February is Heart Health month. Why devote a whole month to heart health? Because keeping our hearts healthy might be the most important part of living a long and healthy life. Heart disease is the leading cause of death world-wide, accounting for 1 out of every 3 deaths each year^1,2. While there are many ways in which heart disease can develop, there are some common causes. Today’s research article explores the five most common risk factors for heart disease around the world³. The good news is each of these risks can be prevented or treated.  

The research was done by the Global Cardiovascular Risk Consortium, which is a large group of medical experts from around the world who study heart health. The researchers wanted to get a clearer picture of how common risk factors lead people to develop heart disease. In particular, the researchers were interested in seeing how much being overweight, having high blood pressure, having high cholesterol, smoking, or suffering from diabetes puts people at risk for developing heart disease. The researchers compiled an impressive amount of health data from 1.5 million people across 34 countries to answer this question. Using this data, the researchers could see if people who struggle with these health conditions around the world are more likely to develop heart disease.  

Sure enough, the data show that people with each of these five risk factors are more likely to develop heart disease. Altogether, nearly 60% of heart disease cases in the study were due to these risk factors. These trends did vary a little in different regions of the world and between men and women. For example, smoking and diabetes create a slightly greater risk for heart disease among women (though the risk for men is still significant). When looking at different regions, the top five risk factors were more likely to lead to heart disease in Northern Africa than in North America. However, these risk factors still accounted for the majority of heart disease cases no matter which subgroup was looked at.  

Overall, this study provides a clearer picture of what we all can do to avoid heart disease. Lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, maintaining a healthy body weight, avoiding smoking, and preventing or treating diabetes will do a lot to keep your heart healthy. The good news is that all of this risk factors besides smoking can be prevented by eating healthy and exercising regularly. For smoking, it is best to avoid it all together; and there are also plenty of resources to help current smokers quit. If you want to learn more about avoiding these risks for heart disease, we have some previous research chronicles that discuss these topics below.

1. World Health Organization. The top 10 causes of death. Accessed February 27, 2024. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-d… 
2. Joseph P, Leong D, McKee M, et al. Reducing the Global Burden of Cardiovascular Disease, Part 1. Circulation Research. 2017;121(6):677-694. doi:10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.117.308903 
3. The Global Cardiovascular Risk Consortium. Global Effect of Modifiable Risk Factors on Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality. New England Journal of Medicine. 2023;389(14):1273-1285. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2206916