Genetics and Heart Disease, do they correlate? If your mom or dad had a heart attack, you might wonder if that’s going to happen to you, too. But your family’s history doesn’t have to become your future.
When it comes to your heart health, knowing your family history can be every bit as important as a diagnosis from a cardiovascular specialist or your primary care physician. Genetics and Heart Disease can be an indicator. Knowing your family’s health history can help you avoid both heart disease and stroke – the No. 1 and No. 5 causes of death in America.
Knowing is the first step.
Share your family history with your healthcare provider as soon as possible. If you don’t know the full history, start with your immediate family. Find out if your brothers, sisters, parents, or grandparents had heart disease or stroke and how old they were when they developed these diseases.
What next?
After an evaluation with one of our specialists, our team at Ashchi Heart & Vascular may perform a series of cardiovascular testing to determine a baseline of your cardiac health. Testing may include an echocardiogram, nuclear stress test and carotid ultrasound. Many patients can get started on proper medical therapy once testing is complete.
Other options.
Just because your family has a history of cardiovascular disease, it does not mean that you will have the same diseases, it just means that you are more likely to have them. Your health can be managed by changing behaviors that can increase your chances of getting heart disease or stroke. It is never too late to make important changes for your cardiovascular health.
- Stop smoking. If you smoke, quit.
- Choose good nutrition.
- Lower high blood pressure.
- Be physically active every day.
- Aim for a healthy weight.
- Manage diabetes.
- Reduce stress.
If you have questions about the impact family history can have on your heart health, or want to make an appointment with a specialist, please contact us at 904.339.2335.