Some Tools To Accurately Assess You Risk Of Heart Disease
“The factors that determine the risk of developing heart disease are to a large extent, under your control”
Lifestyle, food habits, obesity, stress or smoking whatever the cause, it can’t be ignored that heart diseases are ‘extremely prevalent today. But the good news is that, the factors that determine the risk of developing heart disease are to a large extent, under your control and fortunately, the tools exist today for you to accurately assess you risk of getting heart disease, without waiting for your doctors to initiate action. So, here’s a simple protocol to assess your own risk and what you need to know.
Gather The Following Information
- Whether you smoke or not
- Your total, LDL, TGL and HDL cholesterol levels
- Your blood pressure
- Whether you have evidence of diabetes or metabolic syndrome
- Whether you are overweight for your age and height
- Your family history of diabetes, heart disease
- Alcohol consumption
- Stressed or anxious personality
- Lack of exercise
With this information, you can place yourself into one of three categories: low, intermediate or high risk of being a victim of heart attack.
For a low risk individual the following signs must be present:
- Non-smoker
- Total cholesterok200mg/dL,
- HDL cholesterol>40 mg/dL, LDL <100MG
- Systolic BP<1 20, diastolic BP<80.
- No evidence of diabetes
- Not overweight
- No family history of premature vascular disease
You are in the high risk category to develop heart problem if you have any of the following:
- Known coronary artery disease or other vascular disease In family
- Type 2 diabetes
- Over age 65 with more than one risk factor
You are in the Intermediate risk group If you don’t fit into either the low or high risk groups.
Guidelines For Patients
Low risk patients can be managed without any further intervention, except for routine advice on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. High risk patients should immediately be checked by a doctor and be placed on appropriate treatments. According to doctors advice an individual can adopt several methods to reduce the risk of heart attack and it includes the use of statin drugs, beta blockers, aspirin and or ACE inhibitor. They also may require further evaluation by a cardiologist.
Intermediate risk patients. in addition to taking steps to modify the risk factors, should undergo non-invasive tests like the treadmill test, to measure whether or not they already have evidence of coronary artery disease. Also, remember, many of the risk factors of heart disease are modifiable and the appropriate interventions at the right time have proven benefits.
Preventive Initiatives Relevant To Heart Disease
- Smoking cessation – decreases the risk by 50 per cent within live years of stopping
- Control of blood pressure- decreases the risk by two per cent for each 1 mm Hg decrease in diastolic pressure
- Control of cholesterol and other lipids – decreases the risk by two per cent for each one per cent decrease in cholesterol
- Exercise – decreases the risk by 40 per cent when compared to a sedentary lifestyle
- Ideal body weight – decreases the risk by 30 per cent when compared to obese people
- Hormone replacement therapy in post-menopausal women decreases the risk by 40 per cent
- Low dose aspirin prophylaxis decreases the risk by 30 per cent
Healthy Patients Take Heart!
- Avert chest pain or angina.
- When blood supply to heart is reduced the symptom of angina is produced.
- When angina continues, it ends in infarction.
- If care is taken, blood supply reaches satisfaction.
- Chest pain with perspiration suggests an attack. This requires utmost care, so do not be slack.
- The risk factors should be dealt in a hurry.
- It is not how much you eat, but what kind of food you eat.
- Vegetables, fruits and cereals are not fattening.
- Cakes, biscuits and sweets add up the fat.
- Leave the rat race to rats and don’t hurry.
- When you reduce stress in life, you have little to worry.
- Take vacations once in a way, to tone up your heart on the high way.
- Dark days Increase every time you light up a cigarette, cigars or bedis.
- And this pushes up the incidence of heart attacks.
Remember The Word ‘S’ For Risk Factors
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Smoking
- Stress
- Stomach full fatty diet
- Sugar excess – diabetes
- Systemic hypertension – high blood pressure
- Storage of more fat – obesity
- Severe anaemia
- Give up a little of yourself every day and reduce your weight to prevent heart attacks
- Nothing to cheer about, alcohol is harmful always!
- Regular check-ups are a must and useful.