Key Risk-Factors Contributing to Cardiovascular Disease: Lifestyle Modifications to Improve Cardiovascular Health

Cardiovascular disease is a preventable public health issue. The aim of this review is to identify modifiable risk-factors for cardiovascular disease and recommend lifestyle modification to prevent cardiovascular disease. PubMed, ScienceDirect, SAGE, Google Scholar, World Health Organisation websites, as well as public and community health textbooks, were hand searched and academic resources which are relevant for this review were selected for inclusion. Cardiovascular disease is leading cause of deaths in all continents of the world. While deaths from cardiovascular disease is increasing in Africa and Asia, it is decreasing in Australia and fluctuating in the USA. Premature deaths from cardiovascular disease are preeminent across middle income countries in Europe compared with high income countries. Cardiovascular disease is higher in rural areas of South America compared with urban areas. Trends in lifestyle patterns, including physical inactivity, smoking behaviour, and diets contribute to cardiovascular disease-prone conditions. Prevention includes health promotion activities that facilitate healthy living across life course and limit the initial onset of cardiovascular disease. Investment in prevention is the critical sustainable solution for the cardiovascular disease epidemic. Adopting WHO existing policies within individual countries in Africa, Asia, and middle-income countries in Europe, and ensuring robust implementation of such policies across life course and from different layers of sectors such as education and workplaces would have wider impacts in reducing risk and cardiovascular disease burden in the respective continents. Government of countries with worsening cardiovascular events should also increase health financing and focus on strengthening primary health care services for prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease.