Risk Factors

As previously mentioned, some factors related to Coronary artery disease, like fatty streaks, are an inevitable part of life. 1 in 3 American adults will have some form of CAD, after all. But there are certain risk factors that greatly exacerbate the development of plaque and your risk of a so-called "cardiac event".

                                                                  These include:

Smoking

Unsuprisingly, smoking is one of the worst things you can do to your heart. The carbon monoxide found in cigarette smoke binds to red blood cells, where oxygen normally binds, meaning less oxygen is being distributed through one's body. Also,smoking damages the arterial wall, allowing harmful LDLs to take root--the first step in plaque development.

Family history of CADGenetics seem to have a major impact on coronary artery disease, even more than lifestyle. A 2011 study in Sweden found that among adopted individuals who had a biological parent with CAD had a 40-60% higher chance of having CAD themselves. On the other hand, individuals whose biological parents didn't have CAD showed no increase, even when one or both of their adoptive parents had CAD themselves.

3. Gender

CAD seems to affect men more than women, and typically have a 7-10 year "cushion" of time over men. This is at least partially due to the fact that estrogen acts as a regulator for some lipids and cholestrols, and offers some protection(although women who smoke are still at great risk). Post-menopause, women and mens' rate of risk for CAD is about the same. Hypertension tends to manifest in post-menopausal women.

 Sedentary lifestyle

Although 250,000 Americans die every year from a lack of physical activity, a 1996 report by the Surgeon General only calls for 30 minutes of modest physical activity a day. Despite how minimal this sounds like, subsequent studies found that this mere 30 minutes of activity—even as simply as doing housework or gardening--was enough to reduce Americans’ chance of having a “cardiovascular event” by 30 to 40 percent.

Diabetes

Diabetes and Coronary Artery Disease are both problematic enough on their own, and share a number of risk factors in common, such as high blood pressure, obesity, smoking, and poor cholestrol levels. Approximately half of all people diagnosed with diabetes also have some form of cardiovascular disease. Their coexistence is an even more potent combination for an individual: adults with diabetes are two to four times more likely to suffer from a myocardial infarction or stroke than adults without it. Sadly, 80% of people with both diabetes and CAD will eventually die from the disease.