Your Heart Risk Is Personal

Several things shape your heart risk. Some are fixed. Your age, family history and being male count. They cannot be changed.

Others you can work on. Smoking, body weight and how active you are all matter. Extra weight around the waist adds to risk. So does not moving much each day.

The fixed ones still matter. They can shape how strong your prevention plan needs to be.

A family tree of two parents and three children, with the middle child marked You. A parent and a sister wear a small badge showing they have the condition, and a Risk bar fills part way. Gene icons show what the family shares, then smoking, age and body weight icons push the bar higher, and last a blood test vial and a tick show checking early.

Diabetes adds to the factors above. Adults with diabetes are nearly twice as likely to have heart disease or stroke. That comparison is with adults without diabetes. They also tend to develop these conditions at a younger age.

How these factors add up differs from person to person. Two people with diabetes can still have very different risk pictures.

Only your doctor can judge your overall heart risk. They look at your full health picture, including your age, habits, numbers and history.

A list of factors cannot tell you your risk on its own. Your risk is not fixed for life. Numbers and habits can change over time, and risk can change with them.

Ask your doctor how often your risk should be reviewed.

Key takeaways

• Age, family history and being male are fixed, but they still shape your plan.
• Smoking, body weight and activity level are habits you can work on.
• Only your doctor can judge your overall risk, and it can change over time.

Try it

List the factors from this lesson, mark the ones you can change, and bring it to your next visit.