If You Have This in Your Blood, You're 42 Percent More Likely to Have a Heart Attack - Best Life

However, according to the American Heart Association (AHA), you can reduce your risk of heart disease and adverse coronary events by knowing which red flags signal high risk, and by making health and lifestyle changes accordingly.

Read on to discover if you've got these heart attack risk factors and what you can do to lower your risk.

Having either high levels of cholesterol or high blood sugar were each found to increase a person's risk of heart attack by a whopping 42 percent.

They assigned seven-point cardiovascular health (CVH) scores based on the AHA's "Life's Simple 7" metrics—a series of health factors that influence one's risk of poor heart health.

In addition to high cholesterol and high blood sugar, three lifestyle factors also featured on the list.

The researchers also found that having even one risk factor also increased risk of heart failure by 30 percent, cardiovascular death by 25 percent, and stroke by 24 percent.

Beyond the association between hypertension and heart attack, high blood pressure is also known to cause stroke, heart failure, kidney disease, vision loss, peripheral arterial disease, aneurism, and sexual dysfunction?

The study found that while those who began with and maintained good heart health suffered the fewest hospitalizations or deaths from heart attacks, strokes, or heart failure, those who suffered poor heart health but improved over time also saw vast improvements in their outcomes.

"We need strategies to help preserve or restore heart health in this population because we know poor heart health in young adults is linked to premature cardiovascular disease.".

Talk to your doctor to find out how your cholesterol, blood sugar levels, and other factors may be influencing your heart health.