There's even more within our control when it comes to heart disease, which remains the leading cause of death in the U.S., even during 2020.

Coronary artery disease, the most common type of heart disease, is especially brutal.

When plaques made of cholesterol, fat, calcium and other waste build up in the vessels of the heart — what we call atherosclerosis — coronary heart disease develops.

It's the primary cause of heart attacks, which occur when those vessels become completely closed off by a growing plaque, or one that's shaken loose, and stops blood supply to the heart.

"If we look at people who have had a heart attack or died suddenly from coronary artery disease, half of those individuals never had a symptom before; the very first presentation of their heart disease is an unheralded heart attack, or worse," says Dr.

Despite the grim statistics, there is one major upside: With our choices, we have a lot of control over the main risk factors for coronary heart disease.

These numbers are sometimes the only clues we have to a patient's risk of heart disease, and that's because three of the most common culprits in heart attacks — high blood pressure, diabetes and abnormal cholesterol levels — are often present without any symptoms.

Hopping on a scale is another important step you can take right now, since weight is one of the most influential factors in our heart health.

While it's a strong, independent risk factor for heart attack, obesity is also commonly to blame for high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes and out of control cholesterol levels.

Mountains of evidence show that the benefits of exercise on heart health are huge and multifactorial.

The same vessels may not otherwise be capable of supplying blood if others get blocked, as in the case of heart attack.

Short bursts of exercise are great for heart health, too, and can be done in smaller spaces and in less time.

Smoking is one of the riskiest things you can do when it comes to heart health, since it speeds up the creation of those cholesterol-laden plaques and has other inflammatory effects on our tiny heart vessels.

To stop smoking means an instant drop in the risk of having a heart attack, and quitters can boast a drastic drop the risk of a heart attack within a year tobacco-free.

Find out if any of your relatives have had a premature heart attack — before the age of 55 in men and 65 in women — even if they survived.

Studies show that siblings, parents and even adult children of premature heart attack patients are at considerably higher risk.

But the complications — such as a heart attack — can come on suddenly, and doctors warn against delaying medical attention because of the pandemic