The choices you make today can greatly reduce your chance of heart disease tomorrow.

Each year, 1.5 million Americans have heart attacks, and the number is rising. For 20 percent to 40 percent of these people, a heart attack is the first symptom of heart disease. Unfortunately, one in three people does not survive a first heart attack.

The key to heart disease prevention is taking sensible steps to ensure good heart health before a fatal or disabling event occurs. Most major risk factors for heart disease can be controlled through daily decisions you make about nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle.

Your Risk of Heart Disease has been created to help you:

• Understand risk factors for heart disease.
• Identify risk factors you may have.
• Learn how to reduce your risk.
• Lower your overall risk of a heart attack, stroke, or heart-related complications.

Find out your personal risk by taking the Heart Disease quiz. Then read through the accompanying pages to find out how you can lower your risk.

Remember: Being at high risk for heart disease is almost always reversible.