You can decide what you eat, whether you exercise or start smoking, but you can’t choose your genetic makeup.
Your family history of disease is something you can’t change, yet it influences your health throughout your lifetime.
But you aren’t completely powerless. Knowing your family history gives you the opportunity to be proactive about your health and minimize your risk.
When heart disease runs in your family, it puts you at a higher risk of developing it too.
First, determine who in your family had or has heart disease and at what age they were diagnosed. If an immediate family member, such as a parent or sibling, had heart disease at a young age, it increases your chances of having it at a similar age.
Next, get tested. If you or a close relative are diagnosed with heart failure, arrhythmia or an aortic condition, genetic testing can help identify if there are specific genes that led to the disease. Physicians can use the findings to determine if others in your family should also get tested.
There are other genetically linked conditions that can increase your risk for heart disease, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. According to the American Heart Association, African Americans are at an increased risk for high blood pressure and diabetes. Hispanic Americans are at an increased risk for high cholesterol.
Your primary care doctor can help you track your numbers – blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar – over time.
Then, be proactive. You might consider getting a heart scan, which is a non-invasive test that takes just 15 minutes to complete and detects early build-up of calcium in the arteries.
Make sure you’re eating a healthy diet that includes vegetables and fruit, lean protein, whole grains and healthy fat. Exercise regularly, aiming for 30 minutes per day, five days per week. Find ways to relieve stress, as psychological stress can affect your physical health.
Another crucial step: If you smoke, quit. Smoking can raise your blood pressure, make your heart race, and narrow and harden your arteries – all of which can lead to heart disease, heart attack and stroke.
Although genetics are a strong determining factor for developing heart disease, it doesn’t make it inevitable. Take control of your health by knowing your risk, monitoring your health with your doctor and making lifestyle changes to help lower your risk.
