Getting your blood pressure, cholesterol, and weight checked routinely is the first step toward preventive heart care. You can also seek help to improve habits that affect your chances of getting heart disease.
Heart Disease and Obesity Diagnostic Tests
- High blood pressure
Screening of blood pressure every three to five years until age 40 is important, after which it should be checked every year. Owing to the asymptomatic nature of high blood pressure, many people are not aware of having it, so the only way to know is to get screened. Uncontrolled high blood pressure can result in heart attack, stroke, heart failure, or kidney failure. Also, you have to get your blood pressure checked at regular intervals to know if it’s high. - High cholesterol
Blood cholesterol can be checked by taking a small sample of your blood. To ensure you are safe, you need to know the levels of good cholesterol called HDL and bad cholesterol called LDL in your blood. - Obesity
Being obese increases your risk of having high blood pressure and diabetes, which in turn raises your risk of developing heart diseases. If you are looking for ways to lose weight, you can seek counselling for the same from a doctor. - Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
Men aged 65-75 who have been regularly smoking should get this one-time test. An abdominal aortic aneurysm causes disturbances with blood flowing from the heart to the abdomen. - Type 2 Diabetes
A small sample of your blood can be used by a doctor to check your glucose sugar levels. The results help determine if you have prediabetes or diabetes. Diabetes and heart health are closely linked.
Preventive Care Services for Your Heart
- Nutrition counselling
What you consume influences your risk of heart disease. Changing your bad habits into good ones and choosing heart-healthy foods more often will prevent heart diseases in the future. - Obesity counselling
If your weight is raising your risk of heart disease, counselling may help you lose and manage your weight and lower your risk. If you are overweight or obese, even losing 10 pounds can lower your chance of developing heart disease. Your doctor can tell you different ways to lose weight, such as a weight loss plan with personalized counselling. A plan could involve setting weight loss goals, improving your diet, and increasing physical activity. - Tobacco use
If you are addicted to tobacco, your doctor can help you develop a plan and look for strategies to quit or guide you to someone who can. A solid quit plan includes strategies to manage cravings, medications, seeking support from family and friends, and good exercise.
How is preventive heart healthcare important?
Heart disease refers to several heart conditions, of which the most common type is coronary artery disease, which is also called coronary heart disease. This condition occurs when the arteries that send blood to the heart muscle harden and narrow due to the buildup of plaque. It can lead to a heart attack, severe pain in the chest, heart failure, and irregular heartbeat or arrhythmias.
Taking the steps toward getting yourself checked and working to adopt lifestyle changes can help you stay away from getting heart disease. Are you worried about your heart disease or potentially getting one? Well, you can stop worrying and get checked to see how likely you are to get it. At Reliance Hospital, you could seek preventive services to help you focus on making your everyday habits and overall lifestyle heart-healthy. You could also get regular checkups at our Department of cardiac sciences which is the best in Navi Mumbai. We offer a comprehensive programme from the diagnosis and treatment of heart diseases for patients of all ages. We understand the step-by-step process that leads to a heart attack or any major cardiac illness, so we focus on eliminating those in the first place to ensure that you live long, fulfilled, and heart-healthy lives.