6 main causes of heart disease

Heart ailments, infectious diseases and cancer remain the world's top three killers, according to the UN health agency.

Heart attacks and related problems are the top killer, especially among women, claiming 29 percent of people who die each year, the World Health Organization said in a report on the global burden of disease in year 2004.

Women die more often from heart disease than men. The rate for females is 31.5 percent, and for males 26.8 percent, the report said. The percentage for women was higher because there were more women living at older ages than men. But in general, men are more affected by heart diseases. This could be due to men are more often overweight or obese, get insufficient physical activity and eat more fat and salt.

The following are the six main causes of heart disease for you to understand, so that you can be well prepared and prevent heart disease.

1. Smoking

Most men are unable to quit this bad habit. Smokers are suffering higher risk of heart disease by 3 to 6 times, this is because the toxins in cigarettes will damage blood vessels and interfere with the heart to get sufficient oxygen.

2. High blood pressure

This is one of the main cause of heart disease. Uncontrolled high blood pressure forces the heart to work overload and subsequently increases higher risk of contracting heart disease.

3. Excessive intake of high fat and high salt foods

Eating a lot of high fat and high salt foods will increase the risk of heart disease. This is because the blood cholesterol will increase, thereby increasing the risk of contracting heart disease.

4. Lack of exercise

Lack of exercise increases the risk of contracting heart disease. Exercise helps to strengthen the heart function and reduce cholesterol level, which will help you stay away from heart disease.

5. Mental stress

Uncontrolled and persistent mental stress can cause you to be attacked by heart disease. Therefore, you should always get involved in some pastime or sports to release mental stress, which will help to cut down the risk of contracting heart disease.

6. Diabetes

Diabetes patients face higher risk of contracting heart disease. Uncontrolled diabetes will accelerate the narrowing of blood vessels, which lead to coronary heart disease.

In order to prevent and stay away from heart disease, you should develop good eating habit and lifestyle, the best thing is to adopt vegetarian diets to reduce cholesterol level and to smoothen blood circulation, so that the heart can be functioning well.