Discussion: Coronary Heart Disease Risks

Many Americans consume more protein than they require. Many times this results in a high intake of fat which may contribute to high cholesterol and high LDL levels resulting in atherosclerosis and heart disease. Go to http://www.heartsite.com (Links to an external site.), and click “Diseases” then click “Coronary Artery Disease”. Read the information there and answer the following in the discussion area:

1.Do you have any of the risk factors? What are they? Which ones can you reduce and how?

2. If you do not have any risk factors, please discuss why you think you do not.

3. Based on the information on the web site please list and discuss which risk factors are genetic and which are environmental.

4. Reply to student post below .

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Thankfully, I do not have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, am not smoking, or have a family history of coronary heart disease, but I am still at risk because I am obese, hardly exercise, and am sometimes stressed. Additionally, I am 46 years old, which puts me close to the “above 50 age group” risk. I could reduce my risk factors by losing weight and becoming more active on a regular basis. Genetic risks factors can be high cholesterol and high blood pressure, but they can be environmental as well, per example having high cholesterol due to a poor diet. Type 2 Diabetes seems to be environmental as well, even though family history could influence the risk as well. Smoking, obesity, lack of exercise, and stress are environmental risk factors because we are the cause for it. But the more I read about the risk factors it seems like they each have a little bit of both, genetic and environmental causes.