Causes of Heart Disease
Heart disease rarely has a single cause — it’s usually the combined effect of several risk factors.
Heart disease covers a wide variety of conditions, caused by a wide variety of different factors. Specific types — like rheumatic heart disease or congenital heart disease — have specific causes, such as infection or birth defects. But most cases of heart disease develop from gradual damage to the heart and blood vessels over time.
In these cases, heart disease usually doesn’t have one single cause. Instead, many factors combine to increase the chance of heart damage, eventually resulting in disease. These contributing factors are called risk factors. The more risk factors you have — and the more serious each one is — the greater your chance of developing heart disease.
The good news: while some risk factors are completely outside of your control, many of the most significant ones are things you can actively change. Even small improvements can make a real difference to your heart health.
You can't change these — but knowing they apply to you means you can be extra vigilant about the ones you can control.
Heart disease becomes more likely as you get older, as arteries naturally stiffen and narrow over time.
Women are slightly protected against heart attack before menopause, but risk rises afterwards. Women are also less likely to survive a heart attack, and symptoms can be less obvious.
Rare inherited heart conditions, or a genetic tendency toward high cholesterol or high blood pressure, can raise your risk of heart disease and stroke.
If your father or brother had heart disease before age 55, or your mother or sister before 65, your own risk may be increased.
Poverty can increase stress, anxiety, and depression, while making healthy food, safe environments, and good medical care harder to access — making it an important risk factor in its own right.
These are the risk factors you have the power to change — even small improvements can make a big difference. Tap any one to learn more.
