You Have Asthma
Even if you’re sticking to your prescribed regime for keeping your asthma under control, you still have a 70% increased chance of a heart attack. Health professionals suggest that the diseases could have chronic inflammation in common but there’s no consensus yet.
Your Dental Health is Poor
If you haven’t been taking care of your teeth, you could easily develop bacterial infections such as periodontal disease.
The bacteria can then get into your bloodstream and cause arterial inflammation. That inflammation can develop into atherosclerosis, which leads to heart disease.
You’re Taking Certain Medications
Persons who are taking medications for migraines, ADHD, as well as cancer may be increasing their risk of heart disease.
These medications affect the heart to varying degrees so it’s best to talk to your doctor about the potential alternatives.
What You Can Do To Cut Your Risk
While there are a few factors on this list that you can’t do anything about, it helps to change the ones you can. For example, poor sleep can be caused by multiple issues. The best way to get a good night’s sleep is to look into what’s robbing you of the well-needed rest.
Don’t shy away from getting your doctor involved if nothing you do on your own is making a difference. For the factors that you can’t change, such as having asthma, focus on knowing the early signs of heart disease. If you tackle the condition at the beginning, you can stop things from getting worse.
Given that heart disease is a major killer of Americans in general and African Americans in particular, it’s important for you to know all the factors that put you at risk. The more of them you can get under control, the less likely it is that you’ll become another heart disease statistic.