Scientists also found that of the four major cardiovascular disease risk factors studied, high blood pressure was the most common issue. “These are the ‘major’ risk factors and they are modifiable, at least potentially,” Greenland said. “Some of the other factors that are suggested to be ‘risk factors’ for cardiovascular disease — like genetics or certain blood markers like C-reactive protein — are not modifiable. “This is important because high blood pressure is fairly easily detectable but it is asymptomatic, so often overlooked,” Greenfield said. “Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States,” Chen, who was not involved in this research, commented.