How To Prevent and Control Coronary Heart Disease Risk Factors. You can prevent and control many coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors with heart-healthy lifestyle changes and medicines. Examples of risk factors you can control include high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, and overweight and obesity. Only a few risk factorsâsuch as age, gender, and family historyâcanât be controlled. To reduce your risk of CHD and heart attack, try to control each risk factor you can.