Cardiovascular Disease Causes

Cardiovascular disease is a condition that causes blockage to your blood vessels. This blockage of your blood vessels can cause you to have a heart attack or stroke. Many of the causes of cardiovascular disease can be avoided if you can manage them.

The causes of cardiovascular disease that you have control of include: unhealthy diet, tobacco use, lack of exercise and weight issues.

An unhealthy diet can lead to many problems that can cause you to develop cardiovascular disease. Having a diet that includes fatty foods has a result of high cholesterol levels. These foods include cheese, eggs, whole milk and certain meats. Having a low level of good cholesterol can create problems, also. You can increase your good cholesterol by eating oatmeal, nuts and soy. If you have a problem knowing what foods are good and bad for, see if you can set up an appointment with a dietitian.

Tobacco use is a major cause of cardiovascular disease. The nicotine in tobacco products causes your blood vessels to constrict (to narrow) leading your heart to having to work twice as hard.

Exercising has major benefits to the heart. Including at least thirty minutes of activity a day works the heart and can increase your good cholesterol.

Obesity increases your chance of having heart problems. Carrying around extra weight can cause your heart to have to work harder. Having a healthy diet and exercising can help control your weight and decrease your chance of developing a heart disease.

Other causes of cardiovascular disease that you can not control include: your age, sex and family history.

As you get older the risk of developing cardiovascular disease increases.

Your sex plays a role in heart disease. Men have a higher risk of developing heart disease but a woman's risk will increase after she has gone through menopause.

Having a family history of cardiovascular disease can increase you chance of developing the heart disease. A parent developing the disease at an early age increases your chance of developing the disease as well.

The chance of you developing cardiovascular disease are not solely based on the causes you can not control. If you can manage your diet, activity level, weight and stress level, the chance of you developing the disease can be reduced.

For more information on Cardiovascular Disease you can visit the following websites:

www.mayoclinic.com

www.livestrong.com