Determining your level of risk for cardiovascular disease is integral in maintaining your health and well-being.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Many individuals are at risk due to underlying conditions, genetics and lifestyle choices. Because many of us are unaware of our risk, we recommend that individuals with any of the below criteria consider having an evaluation with our preventative cardiologists at HeartHealth.
Individuals who have:
- A family member with a heart attack, stroke or sudden death at a young age (men less than 45 years old, women less than 55 years old)
- Diabetes (or “pre-diabetes”)
- Hypertension or high blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Previous chest radiation therapy
- Obesity
- History of a high-risk pregnancy (such as gestational diabetes, hypertension or pre-eclampsia)
- Chronic inflammatory disorder (such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis or inflammatory bowel disease)
- Sleep apnea or a sleep disorder
- Current or past history of depression
- Current or past history of smoking
- Desire to embark on an aggressive exercise program
If you have any of the above, please consider a cardiovascular evaluation. To schedule an evaluation, please call 646-962-HART (4278).
Based on your medical history, we can use calculators to estimate your risk of having a cardiovascular event over time. Risk calculators use various factors including age, sex, and race, in addition to “traditional” cardiac risk factors such as smoking, diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Our practice uses several common risk calculators. It is important to emphasize that risk calculators may be imperfect, especially in patients with unique risk factors. These might include a family history of early heart disease or a chronic inflammatory disorder. Therefore, it may be beneficial to consider a full cardiovascular assessment to explore your personal risk and strategies to reduce it.
Risk calculators may be of interest to you, but we caution that the results should be interpreted and reviewed by a trained clinical provider.
- Heart Age Predictor Using BMI (Body Mass Index) Source: Framingham Heart Study
- ASCVD Risk Estimator Source: American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association
- Risk Score Calculator Source: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)
- Coronary Artery Calcium Score Reference Values Source: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)
- Arterial Age Calculator Source: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)