Non-modifiable Risk Factors

Some risk factors for CVD cannot be changed. These are non-modifiable risk factors: a person cannot change them by altering their lifestyle. Knowing about them helps identify people who should pay particular attention to the risk factors they can change.Age. The risk of CVD increases with age. As people get older, their arteries become less elastic and atheromas have had longer to build up. Blood pressure tends to rise with age, which adds to the damage.Sex. Men are more likely than women to develop CVD at a younger age. Before the menopause, women are partly protected by the hormone oestrogen, which is thought to help keep the arteries healthy, for example by increasing levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDLs) in the blood. After the menopause, when oestrogen levels fall, women's risk rises towards that of men.Genetic inheritance. CVD tends to run in families. People can inherit alleles that make them more likely to have high blood pressure or high blood cholesterol, or that affect how their body handles fats. A family history of CVD, especially in a close relative at a young age, increases a person's risk. An example is familial hypercholesterolaemia, an inherited condition that causes very high blood cholesterol levels from birth.Ethnic background. Some ethnic groups have a higher risk. For example, in the UK, people of South Asian origin have higher rates of coronary heart disease, and people of African Caribbean origin have higher rates of high blood pressure and stroke.