The HealthFair Heart Disease FAQ section provides basic answers to questions about the benefits of heart disease screening to prevent heart disease. Heart disease is the #1 killer in the United States. Learn more about how to detect and prevent heart disease.
Q. How common is heart disease?
A. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), in 2010 heart disease will cost the United States $316.4 billion. This total includes the cost of healthcare services, medications and lost productivity. Cardiovascular disease (includes heart disease and stroke) claims more lives each year than the next four leading causes of death combined, which are cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases, accidents and diabetes. Many steps, however, can be taken towards heart disease prevention, like regular health screening.
Q. How can I reduce my risk of developing heart disease? What symptoms of cardiovascular disease should I look for?
A. Some risk factors are not controllable, including family history of heart disease, increasing age and male gender. However, there are several established risk factors for heart disease that are controllable.
Controllable risk factors of heart disease include:
- Smoking
- High cholesterol
- High blood pressure
- Exercise
- Obesity
- Diabetes
Q. What is an Electrocardiogram (EKG) and why should I have one?
A. An EKG is a safe, non-invasive health screening used for diagnosing heart attacks and heartbeat rhythm abnormalities. You should have an EKG every one-to-three-years after age 40 if you have heart disease, or if you are at risk for developing heart disease because you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes.
Q. What type of health risk factors and other information would an Electrocardiogram (EKG) show?
A. An EKG shows the electrical activity of your heart, including rate and rhythm. By evaluating the tracings of the heart’s electrical activity, physicians can see whether the heartbeat is irregular (if any arrhythmia is present), whether the heart is enlarged, or even detect the telltale signs of damage from an old heart attack.
Q. What is the difference between a 3 Lead and 12 Lead Electrocardiogram (EKG)?
A. A 3 Lead EKG provides a basic tracing and a 12 Lead EKG enables 12 different recordings of the heart’s electrical activity to be taken at the same time. By adding more leads, your physician can see a picture of the same heart rhythm from multiple vantage points. HealthFair offers a 12 Lead EKG, which is considered the most thorough form of an EKG.
Q. What are the benefits to getting an Echocardiogram (Echo)?
A. You may benefit from an Echocardiogram if you’ve experienced unexplained chest or upper arm pain, a heart murmur, a heart attack, a heart defect and/or if you have a history of heart disease.
Other heart disease symptoms include:
- Shortness of breath
- Palpitations (irregular heartbeats)
- Weakness or dizziness
- Nausea
- Fainting
Q. What will an Echocardiogram (Echo) show? A. An Echocardiogram is considered to be one of the best and most accurate non-invasive study to obtain a great deal of information about the heart. An Echocardiogram gives you a high-quality image of how your heart is working; including heart size and strength of contractions, blood-flow, valve function, fluid around the heart and heart muscle activity.
Q. What is an Arterial Stiffness Index (ASI) screening?
A.The ASI screening of the brachial artery has been demonstrated in studies to correlate with the coronary arteries as to the extent of atherosclerotic lesions. The ASI is a number that correlates with atherosclerosis. Since atherosclerosis reduces flexibility in the arteries, the higher the ASI, the more likely someone is to have hardening of the arteries.
Q. What are some risk factors of atherosclerosis?
A. In addition to simply getting older, factors that increase the risk of atherosclerosis include:
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Smoking
- A family history of aneurysm or early heart disease