Ein Raucher verdreifacht sein Herzinfarktrisiko. Schon Raucher von 1-5 Zigaretten pro Tag haben 38% mehr Herzinfakte. Bei 40 Zigaretten pro Tag steigt das Herzinfarktrisiko auf das 9-fache. Unabhängig davon führen erhöhte Blutfette zu einer Erhöhung des relativen Herzinfarktrisikos um den Faktor 3.2, Stress 2.7, Diabetes 2.4, Hochdruck 1.9 und abdominelle Adipositas 1.1. Reduziert wurde das Risiko durch täglichen Gemüse/Obst-Verzehr um den Faktor 0.7, regelmäßigen Sport 0.86, bis zu 3-maligen Alkoholgenuss pro Woche 0.91 (Yusuf et al. 2004, INTERHEART case-control study, Lancet 364:937-52)

ORIGINALZITATE: "The risk factors that we've been able to measure account for 90 per cent or more of heart disease.

"The impact of these risk factors in developing heart disease is global,"said Yusuf, head of the Population Health Research Institute at the Hamilton university. "It's there in every ethnic group, in men, in women, in every region of the world, in young and old.

"It means we should be able to prevent the majority of premature heart attacks in the world."

"The most telling of those risk factors are cigarette smoking and a poor ratio of bad to good cholesterol, which together predict two-thirds of heart attacks worldwide, the study suggests, followed by high blood pressure, diabetes, abdominal obesity, stress and depression, a lack of daily consumption of fruits and vegetables, and a lack of daily exercise."

"Modest alcohol consumption - three to five drinks per week - was found to be a slightly protective factor."