|
Heart Attack/Coronary Heart Disease Risk Assessment-H9
It’s essential that you measure your risk of heart disease and make a plan for how to prevent it in the near future. The Risk Assessment Tool is for people age 20 or older who do not already have heart disease or diabetes. This tool will help you assess your risk of having a heart attack or dying from coronary heart disease in the next 10 years. It will also check to see if you may have metabolic syndrome, a group of risk factors that greatly increase your chances of developing cardiovascular disease, including stroke and diabetes. After you have finished using the tool, you can print a copy of your risk assessment results, risk factor summary report, metabolic syndrome assessment and action plans for those areas you need to work on in order to reduce your risk.
What do I need to know to use this tool? What is the By age 40, everyone should know their risk score using this tool and should assess their risk every five years (or more often if risk factors change). If you have a family member who had heart disease at an early age (mother or sister before age 65, or father or brother before age 55) you should know about your risk factors and be screened earlier than age 20. Tell your doctor about your family history and ask about your own risk. Do not use this tool if you already have been diagnosed with heart disease, diabetes, peripheral arterial disease, abdominal aortic aneurysm or carotid artery disease. You are already at high risk (more than 20 percent) to have a heart attack or die from coronary heart disease in the next 10 years. Talk to your doctor about your risk of a heart attack or future heart problems. What do I need to know to use this tool? You must know your blood pressure, cholesterol (lipid) levels (total, LDL, HDL and triglycerides), and blood sugar levels. See your doctor to get these tests if you have not already had them. You also need to know your height, weight, and waist circumference. If you don’t know some of these numbers, the tool will use average data for someone who is your age and gender. Your risk will be much more accurate if you use your own data. This risk assessment tool uses a scoring system from a study know as the Framingham Heart Study to assess your risk of heart attack or dying of coronary heart disease in the next 10 years. It uses national guidelines known as the ATP III guidelines for assessing metabolic syndrome Note: If your risk score is low, it doesn’t mean you’re off the hook. Even one risk factor, such as high cholesterol, that is not treated may lead to a higher risk later in life. Work to modify all your risk factors to improve your overall health. What is the The Framingham Heart Study is one of the most important public health studies in American medical history. The study's goal is to learn why people get cardiovascular disease, and how it evolves and results in death in the general population. This information will help researchers find out, over a long time, how those who develop cardiovascular diseases differ from those who don't. Visit http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/about/framingham/ if you want to know more about the study. ATP III is a report written by the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) that provides guidelines for healthcare professionals on how to prevent, detect, evaluate and treat high cholesterol in adults. ATP III is endorsed by the American Heart Association and is sponsored by the NHLBI (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute). For more information about ATP III, visit http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/cholesterol/ Some people may have a group of risk factors that greatly increase their chances of developing cardiovascular disease, including stroke, and diabetes. The clinical identification of metabolic syndrome is based on the following risk factors:
The safest and best way to prevent and treat metabolic syndrome is to make healthy changes in your habits: lose weight, increase physical activity levels and eat right. Medicine may also help some people. Also, don’t smoke. Smoking is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
This content is reviewed regularly. Last updated 05/14/08. |
|
|
|||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
|
|
| |||
| | | ||
