February 2026

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. Many lifestyle factors — like smoking, excessive drinking, not exercising, or being overweight — can increase your risk of developing heart disease. But so can underlying medical issues.

Fortunately, the common medical problems — high blood sugar, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol — are easy to test for. And they’re treatable once you identify a problem. In fact, you can often start by treating these medical problems with simple lifestyle changes and then add medication if these changes aren’t enough.

Here’s how to identify and manage these common risks for heart disease.

High Blood Sugar

Over time, high blood sugar (from type 2 diabetes that’s not well-controlled) can damage your heart and blood vessels, increasing your risk of developing cardiovascular disease and atherosclerosis (narrowing and hardening of the arteries that supply blood to the heart).

Get tested: There are a few different blood tests that your doctor may order to measure your blood sugar and screen you for diabetes. These include a random blood glucose test (non-fasting), a fasting blood glucose test, an HbA1c test, and a glucose tolerance test.

Get your blood sugar under control: If your blood sugar is high —especially if it indicates prediabetes — your doctor may suggest lifestyle changes before trying medication. (If your test results indicate diabetes, your doctor may prescribe blood sugar-lowering medications in addition to lifestyle changes.) Effective lifestyle changes include: eating more whole grains and less processed foods, limiting added sugar intake, losing weight (if your BMI exceeds 25), and exercising regularly.

High Blood Pressure

Blood pressure measures how hard your blood pushes against the walls of your arteries. High blood pressure, also called hypertension, occurs when this force is consistently too high.

While it often doesn’t cause noticeable symptoms, high blood pressure can still damage your heart and blood vessels. Uncontrolled high blood pressure increases your risk of a heart attack and heart failure. It can also damage your arteries, making them less elastic and leading to plaque buildup that reduces the amount of blood that can flow through them.

Get tested: Every time you visit your healthcare provider, someone should be taking your blood pressure. Many local pharmacies also have machines that let you test your blood pressure yourself. If you have any concerns about high blood pressure, you can also measure it at home.

Understand blood pressure results: Your blood pressure reading is a combination of two numbers. The first (and larger) number is the systolic pressure — that is, the pressure on your arteries when your heart beats. The second (and smaller) number is the diastolic pressure — that is, the pressure on your arteries between heartbeats. If your systolic pressure is 130 or more — or your diastolic pressure is 80 or more — you have high blood pressure and need to take steps to reduce it. (A systolic pressure of 120 to 129 is considered “elevated” — and you still may want to make changes to reduce it before it progresses.)

Lower your blood pressure: If your blood pressure is elevated or high, your doctor will recommend lifestyle changes to get it under control. Depending on how high it is, they may also recommend medication. Effective lifestyle changes for lowering your blood pressure include: Eating less salt, losing weight (if your BMI is greater than 25), managing stress, and following the DASH diet.

High Cholesterol

High cholesterol — especially LDL (aka “bad”) cholesterol — is bad for your heart because it can build up inside the walls of the arteries that supply blood to your heart. This can cause coronary artery disease. And if that buildup leads to a complete blockage of an artery to the heart, it can cause a heart attack.

Get tested: Your doctor can check your cholesterol with a simple blood test. You may need to fast (avoid food and drinks, except water) for 12 hours before the test. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that adults 20 and older get their cholesterol checked every four to six years, or more often if you’re at higher risk for heart disease.

Understand your test results:

• LDL (“bad”) cholesterol: Less than 100 mg/dL is best.
• HDL (“good”) cholesterol: 40 mg/dL or higher is best.
• Total cholesterol: Less than 200 mg/dL is best.

Lower your cholesterol: Unless your LDL or total cholesterol is high —or if your HDL is low — your doctor will recommend lifestyle changes, possibly along with medication, to get it under control. Lifestyle changes that can help lower cholesterol include: getting at least 2.5 hours of exercise per week, losing weight (if your BMI is greater than 25), eating less saturated fat and cholesterol, and eating more whole grains and other fiber-rich foods.