Cardiovascular disease (CVD) doesn’t wait for retirement or slower days. It’s the leading cause of death globally, and those over 40 are at an increased risk, especially men. CVD is often a silent, gradual process, and by the time symptoms appear, the damage may already be significant. But it’s not all doom and gloom, understanding the risk factors can empower you to take control of your health.
Some factors, like your age and family history, can’t be changed, but others such as your lifestyle habits are very much within your control.
This article breaks down what you need to know about both modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
Why Should You Care About Cardiovascular Disease?
The Silent Threat to Your Productivity and Wellbeing
Cardiovascular disease might not be the first thing on your mind as you tackle your daily to-do list. After all, with pressing deadlines, meetings, and personal responsibilities, who has time to worry about something that feels distant?
CVD can be a “silent killer,” often progressing without obvious symptoms until it’s too late. Atherosclerosis (the buildup of plaques in your arteries), high blood pressure, and other conditions can quietly develop.
If you’re over 40, these changes could be more than just “getting older.” This is the prime time to assess your risk and take steps to optimise your cardiovascular health.
With CVD being the leading cause of death worldwide, it’s essential to understand how it can affect you, even if you feel fine now.
Visit my cardiovascular risk quiz to help determine you risk level in less than 3 minutes!
The Impact on Your Life and Work
Imagine trying to manage your day-to-day responsibilities when you’re constantly battling fatigue, brain fog, or even shortness of breath. Beyond the serious consequences of a heart attack or stroke, CVD affects your quality of life in ways that can seem subtle at first but become more pronounced over time. These symptoms aren’t just nuisances, they’re warning signs from your body that something needs to change.
Your cardiovascular health isn’t just about living longer; it’s about living better. Prioritising your cardiovascular health means sustaining the energy and mental clarity that you need to excel professionally and personally. The choices you make today will determine how well your cardiovascular system supports you in the decades to come.
Non-Modifiable Risk Factors – What You Can’t Change (But Should Know About)
When it comes to cardiovascular disease, some factors are simply beyond our control. These are known as non-modifiable risk factors.
Although you can’t change them, being aware of them can help you better understand your personal risk and guide you towards making smarter lifestyle choices. Let’s break down the key non-modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease:
Age
As we age, our cardiovascular system naturally undergoes changes. Arterial stiffness, blood pressure may rise, and the vascular efficiency can decline as the health of the vascular wall deteriorates.
For those over 40, these changes become more pronounced, significantly increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
In fact, research shows that the risk of cardiovascular disease doubles roughly every decade after the age of 40. This is why it’s so important to start paying attention to your cardiovascular health early.
While you can’t turn back the clock, understanding that age is a risk factor can serve as a reminder to take preventive action before symptoms arise.
I recommend anyone over the age of 40 runs an annual Health Assessment to help observe health trends and establish objective data that determines your overall health and risk profile.
Gender
Your gender also plays a role in cardiovascular risk. Men, for example, are generally at higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease earlier in life compared to women. However, women’s risk sharply increases after menopause due to hormonal changes, particularly the decline in oestrogen, which has a protective effect.
Understanding these gender differences can help both men and women over 40 approach cardiovascular health with the right perspective. We strongly recommend earlier and more regular health assessments to assess risk, particularly in males over 40 and females over 50.
These assessments then need to be interpreted with health and cardiovascular optimisation in mind! Data is only as good as the interpretation and context provided with it!
Genetics and Family History
Your family history is another major player in determining your risk for heart disease. If close relatives, such as parents or siblings, have had CVD especially at a younger age, your risk increases.
While you can’t change your genes, knowing your family’s health history is crucial. If CVD runs in your family, it’s important to be proactive about regular screenings and lifestyle choices that can help mitigate this risk.
Modifiable Risk Factors – What You Can Control
While some risk factors for cardiovascular disease are set in stone, many others are firmly within your control. These modifiable risk factors offer the opportunity to actively reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, regardless of your age or family history. Here’s how you can take charge:
Diet and Nutrition
What you eat plays a significant role in your cardiovascular health. Diets high in processed foods, sugars, and unhealthy fats contribute to imbalanced lipids and glucose in the blood as well as, hypertension, and obesity, all of which are major risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
Adopting an approach to eating that promotes cardiovascular health is of the upmost importance. We combine principles of diets like the traditional Mediterranean, DASH and traditional Japanese to support cardiovascular health within our ‘Beat the Cardiovascular Clock’ program. You can learn more about that program and sign up to our free training.
