Cardiovascular disease can take many forms from high blood pressure to coronary artery disease, stroke or rheumatic fever/rheumatic heart disease. According to the World Health Organization the cardiovascular disease causes 12 million deaths in the world each year. This disease is responsible for half of all deaths in the United States and to other developed countries as it is a main cause of death in many developing countries too. Overall it is the leading cause of death in adults. In the United States, more than 60 million Americans have some or the other form of cardiovascular disease.

Major Risk Factors

High Blood Pressure or Hypertension increases risk of heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. Though other risk factors can lead to high blood pressure one can have it without having other risk factors. If the person is obese, smoke, or has high blood cholesterol levels along with high blood pressure, the risk of heart disease or stroke greatly increases. Blood pressure can vary with activity and with age but a healthy adult who is resting generally has a systolic pressure reading between 120 and 130 and a diastolic pressure reading between 80 and 9o. High Blood Cholesterol is one of the major risk factors for heart disease. Cholesterol, a fat-like substance carried in your blood is found in all of your body's cells.

Diabetes has higher risk
If you know that you have diabetes then you should already be under a doctor's care because good control of blood sugar levels can reduce your risk. If you think you may have diabetes but are not sure, see your doctor for tests. Obesity and overweight means extra weight is thought to lead to increased total cholesterol levels of high blood pressure and an increased risk of coronary artery disease. Obesity increases the chances of developing other risk factors for heart disease especially high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and diabetes. Smoking is most people know that cigarette and tobacco smoking increases your risk of lung cancer but fewer realize that it also greatly increases your risk of heart disease and peripheral vascular disease.

Contributing Risk Factors
Stress is considered a contributing risk factor for heart disease as very little is known about its effects. The effects of emotional stress or behavior habits and socioeconomic status on the risk of heart disease and heart attack have not been proven. That is because we deal with stress differently, how much and in what way stress affects us can vary from person to person. Sex hormones appear to play a major role in heart disease.

Heart disease Prevention:
Methods of prevention of Heart disease mentioned in various sources includes the listed below. This prevention information is gathered from various sources and may be inaccurate or incomplete. None of these methods guarantee prevention of Heart disease. Such as Control weigh, Healthy diet, Low-fat diet, Quit smoking, Physical activity, Control diabetes, Control blood pressure, Control cholesterol, Folic acid - helps control homocysteine, Vitamin B6 - helps control homocysteine, Vitamin B12 - helps control homocysteine and Antioxidants - possibly some reduction in risk of heart disease. Vitamins E, Beta carotene, Hormone replacement therapy - may have some preventive benefits against heart disease. Low-dose aspirin and Low saturated fat diet get tested for diabetes - you might have an undiagnosed case of diabetes. Get blood pressure checked and lastly get cholesterol checked.

Weight loss also reduces the risk of heart disease by lowering cholesterol levels. Even a modest weight loss of 10 to 20 pounds can bring positive changes. And the psychological boost from losing weight, such as improved self-image and greater social interaction and are should not be ignored. Daily physical activity can help prevent heart disease and stroke by strengthening your heart muscle, lowering your blood pressure, raising your high-density lipoprotein levels (good cholesterol) and lowering low-density lipoprotein levels (bad cholesterol), improving blood flow, and increasing your heart's working capacity.