A 2024 survey found that over half of Americans don’t know that the leading cause of death in the US — for men and women across most racial groups, both today and for the past 100 years — is heart disease. Statistics show that:
Many people also don’t know that heart disease is largely preventable through healthy lifestyle patterns and frequent screenings. Knowing your family’s heart health history is a big piece of the heart disease prevention puzzle.
This month, our team at Sunnyvale Cardiology in Sunnyvale, Texas, explains why family history matters when it comes to heart health, and how knowing yours can benefit you.
While family history and genetics are only one element of the heart health equation, having certain factors in your background can significantly increase your risk of heart disease. Compiling relevant information on your family’s heart health history can help you:
Some forms of heart disease are directly inherited and can cause problems from birth. Familial hypercholesterolemia, for example, causes unhealthy cholesterol levels, even in infancy.
Genetics can heavily influence other common forms of heart disease, including high blood pressure and coronary artery disease.
A family history of heart attack, stroke, or heart disease diagnosed before age 55 for close male relatives or 65 for close female relatives indicates a potentially higher risk for you.
If your family history indicates a higher-than-average heart disease risk, your doctor can recommend earlier or more frequent screenings than for a person with a low or average risk.
Even with known genetic predispositions, establishing healthy lifestyle patterns can reduce your heart disease risk. Knowing your family history can motivate you to make positive changes across the board, from quitting smoking to staying active and eating well.
Compiling your family’s heart health history means talking with first- and second-degree relatives (parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, and uncles) on both sides of your family.
In the event that you can’t speak directly with any of those relatives, see if you can get the information from someone else who may know it. You’ll want to inquire about:
Ask if any relatives have been diagnosed with any form of heart disease, such as coronary artery disease (the most common type), peripheral artery disease, carotid artery disease, or congestive heart failure.
Also inquire about related conditions that raise the risk of heart disease, like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes.
Inquire about heart attacks, strokes, or aneurysms, and the age at which they occurred.
Ask about any heart procedures your relatives may have had, like bypass surgery, cardiac stenting, or pacemakers. You might also inquire about current cardiovascular treatments, like medication and increased monitoring.
Check for more detailed information on irregular heart rhythms like atrial fibrillation, especially if a close relative has or had a pacemaker or an implantable defibrillator.
Finally, ask living relatives about any other first- or second-degree family members, like an aunt or uncle, who died suddenly and unexpectedly — especially at a young age.
Once you’ve compiled your family’s heart health history, it’s time to share it with your primary care provider. Bring detailed notes to your annual exam, so you remember what to share.
Also note any shared family lifestyle factors that may increase your risk, such as smoking, unhealthy eating, or lack of exercise. This awareness can help inform your own lifestyle choices — and encourage change for the better — without casting blame.
If heart disease runs in your family, your doctor may recommend:
Your preventive heart health plan may also involve regular monitoring of your blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, and body mass index. Keeping your “heart health numbers” in check — and gaining control of them early, if they start to slip — is the goal.
Even if your family history places you at a high risk of heart disease, you can mitigate that risk significantly by taking control of your lifestyle: Maintain a healthy weight, get regular exercise, eat a wholesome diet, avoid or quit smoking, and limit your alcohol intake.
If part or all of your family heart health history is unknown because of factors like having a single parent, being adopted, or not having any living relatives who can provide information, you can still take proactive care of your cardiovascular health.
If you’re adopted, you may be able to retrieve the medical histories of your birth parents from the agency that arranged your adoption. You can also cite your adoptive family’s heart history as a partial indicator because of the shared lifestyle factor.
The bottom line? Talk with our team about your situation, and we’ll create an action plan.
Leading a heart-healthy lifestyle and having routine blood pressure readings, cholesterol checks, and other heart health screenings can help monitor the most significant heart disease risk factors. Additional screenings, like coronary calcium scan or genetic testing, can help provide more information, too.
Ready to schedule your heart health screening? Call or click online to make an appointment at Sunnyvale Cardiology today.
