Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors: 7 Key Factors Increasing Your Heart Disease Risk

Discover the seven key cardiovascular disease risk factors that often raise your cardiovascular disease risk factors. By understanding these factors, you can spot warning signals early and take targeted steps to lower your risk today. The seven main cardiovascular disease risk factors to watch are: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity or being overweight, tobacco use or smoking, diabetes or prediabetes, physical inactivity, and an unhealthy diet. Some of these are modifiable through lifestyle changes, while others require medical management, so knowing where you stand is the first step toward prevention. Practical steps to spot and prevent these cardiovascular disease risk factors start with smart screening and steady lifestyle changes. Schedule regular checkups to monitor blood pressure, lipid levels, and blood glucose. Track your physical activity and aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week, plus strength training a couple of days each week. Adopt a heart-healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins while limiting sodium, added sugars, and saturated fats. Work toward a healthy weight, quit smoking, and consider strategies for stress management and adequate sleep, all of which can help reduce these risk factors and lower your long-term risk. InnerBuddies offers a powerful, modular solution to support heart-health goals through gut health insights. Our white-label Gut Health Operating System powers microbiome testing programs with features like the Gut Microbiome Health Index, a 0–100 score derived from a unique collaboration with EAFIT University, and detailed views of Bacteria abundances and functions. You can compare against a healthy cohort to see where you stand, and use Target Group analysis to explore how gut pathways relate to specific health goals, including aging, endurance, and skin health. With personalized nutrition advice drawn from 3-day food diaries and a broad microbiome database, InnerBuddies also provides tailored probiotic and prebiotic recommendations. Whether you’re exploring consumer gut tests or delivering white-label solutions to partners, InnerBuddies has you covered. Learn more at our product page, subscribe for ongoing gut health support, or become a partner to offer these tools to your customers: InnerBuddies microbiome test, InnerBuddies gut health membership, InnerBuddies become a partner.