Discuss all seven coronary disease risk factors
Distinguish factors that increase risk from a claim that disease is certain.
Section B9.2 · Heart
Mapped to the named 0654 section using teaching from the corresponding single-science course. A 0654-specific review of every Core and Supplement objective is still in progress. Written practice is self-checked; it does not demonstrate supervised laboratory competence or award an official Cambridge grade.
Before you begin
- Recall coronary artery narrowing and the meaning of risk.
Work on paper. Try each question before revealing help, and explain why your method works.
Quick readiness check
What does a risk factor mean here?
What you will learn
- Lifestyle factors can change risk
- Genetic predisposition, age and sex also matter
Lifestyle factors can change risk
The syllabus names diet, lack of exercise, stress and smoking as possible risk factors. A dietary pattern high in saturated fat can contribute to elevated blood cholesterol and risk of fatty artery deposits. Inactivity, smoking and sustained stress can also increase risk through effects on cardiovascular health. This does not mean every exposure causes disease in every person.
Discuss the pattern rather than blaming a single meal or a single stressful event. Multiple factors can act together, and a reported risk factor is not itself proof of a coronary blockage. Diet and exercise are developed further in the risk-reduction lesson.
Genetic predisposition, age and sex also matter
The other three named factors are genetic predisposition, age and sex. Inherited tendencies can affect risk; risk generally rises with age. Sex-related patterns also influence population risk, with men tending to develop coronary disease earlier and risk in women rising after menopause. These are general patterns, not a prediction of an individual’s outcome.
Age, inherited predisposition and sex cannot simply be removed by changing a daily habit. Lifestyle changes may still reduce risk alongside those factors. For an exam response, name all seven when asked for the complete syllabus list and avoid replacing a factor with a guarantee that a person has or will have disease.
Sources for this lesson
Pause and explain
Which set completes diet, inactivity, stress and smoking?
Worked example
Separate the seven named factors into lifestyle-related factors and inherited/demographic factors.
Show the worked solution
- Diet, inactivity, stress and smoking are lifestyle-related.
- Genetic predisposition, age and sex are inherited/demographic factors.
Answer Lifestyle-related: diet, lack of exercise, stress, smoking. Inherited/demographic: genetic predisposition, age, sex.
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Choose Easy, Normal or Difficult. Save your answers and open worked review after finishing.
Test this topic →From guided practice to a new situation
Write your answer and reasoning first. Use a hint only if you are stuck. The model solution is for self-checking; your written work is not automatically marked.
List all seven named coronary heart disease risk factors.
Give me a hint
Recall four lifestyle-related and three inherited/demographic factors.
Compare my reasoning
- Diet, lack of exercise, stress, smoking.
- Genetic predisposition, age and sex.
Diet; lack of exercise; stress; smoking; genetic predisposition; age; sex.
Look for these in your work
- Include all seven
- Do not substitute disease certainty for risk
Explain why an inherited predisposition does not make diet and exercise irrelevant.
Give me a hint
Risks combine rather than cancelling every possible action.
Compare my reasoning
- Inherited tendencies can raise risk.
- Lifestyle changes can still reduce other contributors.
Genetic risk cannot be removed by a habit change, but diet and exercise can still reduce modifiable contributors to overall risk.
Look for these in your work
- Distinguish inherited and modifiable factors
- Retain risk reduction without guarantee
A claim says “all older men have coronary disease, and younger women cannot develop it”. Improve it.
Give me a hint
Population risk patterns do not determine every individual.
Compare my reasoning
- Age and sex influence risk patterns.
- Neither group statement establishes certainty or impossibility.
Age and sex are risk factors, but disease is not certain for older men and is not impossible for younger women.
Look for these in your work
- Retain the risk factors
- Reject both absolute claims
Common mistakes
- Omitting age or sex from the syllabus list.
- Treating a risk factor as a diagnosis or moral judgement.
What can you explain now?
Which set completes diet, inactivity, stress and smoking?
Compare with the explanation
Genetic predisposition, age and sex
These are the other three named factors.
After trying it yourself, choose your next review. This is your self-assessment.
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Make it stick
Recall seven factors, then explain why naming one is not diagnosing a person.
If you needed the solution, close it and solve the problem again from a blank page. A correct answer is stronger when you can explain the reason for each step.