Editor’s Note: Heart Disease: Speak Up to Get Screened

Even in 2017, women are still marginalized when it comes to getting screened for heart disease. The 75-year-old woman with fatigue, chest pain, and shortness of breath might be told she needs to lose weight, take antacids, and exercise more, while a man of the same age is more likely to get a nuclear stress test or CT scan of his coronary arteries. If the screening tests reveal heart disease, he will be treated with medications and/or interventions with stents, while the woman may suffer a preventable cardiac event, such as a heart attack. The message: Know your risks for heart disease, and insist on screening if you meet the at-risk criteria.

The major risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) are diabetes, smoking, elevated cholesterol, a strong family history of CVD (for example, a parent or sibling that has had a heart attack or stroke prior to age 55), obesity, and sedentary lifestyle. If you are over 50 and you have two or more risk factors, you should be screened for heart disease by your physician.

The methods for screening include an exercise stress test, CT scan of the coronary arteries, and an echocardiogram, among others. The choice of screening method depends on factors such as your ability to exercise and your level of fitness and daily activity. Regardless of what type of tests you have, it’s the screening and the counseling that follows it that is most important to your long-term health.

When you are informed about the condition of your heart, you can then take any actions necessary to improve your heart health and prevent potentially life-threatening events. For more on managing heart disease risk factors, click here.

—Editor-in-Chief Orli R. Etingin, MD

The post Editor’s Note: Heart Disease: Speak Up to Get Screened appeared first on University Health News.

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