Relatives enjoy gathering for Thanksgiving and the holidays. They gather to enjoy great food and to stay connected. This inherent connection follows us, especially when it comes to our health. Like the tendency for blue eyes, our parents and grandparents can pass on a predisposition to disease. These include diabetes, cancer, and many cardiovascular problems such as stroke, heart arrhythmia and coronary disease and other contributing factors like high blood pressure and cholesterol. But discovering our family health histories allows us to practice preventive measures and watch for signs of trouble.
Family gatherings are the perfect place to gently ask aunts, uncles and older members for a snapshot of their heart health. These discussions can uncover information that was buried simply because no one thought to ask. In a recent U.S. Department of Health and Human Services study, data showed that 96 percent of people think knowing their family health history is important, but fewer than a third of them actually know it.
According to HeartScreen America, more than 350,000 Americans die every year from cardiac arrest. And of these, 14,000 are young people of whom 80 percent never showed symptoms until they collapsed.
Learning about your family’s heart health is the first step to guarding it. A complete medical record alerts a doctor to problems and helps them strategize for your best care. The ability to trace illness can steer a practitioner to a specific test or to develop a plan to delay or thwart heart disease.
Your health search should cover three generations on both sides of the family. Take notes and pose questions to relatives. If granddad suffered a heart attack, ask if he had surgery and whether there were other factors such as high blood pressure. Then, use that information to build a family medical tree with a Web tool at www.familyhistory.hhs.gov. Here, the data can be saved, shared and sent to your physician.
The general rule for gauging the importance of a chronic or congenial heart disease is the 3-2-1 Rule. If you can answer “yes” to any of the following situations for blood relatives affected by heart conditions, you are at risk:
· 3 members on the same side of the family, or
· 2 closely linked members (like siblings or parent and child), or
· 1 member affected at a young age (under 50)
Note this on your health record and follow up.
Patrick Burns, a 41-year old fit and able fireman, failed to uncover his family history. A heart attack filled in the blanks – both his father and grandfather suffered from heart disease and early death. Those risk factors indicated a heart screening. The procedure might have saved Burns from his emergency ambulance ride to Flagstaff Medical Center. Now, Burns advocates gathering family information and using it.
As you begin these conversations, explain your desire to learn more in order to care for everyone’s health. The purpose is to fill in your family medical tree from root to tip and pass on the information. Like real trees, this one keeps growing, so add new facts as people age. And if someone in your family has heart disease, schedule a heart screening today. Don’t become a statistic when a screening could save your life or the life of someone you love. FBN
Dr. Omar Wani, interventional cardiologist, is the medical director of Cardiac Rehabilitation at the Heart & Vascular Center of Northern Arizona. Specializing in interventional cardiac and vascular medicine, Dr. Wani is well respected for his extensive research in cardiovascular medicine, which includes published articles, reference books and presentations.
The Heart & Vascular Center of Northern Arizona (HVCNA) is a partnership between Flagstaff Medical Center and Verde Valley Medical Center. It combines physician office practices with extensive hospital-based services including diagnostic and interventional cardiology procedures and open heart surgery. HVCNA offices are located in Flagstaff, Cottonwood, Camp Verde, Sedona and Winslow.
For more information on the Heart & Vascular Center of Northern Arizona, visit NAHeartCare.com. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Wani or one of the world-class physicians at the Heart & Vascular Center, call 877 928-WELL.