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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffRisk factors for coronary artery disease include:
- Age. Simply getting older increases your risk of damaged and narrowed arteries.
- Gender. Men are generally at greater risk of coronary artery disease than are women. However, the risk for women increases after menopause.
- Family history. A family history of heart disease is associated with a higher risk of coronary artery disease, especially if a parent developed it at an early age (before age 60).
- Smoking. Nicotine constricts your blood vessels, and carbon monoxide can damage their inner lining, making them more susceptible to atherosclerosis. The incidence of heart attack in women who smoke at least 20 cigarettes a day is six times that of women who've never smoked. For men who smoke, the incidence triples compared with nonsmokers.
- High blood pressure. Uncontrolled high blood pressure can result in hardening and thickening of your arteries, narrowing the channel through which blood can flow.
- High blood cholesterol levels. High levels of cholesterol in your blood can increase the risk of formation of plaques and atherosclerosis. High cholesterol can be caused by a high level of low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), known as "bad" cholesterol, or a low level of high-density lipoproteins (HDLs), known as "good" cholesterol.
- Diabetes. Diabetes is associated with an increased risk of coronary artery disease. Both conditions share similar risk factors, such as obesity and high blood pressure.
- Obesity. Excess weight typically worsens other risk factors.
- Physical inactivity. Lack of exercise also is associated with coronary artery disease and some of its risk factors, as well.
- High stress. Unrelieved stress in your life may damage your arteries as well as worsen other risk factors for coronary artery disease.
Risk factors often occur in clusters and may build on one another, such as obesity leading to diabetes and high blood pressure. When grouped together, certain risk factors put you at an ever greater risk of coronary artery disease. For example, metabolic syndrome — a cluster of conditions that includes elevated blood pressure, high triglycerides, elevated insulin levels and excess body fat around the waist — increases the risk of coronary artery disease.
Sometimes coronary artery disease develops without any classic risk factors. Researchers are studying other possible factors, including:
- C-reactive protein. Your liver produces C-reactive protein (CRP) in response to injury or infection. CRP is also produced by muscle cells within the coronary arteries. CRP is a general sign of inflammation, which plays a central role in atherosclerosis.
- Homocysteine. Homocysteine is an amino acid your body uses to make protein and to build and maintain tissue. But excessive levels of homocysteine may increase your risk of coronary artery disease and other cardiovascular conditions.
- Fibrinogen. Fibrinogen is a protein in your blood that plays a central role in blood clotting. But too much may promote excessive clumping of platelets, the type of blood cell largely responsible for clotting. That can cause a clot to form in an artery, leading to a heart attack or stroke. Fibrinogen may also be an indicator of the inflammation that accompanies atherosclerosis.
- Lipoprotein (a). This substance forms when a low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particle attaches to a specific protein. Lipoprotein (a) may disrupt your body's ability to dissolve blood clots. High levels of lipoprotein (a) may be associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including coronary artery disease and heart attack.
