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Some women believe that doing just one healthy thing will take care of all of their heart disease risk. For example, they may think that if they walk or swim regularly, they can still smoke and stay fairly healthy. Wrong! To protect your heart, it is vital to make changes that address each risk factor you have. You can make the changes gradually, one at a time. But making them is very important.
Other women may wonder: If I have just one risk factor for heart disease-say, I'm overweight or I have high blood cholesterol-aren't I more or less "safe"? Absolutely not. Each risk factor greatly increases a woman's chance of developing heart disease.
But having more than one risk factor is especially serious, because risk factors tend to "gang up" and worsen each other's effects.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
National Institutes of Health
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Heart Disease Risk Factors
- Smoking
- Diabetes
- High Blood Pressure
- High Cholesterol
- Physical Inactivity
- Overweight
- Family History
- Age
Source: WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women With Heart Disease
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