by Cody Poe

Created on: March 12, 2011

Everyone knows how important the heart is when it comes to keeping us alive. What most people don't know is how many factors affect the health of your heart. There are some uncontrollable circumstances that can lead to heart disease, and unfortunately that can not be helped. It is very important to reduce your risk of heart disease in any of the ways that you have control over however. These ways can range all the way from not smoking to brushing your teeth every day like your supposed to.

Smoking has many health risks associated with it, and greatly increasing your chance of getting heart disease is just one of the many. Smoking is being held as responsible for 20 percent of all heart disease related deaths. Smoking decreases HDL Cholesterol levels, which is also known as "good" cholesterol. HDL lowers the "bad" cholesterol, or LDL cholesterol, levels in the blood. Too much LDL cholesterol in a person's blood stream can lead to making the formation of clots easier. When blood clots form in the arteries it prevents blood from getting to the heart, which leads to a heart attack. This makes quitting, or not starting to smoke one of the best ways to prevent or reduce your risk for heart disease.

The bigger a person's body is, the more energy it will take for the heart to pump the blood it needs throughout. This means being the heart of an overweight person is no easy job. On top of more area to spread blood to, the heart has less room to work with in the body because of the build up of fatty tissue. This is why being overweight is a serious matter when it comes to increasing your chance for heart disease. Being overweight can increase your risk for heart disease by up to as much as 32 percent. The risk of heart disease makes it all the more important to exercise and watch your weight.

One factor that can increase your risk for heart disease that most people overlook is not brushing your teeth. When you don't brush your teeth, plaque begins to build up on them. This plaque that builds up on your teeth can get into your blood stream, and eventually to your arteries. When the plaque reaches the arteries it begins to stick to blood vessel walls and make the arteries more narrow. This provides less room for blood to get to the heart, which eventually could lead to heart disease or attack.

While a moderate amount of alcohol is good for your heart, excessive alcoholism can be just as risky for your heart as anything else mentioned in this article. Alcohol in moderation raises your HDL cholesterol levels, thus lowering the LDL levels in your blood stream, making the formation of a clot less likely. Too much alcohol can enlarge the heart, making it have to work harder to spread blood throughout the body. When the heart gets to large to spread the blood through the body, heart disease develops.

These are just some of the simple ways to reduce your risk for heart disease. Not every possible cause of heart disease can be prevented, but its important to do what you can to prevent it. In some areas it may be as simple as brushing your teeth, in other areas it may be about kicking a habit. Either way, your heart is something your body needs to function and needs to be taken care of.

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