Heart Risks
Yet many people at high risk do not fit the typical profile of a person with heart disease - Anahad O’Connor

image by: Subang Jaya Medical Centre
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The lesser-known risk factors for heart disease
Most people know that the risk factors for heart disease are high blood pressure, smoking, raised cholesterol and being overweight. However, many people who have a heart attack do not have any of these traditional risk factors. Research has suggested that conditions such as gout, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease and rheumatoid arthritis are also risk factors for heart disease. What they have in common is chronic inflammation. In fact, some researchers have begun to re-frame cardiovascular disease as a chronic inflammatory disease of the arteries. Scientists sometimes refer to this as the inflammatory hypothesis of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD).
Resources
A New Way to Protect Against Heart Attacks
It is increasingly clear to researchers that inflammation can raise the risk of a heart attack. Now doctors have a drug that addresses that risk. The drug colchicine has been used for more than 2,000 years to treat the fiery joint-pain ailment called gout. It also is a remedy for a genetic disorder called familial Mediterranean fever, and for pericarditis, an inflammation of the sac around the heart. Now colchicine may be set for a surprising new role. In June, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new low-dose version of the drug as the first-ever medicine to treat cardiovascular inflammation, marking a new approach for heart-attack prevention.
Heart disease risk is hidden in your genes. Scientists are getting better at finding it
Doctors know that about half the risk for heart disease comes from lifestyle choices: how much, and what, a person is eating, how much alcohol they drink, if they smoke. The other half is related to genetics, and it’s much harder to assess. You can ask a person about their family history of heart disease and can check for high blood pressure and obesity, which are also related to genetics. But up until the recent explosion in genetic science, it was hard to probe the genes themselves. Over the past decade, medical researchers have realized that our risk for many common conditions like heart disease and diabetes are not influenced by just one gene, or even a small handful of them. Instead, studies analyzing huge numbers of human genomes have found that there are hundreds of genes that work in constellation influencing our risk for diseases.
The Popular Sugar Substitute Xylitol Could Have Some Major Heart-Health Risks
Losing weight is one the best ways to lower your risk of heart disease, and cutting back on sugar can contribute to that. But sweeteners that mimic the taste of sugar with fewer—or no—calories could be increasing, rather than decreasing, the risk of some heart events.
Why heart attacks are rising in young adults—and what to watch out for
Mounting evidence shows that more young adults are experiencing heart problems compared to decades past, and that worsening lifestyle habits—namely, poor diet and lack of exercise—are to blame.
A Heart Risk Factor Even Doctors Know Little About
The culprit, in turned out, was a fatty particle in the blood called lipoprotein(a). While doctors routinely test for other lipoproteins like HDL and LDL cholesterol, few test for lipoprotein(a), also known as lp(a), high levels of which triple the risk of having a heart attack or stroke at an early age.
A study says intermittent fasting is making people drop dead. Oh, come on
The news is everywhere in my social news feeds this morning: A popular fad diet is apparently lethal, scientific research says. Specifically, a study found that caloric restriction, also known as intermittent fasting, has a 91% higher risk of death due to cardiovascular disease. Except scientific research doesn’t say that — and not only should you not be worried about this study, you shouldn’t be wasting brain glucose thinking about it. Even including that 91% number, which you’ll remember, caused me pain, because I don’t think this result should be remembered.
ABCs of Knowing Your Heart Risk
People who have a low risk of coronary artery disease live an average of 10 years longer than those with a high risk. And the best news is that once you understand your risk, you can do a lot to lower it. “We prefer preventing heart attacks in the first place,” says Johns Hopkins cardiologist Seth Martin, M.D., M.H.S. “And to do that, we want to identify and manage risks as early as possible.”
Heart Disease Risk Factors
Several health conditions, your lifestyle, and your age and family history can increase your risk for heart disease. These are called risk factors. About half of all Americans (47%) have at least 1 of 3 key risk factors for heart disease: High blood pressure, High cholesterol, Smoking. Some risk factors for heart disease cannot be controlled, such as your age or family history. But you can take steps to lower your risk by changing the factors you can control.
How scientists are learning to predict your future with your genes
But what are the limits?
In a first, microplastic particles have been linked to heart disease
A groundbreaking new study shows how the presence of these tiny plastic particles in arteries likely affects your health—and may increase your risk of death.
Understand Your Risk for Heart Disease
Some risk factors cannot be changed. These include your age, sex, and a family history of early heart disease. Many others can be modified. For example, being more physically active and eating healthy are important steps for your heart health. You can make the changes gradually, one at a time. But making them is very important.
The lesser-known risk factors for heart disease
Thankfully, there is a way to measure inflammation in the body. One way of doing this is with a blood test called high-sensitivity c-reactive protein (hs-CRP). People with raised levels of hs-CRP have an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes. Raised levels of LDL-cholesterol are also a risk factor for ASCVD. Several studies have reported that people who have high levels of both LDL cholesterol and hs-CRP seem to have the highest risk of cardiovascular disease.

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