented when lifestyle changes are made early.

Risk factors you cannot control

• Family history of heart disease: You have a first-degree male relative (father or brother) younger than 55 with CAD or a first-degree female relative younger than 65 with CAD.
• Gender: Men generally develop CAD 10 years earlier than women, although by age 60, CAD becomes the leading cause of death in both sexes.
• Age: People older than 65 are more likely to have CAD.
• Family history of high cholesterol, usually over 350 mg/dL