Ischemic heart disease, or coronary artery disease

When people think of the deadliest diseases in the world, their minds may jump to those fast-moving, incurable diseases that sometimes encounter headlines. In reality, many of these diseases are not among the top 10 causes of death worldwide. In 2015, an estimated 56.4 million people died worldwide, of which 68% was due to slow progress.

What is even more surprising is that several diseases are completely preventable. Unpreventable factors include a person's place of life, access to preventive care and quality of care. These are all risk factors. But everyone can take steps to reduce the risk.

Although it is still the main cause of death, mortality has declined in many European countries and the United States. This may be due to better public health education, access to health care and forms of prevention. However, in many developing countries, the death toll in Canada is rising. Life expectancy, socio-economic changes and lifestyle risk factors play a role in this increase.

Risk factors and prevention
CAD risk factors include:

hypertension
High cholesterol
smokes
Family history of CAD
diabetes
overweight

Talk to your doctor if you have one or more of these risk factors.
You can prevent CAD with medications and by maintaining good heart health. 

Some steps you can take to decrease your risk include:
exercising 
regularly
maintaining a healthy weight

eating a balanced diet that’s low in sodium and high in fruits and vegetables
avoiding smoking
drinking only in moderation