Everybody has some risk of developing atheroma which then may cause one or more cardiovascular diseases. However, some situations increase the risk. These include:
- Lifestyle risk factors that can be prevented or changed:
- Smoking.
- Lack of physical activity (a sedentary lifestyle).
- Obesity.
- An unhealthy diet - including eating too much salt.
- Excess alcohol.
- Treatable or partly treatable risk factors:
- High blood pressure (hypertension).
- High cholesterol blood level.
- High triglyceride (another type of fat) blood level.
- Diabetes.
- Kidney diseases that affect kidney function.
Cholesterol travels through
the blood attached to a protein this cholesterol-protein package is
called a lipoprotein. Lipoproteins are classified as high density, low
density, or very low density, depending on how much protein there is in
relation to fat.
- Low density lipoproteins (LDL): LDL, also called "bad" cholesterol, can cause buildup of plaque on the walls of arteries. The more LDL there is in the blood, the greater the risk of heart disease.
- High density lipoproteins (HDL): HDL, also called "good" cholesterol, helps the body get rid of bad cholesterol in the blood. The higher the level of HDL cholesterol, the better. If levels of HDL are low, the risk of heart disease increases.
- Very low density lipoproteins (VLDL): VLDL is similar to LDL cholesterol in that it contains mostly fat and not much protein.
- Triglycerides: Triglycerides are another type of fat that is carried in the blood by very low density lipoproteins. Excess calories, alcohol, or sugar in the body are converted into triglycerides and stored in fat cells throughout the body.
