When it comes to your health and longevity, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. This is especially true when it comes to the health of your cardiovascular system — the vital body system that drives and supports all other aspects of your physical function and vitality.
Prevention is the central goal of a heart health screening, which aims to reduce your risk of developing the most common chronic illness in the United States — and the leading cause of death for American men and women alike — heart disease.
Luckily, heart disease is almost always preventable.
This February, in recognition of American Heart Month, our board-certified cardiologists at Sunnyvale Cardiology discuss the lifestyle and health factors behind most cases of heart disease, and offer four benefits of scheduling a heart health screening with our team ASAP.
Heart disease is an umbrella medical term for various cardiovascular illnesses. The most diagnosed form of heart disease in the U.S. is coronary artery disease (CAD), a condition that causes decreased blood flow to the heart, increasing the likelihood of suffering a heart attack or sudden cardiac arrest. CAD is also a leading cause of congestive heart failure.
For most people, heart disease is avoidable with heart-healthy living. The three biggest risk factors for heart disease are:
About half of all Americans (47%) have at least one of these three major risk factors. Heart disease risk is further heightened by several other common health conditions and lifestyle choices, including:
Common mental health concerns — from high stress levels and loneliness to mood disorders (i.e., depression) and anxiety — can undermine your heart health, too.
A heart health screening can help you get ahead of heart disease, and it’s something we recommend for all middle-aged and older adults, as heart disease is more common with age.
We also recommend heart health screenings for adults of any age who smoke, are overweight and/or sedentary, have diabetes, high cholesterol or hypertension, or carry a strong genetic predisposition, or family history, of heart disease.
While the above risk factors qualify as top reasons to schedule a heart health screening, other important reasons to undergo this invaluable evaluation relate to the many benefits you stand to gain. A preventive heart health screening gives you a way to:
A heart health screening takes a deep dive into your cardiac risk factors, getting your current “heart health numbers” (i.e., body weight and BMI assessment, blood pressure reading, blood lipid levels, and blood glucose levels).
This data is combined with other pertinent information, including your age, family history, current health status (i.e., menopause, diabetes), lifestyle habits, and stress levels to offer a comprehensive view of your overall heart disease risk — which also happens to hold the key to creating a fully tailored heart disease prevention plan.
By understanding your heart health status, you can make informed decisions about exercise, diet, and other lifestyle modifications to improve your cardiovascular health. Even if you don’t smoke, you rarely drink, you’re at a healthy weight, and you exercise most days, chances are there’s still some change you can make to better support heart health.
Two things that affect heart health but are often not considered are managing stress levels and getting enough sleep. Many people can work to improve these.
Regular screenings help detect potential cardiovascular concerns like irregular heart rhythms before they develop into something more serious, allowing for early intervention and care. Prompt treatment offers the best chance at preventing complications — and sometimes, may help you reverse course completely.
Your first heart health screening helps establish a baseline for your cardiovascular well-being. Depending on what it reveals, you can view it as a snapshot in time that guides you toward maintaining the same healthy habits, establishing better habits, or starting early intervention treatment to keep a minor heart concern from worsening.
When you have regular heart health screenings (annually, or in some cases, every two years) you build a more detailed picture of your cardiovascular health over time. This gives you a way to support continued wellness more effectively, helping you sidestep common heart concerns that tend to develop “silently” — when people aren’t paying attention.
Are you ready to be proactive about your cardiovascular health? We’re here to help. Call or click online to schedule a heart health screening at Sunnyvale Cardiology in Sunnyvale, Texas, today.
