While you certainly can’t control some risk factors for heart disease, such as age and family history, there could be other contributors at play that significantly increase your risk. Factors that can be addressed through lifestyle changes or medical interventions.
When assessing your risk for heart disease, our team of internal health experts at Clover Internal Medicine Associates in Fort Worth, Texas, considers several factors that affect your heart health and the magnitude of their impact.
In this month’s blog, we take a look at health conditions that increase your risk for heart disease so you can better care for your heart health.
High blood pressure is a condition in which the pressure in your arteries is too high, which can eventually damage your heart and other major organs. Unfortunately, this major risk factor for heart disease doesn’t present with any symptoms. It can only be detected through routine visits with our team.
Blood pressure is determined by measuring the force of blood flow in arteries when your heart beats (systolic pressure) and between heartbeats as your heart fills with blood (diastolic pressure).
Normal blood pressure is less than 120 systolic and less than 80 diastolic. Elevated blood pressure is 120-129 systolic and less than 80 diastolic. Stage 1 high blood pressure is 130-139 systolic or 80-89 diastolic, and stage 2 high blood pressure is higher than 139 systolic or higher than 89 diastolic.
A hypertensive crisis that requires immediate medical attention occurs when blood pressure is higher than 179 systolic or 119 diastolic.
Cholesterol is a fatty substance that’s necessary for cellular health and for producing various hormones. Your liver makes all the cholesterol you’ll ever need, but we also get cholesterol from our diet
Lipoproteins are small particles that carry cholesterol where it needs to go. The two types of lipoproteins are high-density lipoproteins (HDL or “good cholesterol”) and low-density lipoproteins (LDL or “bad cholesterol”).
LDL is a sticky substance that can clump together and build up along artery walls. These plaques of cholesterol can narrow arteries and restrict blood flow to your heart, brain, and other parts of your body.
HDL cholesterol attaches to and, ideally, carries any excess LDL away from arteries, ensuring the unused cholesterol is flushed awary. Unfortunately, when your LDL is too high, the HDL cannot keep up with the excess.
Elevated LDL does not cause symptoms but is a significant risk factor for heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. We use a simple blood test (lipid profile) to assess your cholesterol levels and determine whether medication could help reduce your heart disease risk.
Diabetes is a condition that develops when glucose levels in your blood are too high. Your pancreas makes a hormone called insulin, which enables cells to absorb glucose and use it as fuel.
Depending on the type of diabetes, the pancreas may not make enough insulin, or your cells may not be using insulin efficiently. Either way, you end up with a buildup of glucose, which can damage blood vessels, nerves, eyes, kidneys, and put you at a higher risk for heart disease.
We check for diabetes with a simple blood test. Healthy fasting blood sugar levels typically range from 50 to 99 mg/dL.
If your blood sugar measures between 100 and 125 mg/dL, it means you have prediabetes and are at risk for full-blown diabetes if you don’t make lifestyle changes. Readings above 125 mg/dL are considered diabetic.
Carrying excess weight puts you at risk for having high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes, all of which increase your risk for heart disease.
Obesity is measured and diagnosed through body mass index (BMI), which combines factors of your weight and height. A healthy BMI is anywhere between 18.5 and 24.9. You’re considered overweight if your BMI is between 25 and 29.9 and obesity is marked when your BMI is 30 or above.
No matter what your risk factors are for heart disease, our team is here to help. We offer expert-level services to address your specific risk factors and improve your heart health.
Schedule an appointment to measure your heart disease risk by calling our office or using our online booking feature today.
