The Cincinnati Enquirer

Some risk factors for heart disease and stroke can be controlled; others can't. Take control of your heart health by reducing your odds of developing heart disease.

Risk factors you can control

Cholesterol: High cholesterol has no symptoms, but it spikes the risks for heart attack and stroke. Find out what your cholesterol level is and take steps - diet, exercise and medication - to get it under control.

Blood pressure: High blood pressure makes the heart work harder than normal, putting it, the blood vessels and the kidneys at greater risk for damage and injuries. Being overweight, not exercising and oral contraceptives can all contribute to high blood pressure. Weight loss, exercise and medication can bring it to safe levels.

Tobacco: Smoking is the single most preventable cause of death - heart disease, stroke, emphysema and a slew of cancers - in the United States. Talk to your doctor for advice on how to kick the habit.

Physical activity: Couch potatoes are much more likely to develop heart disease or stroke. Exercise helps control cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes and obesity.

Obesity: Excess body fat, especially around the waist, spikes your risk for high blood pressure, high cholesterol and lipids, diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Even losing 5 to 10 percent of your body weight can reduce those risks.

Diabetes: Women with diabetes are two to four times more likely than women without it to develop heart disease. Get tested and keep your blood sugar under control with diet, exercise and medication.

Risk factors you can't control

Getting older

Gender: Women account for more than half of all stroke risks. Men are more likely to have heart attacks, but women have them later in life, when other health factors make them less likely to recover.

Heredity and race: If your parents, grandparents or siblings had heart disease or stroke, you're more likely to. And African-Americans, Hispanics, American Indians and native Hawaiians are more prone to heart disease and stroke and the risk factors that contribute.

Previous heart attack or stroke.

Source: The American Heart Association