Do you have?

•  high blood pressure (hypertension) 
•  high cholesterol
•  diabetes     
•  an inactive or sedentary Lifestyle 
•  a family history of heart disease or strokes
   

Are you?

• a smoker                                   
• male
• overweight                                 
• African American                              

If one or more of these characteristics apply to you, you need to know more about your cardiovascular risks.

What is cardiovascular risk?

It refers to factors that increase your chance of having a heart attack, stroke or kidney failure. In both the United States and Metro Louisville, heart disease is the #1 killer and stroke is #3.

What can you do if you are at risk?

Some risk factors cannot be changed such as being:

• male
• African American
• from a family with a history of early cardiovascular disease: (males BEFORE age 55 or females BEFORE age 65)
   

However, many risk factors can be controlled by:

• checking your blood pressure  at least once a year because hypertension (high blood pressure) usually has no symptoms.  Your blood pressure should be under 140/90 (under 120/80 is optimum)
• getting a complete lipid profile as the first test for high cholesterol
• not smoking  or using tobacco products
• controlling your weight
• eating heart-healthy foods
• controlling your blood sugar if you have diabetes
• getting 30-60 minutes of moderately intense physical activity (e.g. brisk walking) on most days
• limiting alcohol to 1 to 2 drinks per day or less
• learning to manage stress
• following your doctor’s advice
   

For more information about how to control your risk for developing cardiovascular disease, call the Louisville Metro Health Department’s Chronic Disease Prevention Team at (502) 574-6663.