He and his colleagues cited 213 million opportunities to improve cardiovascular risk among Americans by addressing behaviors that are currently standing in the way of progress:

71 million people are physically inactive, participating in no leisure-time exercise.

54 million people are still smoking combustible tobacco products.

40 million adults have uncontrolled high blood pressure.

39 million with high cholesterol are not using medication to lower it.

9 million people for whom a daily baby aspirin is appropriate are not taking it.

In other words, “millions of Americans have cardiovascular risk factors that place them at increased risk of having a cardiovascular event, despite the existence of proven strategies for preventing or managing” those risks, Ms. Wall and co-authors wrote.

The as-yet unstoppable epidemic of obesity is most likely the leading cause of preventable cardiovascular disease and deaths. Excess weight can result in high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, Type 2 diabetes and a reluctance to be physically active, all of which contribute to cardiovascular risk.

So if you do nothing else, make a concerted effort to shed excess pounds and keep them off. Losing just 10 percent of body weight can have a major impact on your health.

If your cholesterol level is too high and dietary changes like eating less red meat and more seafood, fruits and vegetables and choosing heart-healthy fats are not enough to bring it down, talk to your doctor about cholesterol-lowering medication like a statin. If prescribed, take it and continue to take it indefinitely. Currently, two patients in five discontinue the drug within three months, and within six months only slightly more than half still take it.

Despite decades of nationwide efforts to get high blood pressure properly diagnosed and treated, Dr. Ritchey said this all-too-common contributor to cardiovascular disease often escapes medical surveillance.

“Patients come for a regular doctor visit, but their elevated blood pressure is not formally diagnosed and therefore not treated. It’s a preventable risk factor hiding in plain sight,” he said.

One of the simplest steps people could take on their own to prevent and treat high blood pressure is to lower their sodium intake. Salt is the leading dietary source of sodium, which can raise blood pressure to dangerous levels in millions of people.