Physical Activity
Regular exercise is one of the best things you can do for your heart. Physical activity helps to strengthen the heart muscle, improve circulation, and maintain a healthy weight and body composition, all of which lower your risk of CVD.
Even just focusing on basic movement through the day and introducing movement snacks can have a profound impact on cardiovascular health.
For busy professionals, this could be as simple as incorporating more movement into your daily routine, such as taking the stairs instead of the lift, or opting for walking meetings. Over time, you can build in more structured exercise to optimise your cardiometabolic health.
Stress Management
Stress is an often-overlooked risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Chronic stress can lead to high blood pressure, inflammation, and unhealthy coping behaviours (like overeating, alcohol consumption or smoking), all of which contribute to CVD.
For busy professionals, managing stress can feel like a challenge. But prioritising stress relief isn’t just good for your mental health, it’s vital for your cardiovascular health. Most people will even find, their general productivity and outlook improves, thus supporting areas such as your professional performance.
Practices like mindfulness, deep breathing exercises, yoga, and even short moments of relaxation during the day can help lower stress levels.
Smoking and Alcohol Consumption
Smoking is one of the most significant preventable risk factors for CVD. It damages the blood vessels, raises blood pressure, and contributes to the buildup of plaque in the arteries. Becoming a non-smoker is one of the best things you can do for your overall health, especially your cardiovascular health.
Alcohol is also a major cause of CVD, irrespective of the often headline grabbing “wine is good for your heart” media you might get exposed to. Studies have clearly shown that the less you drink the better and that there is a linear relationship between alcohol consumption and cardiovascular risk.
Weight Management
Carrying excess weight, particularly around the abdomen, significantly increases your risk of heart disease. This is because excess fat, especially visceral fat, can lead to conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol, raised ApoB, elevated C-reactive protein (inflammation) etc, which are all contributors to CVD.
Optimising your body composition is often a really important step for those with CVD. We often pick up from a body composition assessment alone the potential risk towards cardiovascular imbalances.
The Big Picture – Combining What You Know
After diving into the modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease, it’s clear that while some aspects of your health are beyond your control, there’s a lot you can do to protect your heart. It’s not about completely overhauling your life in one day—it’s about making thoughtful, sustainable changes that fit into your busy schedule and have a lasting impact on your wellbeing.
Still not sure whether you are at risk of cardiovascular disease, remember to take my 2-3min cardiovascular risk assessment quiz.
Personalising Your Approach
Recognising your non-modifiable risk factors, like age, gender, and family history, gives you valuable insight into your baseline risk. But instead of feeling powerless, use this knowledge as motivation. If you know you have a family history of heart disease or that your age puts you at higher risk, view this as a reason to prioritise heart-healthy habits, starting today.
On the flip side, your modifiable risk factors like diet, exercise, and stress management, give you the tools to take control of your cardiovascular health. The key is to personalise your approach. Find what works best for your lifestyle and schedule. Remember that consistency is more important than perfection. Small changes made consistently over time adds up to significant benefits.
The Ripple Effect
Focusing on your cardiovascular health isn’t just about preventing heart attacks, vascular dementia or strokes in the distant future.
The ripple effect of these changes extends far beyond your cardiovascular and neurovascular health.
By adopting healthier habits, you’ll likely notice improvements in your energy levels, mental clarity, and overall vitality, things that are crucial for maintaining your performance at work and enjoying life outside of the office.
Incorporating these habits can also have a positive impact on those around you. Whether it’s setting a healthy example for your family or encouraging colleagues to join you in stress-relief practices or physical activity, your actions can inspire others to make amazing, health promoting choices as well.
Building a Sustainable Plan
So, where do you start? The key is to focus on one or two modifiable risk factors at a time and build from there. Maybe you’ll start by focusing on dietary habits, or perhaps you’ll commit to changing your mindset or movement. Over time, these small, manageable steps will form the foundation of a sustainable cardiovascular plan that fits into your life.
As part of our ‘Beat the Cardiovascular Clock’ 1-2-1 program, we provide our clients with a resource centre. This is filled with a wealth of information and practical steps you can take when focusing on different modifiable risk factors. This is then coupled with unrivalled 1:1 accountability and support to personalise what to do and when to do it
Ready to take your cardiovascular health to the next level? Visit my Beat the Cardiovascular Clock page and get in touch.
