You might not think about your risk of heart disease every day. But when you know your own risks, you can lower them with daily decisions.
A Mayo Clinic expert shares perspective on why you should know your heart risk factors now.
We asked a Mayo Clinic cardiologist: Why should every woman over 20 know her personal heart disease risk?
Rekha Mankad, M.D., Cardiology: Heart disease is the number one killer, but unless you really recognize that for yourself, you don't make the changes that you need to, to become healthier. I think it's important for all of us to recognize that we're at risk. Actually take stock in what's my own personal risk of heart disease?
It's never too early to start tracking your numbers.
Dr. Mankad: In your 20s, it's completely appropriate to get a good well check done and see where your numbers are. Getting baseline measurements of your cholesterol, looking at your blood pressure, recognizing if there's family history of heart disease.
We ask a woman about her pregnancy history because blood pressure issues during pregnancy may actually tell us if there's something wrong with your vessels.
The risk of heart disease goes up for all women when they hit menopause because when you lose your natural estrogen, your blood pressure can get higher, your cholesterol numbers can get more adverse.
Going to a provider on a regular basis for well checks I think is really important because it's at those times that those silent risk factors that you might not have a symptom from, like high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, obesity, can be really looked at and talked about.
Remember, you know your body best.
Dr. Mankad: Nobody can tell you how you feel. Ignoring a symptom because you've gone to talk to somebody and they said "Everything is fine" but you still feel poorly, I think that it's important to continue to advocate for more testing to be done.
Dr. Mankad has helped thousands of women reduce and manage their heart disease risk factors.
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