A range of factors can raise your risk of heart disease and stroke. The more risk factors you have, the greater your chances of developing heart disease and having a heart attack or stroke.

Some of these factors can’t be controlled, such as age, gender, family history, and race. That’s why it’s so important to understand all of your risk factors, discuss them with your healthcare professional, and address the risk factors you can control or treat.

Fortunately, heart disease and stroke are largely preventable if you work to lower your risks.

The following risk factors can be modified, treated or controlled by focusing on lifestyle habits and taking medicine, if needed:

Tobacco smoke - Smoking is a major cause of cardiovascular heart disease among women. Women who smoke have an increased risk for ischemic stroke and subarachnoid hemorrhage. Constant exposure to others’ tobacco smoke (secondhand smoke) also increases the risk, even for nonsmokers. Women smokers who use birth control pills have a higher risk of heart attack and stroke than nonsmokers who use them.

High blood cholesterol - High blood cholesterol is a major risk factor for heart disease and also increases the risk of stroke. Studies show that women’s cholesterol is higher than men’s from age 55 on. High levels of LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol (the “bad” cholesterol) raise the risk of heart disease and heart attack. High levels of HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol (the “good” cholesterol) lower the risk of heart disease. Research has shown that low levels of HDL cholesterol seem to be a stronger risk factor for women than for men.

High blood pressure - High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart attack and the most important risk factor for stroke. Women have an increased risk of developing high blood pressure if they are obese, have a family history of high blood pressure, are pregnant, take certain types of birth control pills or have reached menopause. African-American women have higher average blood pressure levels compared to Caucasian women.

Physical inactivity - Various studies have shown that lack of physical activity is a risk factor for heart disease and indirectly increases the risk of stroke. Overall, they found that heart disease is almost twice as likely to develop in inactive people than in those who are more active. In many people, being overweight can lead to high blood cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, diabetes, and increased risk of heart disease and stroke.

Obesity and being overweight - If you have too much fat - especially if a lot of it is located in your waist area - you’re at higher risk for health problems, including high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, high triglycerides, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.

Diabetes mellitus - Compared to women without diabetes, women with diabetes have from two to four times the risk of dying of heart disease and are at much greater risk of having a stroke.
People with diabetes often have high blood pressure and high cholesterol and are overweight, increasing their risk even more.

Other factors that contribute to the risk of heart disease and stroke in women:

High triglyceride levels - Triglyceride is a common type of fat in the body. A high triglyceride level often goes with higher levels of total cholesterol and LDL, lower levels of HDL, and increased risk of diabetes. But scientists don’t agree that it’s a risk factor for heart disease by itself. Research suggests that having high triglycerides may increase the risk for women more than for men.

Excessive alcohol intake - The risk of heart disease in people who drink moderate amounts of alcohol (an average of one drink for women per day) is lower than in nondrinkers. However, it’s not recommended that nondrinkers start using alcohol or increase the amount they drink. Excessive drinking and binge drinking can contribute to obesity, high triglycerides, cancer and other diseases, raise blood pressure, cause heart failure, and lead to stroke.