Heart

Risk Factors

While we don't fully understand all the causes of heart disease, we have identified risk factors and strategies to reduce the risk. The risk factors we can recognize, modify, treat or control include:

• Age (men 45 years or older, women 55 years or older or postmenopausal)
• Family history of heart disease
• Smoking
• Hypertension (blood pressure 140/90 mm Hg or greater)
• HDL cholesterol less than 35 mg/dL
• High Blood Pressure
  Blood Pressure should be less than 140/90 and less than 130/80 in patients with diabetes, kidney disease, or heart failure. High cholesterol can also be treated with lifestyle modifications and should be less than 160 mg/dL if you have no more than one risk factor or less than 130 mg/dL if you have two or more risk factors.
• Diabetes Mellitus
• Obesity
• Physical Inactivity
  Please exercise regularly based on your physician's recommendation. Please read the information about a personalized exercise program that we can create for you at Mercy Hospital.