February is American Heart Month, a great time to take a closer look at cardiovascular disease (CVD). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 17.5 million people die each year from CVD, a figure representing 31% of all deaths worldwide. Physicians recommend regular exercise and a diet rich in fruits and vegetables to prevent development of CVD, but many healthy individuals still die from this disease. As with other complex diseases, both genetic and environmental factors influence disease risk, and some families are highly predisposed to the disease.
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