Risk factors for heart disease

Here we're mainly concerned with the coronary artery heart disease. The major risk factors we know so far are high cholesterol and saturated fat diet, smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, overweight and obesity, sedentary life style, excessive alcohol intake, narcotic abuse, familial high blood cholesterol, and certain blood disorders such as sickle cell disease (a genetic problem) and polycythemia (too many red blood cells). Other factors such as mental stress and inflammatory diseases are less well defined and still controversial. These risk factors are also applicable to ischemic stroke and peripheral artery diseases.