Heart Disease Risk Evaluation in Loxahatchee, West Palm Beach & Belle Glade, FL

What it involves

A heart disease risk visit is a conversation and a set of simple measurements. Your provider checks your blood pressure, reviews your cholesterol and blood sugar results, asks about smoking, activity, diet, and family history, and then explains which risk factors you can change and which you can only watch. The CDC says the way to learn whether you have high blood pressure or high cholesterol is to have them measured, because neither one has to cause symptoms.

Who this is for

• Adults who have never had their blood pressure and cholesterol reviewed together
• Patients with diabetes, obesity, or high blood pressure who want to understand their heart risk
• Patients with a parent or sibling who had heart disease at a young age
• Patients who smoke or used to smoke and want a plan to lower their risk

What to expect

• Blood pressure and weight measured, with your history and medicines reviewed
• Questions about smoking, alcohol, activity, diet, and family heart history
• A decision on which blood tests, such as a cholesterol panel, are worth ordering
• A plain explanation of your numbers and a follow-up plan you can actually keep

The three risk factors the CDC puts first

The CDC names high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking as key risk factors for heart disease, and says 47 percent of Americans have at least one of the three. Two of them can only be found by measuring. That is why a risk visit begins with a blood pressure reading and, when your provider thinks it useful, a lipid blood test. Once a cholesterol test is done, the lipid panel numbers guide explains what LDL, HDL, total cholesterol, and triglycerides mean on the report you receive.

Conditions that raise risk

The CDC lists several medical conditions that raise the chance of heart disease:

• High blood pressure, which can be managed at a [[hypertension visit|/hypertension-management/]]
• Unhealthy cholesterol, meaning too much LDL (bad) or too little HDL (good) cholesterol
• Diabetes, since adults with diabetes face a higher risk of dying from heart disease than adults without it
• Obesity, which the CDC links to higher triglycerides, lower good cholesterol, and higher blood pressure

Habits that raise risk

The CDC also lists behaviors that add to risk: a diet high in saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol, too much salt, not enough physical activity, drinking more than one drink a day for women or two for men, and using tobacco. Nobody has to fix all of these at once. A good visit picks the one or two that matter most for you and makes them specific, such as swapping one food or adding a ten-minute walk. Body weight is part of that picture, and the obesity and BMI guide explains the CDC weight categories and why BMI is a screening measure and not a diagnosis.

Risks you cannot change, and why they still matter

Family history, age, and race and ethnicity also affect risk, according to the CDC. You cannot change them, but knowing them tells your provider how closely to watch the numbers you can change. Tell the office which relatives had heart attacks, strokes, or heart failure, and at what age. Blood pressure is the number most people can track themselves, and the blood pressure readings guide explains the normal, elevated, and high ranges and how to take a reading at home.

Warning signs are a different visit

The CDC lists heart attack symptoms as chest pain or discomfort, upper back or neck pain, heartburn, nausea or vomiting, extreme tiredness, dizziness, and trouble breathing. Those are not a reason to wait for an appointment. Call 911. A risk review is for planning ahead, and it does not replace emergency care. The chest pain guide goes through the signs that mean calling 911 and the causes of chest pain that a clinic visit can sort out. Burning behind the breastbone is often reflux and not the heart, but it should still be sorted out at a visit, and the heartburn and acid reflux evaluation guide explains what NIDDK says about reflux symptoms.

How this connects to the rest of your care

Risk review often leads to a related visit. A cholesterol result may lead to the high cholesterol visit, a heart rhythm question may lead to an EKG at the Loxahatchee or West Palm Beach office, and a patient who already has heart failure can read how that is followed in the heart failure management guide. Blood sugar problems fall under diabetes management. MedlinePlus says untreated sleep apnea may lead to or worsen heart disease and high blood pressure, and the sleep apnea guide explains the symptoms that should prompt an evaluation.

Sources

• CDC — Heart Disease Risk Factors
• CDC — About Heart Disease