The Doctor Is In: Managing your Heart Health

Content provided and sponsored by Henry Ford Health System

Heart disease is the number one killer of men and women,  but it doesn't have to be. The sooner you know your risks of heart disease... the better chance you have to keep it healthy and strong.
Of course, no single test or exam can definitively predict whether you'll have a heart attack. But there are options for testing that can help determine your heart health-and what you can do to improve it.

Expert: 
Cardiologist Deirdre Mattina, MD, Medical Director, Henry Ford Women's Heart Center

 

What Types of Heart Screening Tests Are Available?

The simplest tests of heart health are online and typically free. These risk assessments analyze information you input about your health history, then predict how likely you are to suffer a heart attack in the future. Most, like the Henry Ford Heart Health Quiz, are based on guidelines set by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology. They typically look at your body mass index, family history, smoking history, cholesterol numbers (if you know them), activity level and eating habits to predict the likelihood you'll have a heart attack.


Lowering Your Risk for a Heart Attack

Heart disease comes in all forms.  Coronary artery disease, or the build-up of cholesterol in the heart arteries, is mostly preventable by avoiding 'toxic substances' in our diet - sugar, processed foods and high animal protein intake - and 'toxic habits' - inactivity and smoking.

The most important steps you can take to keep your heart healthy are the American Heart Association's "Life's Simple 7" recommendations . 

Manage your blood pressure
Control your cholesterol
Reduce your blood sugar
Get Active
Eat better
Lose weight
Stop smoking

Henry Ford also offers a Heart Smart Screening that allows you to know your heart risk in less than an hour.