February is recognized as American Heart Month, a health observance that encourages Americans to focus on their cardiovascular health and understand the importance of adopting healthier behaviors that can decrease the risk of serious health outcomes, such as a heart attack or stroke.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women, as well as most racial and ethnic groups in the U.S. It’s also responsible for about one in every five female deaths.
The absence of symptoms does not mean everything is OK. The plaque in your arteries that eventually causes these symptoms grows silently for many years before it causes them. And if it keeps growing, it may lead to a heart attack.
Fortunately, you can get an idea of how much plaque you have long before it causes serious problems by a scan known as a coronary artery calcium test. The amount of calcified plaque seen on CAC helps predict your risk of future heart attack — a higher calcium score is associated with a higher risk.
This scan is not very helpful if you’re at low risk, or if you already have known heart disease. But if you have some risk factors, family history of heart disease or are considering statin therapy to lower cholesterol, a CAC may add valuable information to help make treatment decisions.
Factors that may increase the risk of heart disease include smoking, obesity, drinking too much alcohol, not getting enough exercise, a family or personal history of heart problems, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
All of these factors — except family history — are under your control. The CDC states that living a healthier lifestyle can help lower your risk for heart attack. By adopting healthier lifestyle habits, you can incorporate small, but powerful, changes into your day-to-day routine that can help prevent heart disease.
Editor’s note: Dr. Michael Kleven is a primary care physician with Optum – Arizona. He’s based in Surprise. Please send your comments to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.
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