Are You at Risk of Heart Disease? Take This Quiz to Find Out

Heart disease accounts for one out of every four deaths in the United States.

Did you know heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States? In fact, heart disease accounts for 1 out of every 4 deaths. It’s important to know the aspects of life which lead to heart disease—while many risk factors stem from genetics, you have the power to lessen your risk by conducting a healthy lifestyle. Luckily, there is a survey which helps in determining how high your risk may be for heart disease. This survey is important because it can truly help an individual understand their risk and identify lifestyle choices which may be increasing that risk.

Heart disease risk fact survey

1. Are you a man over age 45?
2. Are you a woman over age 55 or are you post-menopausal?
3. Does anyone in your immediate family have a history of heart disease or diabetes?
4. Are you Black American or Latino American?
5. Do you have diabetes?
6. Do you smoke?
7. Is your blood pressure 140/90 or higher? (Normal is 120/80)
8. Is your total cholesterol over 200?
9. Are you 30 pounds or more over your recommended weight?
10. Do you exercise less than 3 times per week?

For each question that you answered "yes" to, your overall risk of developing heart disease increases. For example, if you have 3 risk factors you are more likely to develop heart disease than someone who has 2 risk factors.

Many different risk factors can affect your chances of developing heart disease, including some you can control and some you can't. It is important to understand which risk factors affect you and what actions you can take to lower your risk of developing heart disease.

Risk Factors You CAN’T Control

• Age: As you age, your risk for heart disease increases. About 82% of people who die of heart disease are 65 or older.
• Gender: Heart disease more heavily affects women than men.
• Heredity (including race): A family history of heart disease increases your risk. Certain races, including African Americans and Hispanic Americans, have higher rates of heart disease risk factors such as hypertension, obesity and diabetes.

Risk Factors You CAN Control

• Diabetes: People living with diabetes are 2 times more likely to develop and die from cardiovascular disease than people who don’t have diabetes.
• Smoking: Smokers are 2-4 times more likely to develop coronary heart disease than nonsmokers.
• High Blood Pressure: One in three adults in the United States have high blood pressure. In Black Americans, the prevalence of high blood pressure is relatively higher.
• High Cholesterol: Too much cholesterol can build up in blood vessels, slowing and possibly blocking blood flow. Only 47% of adult Americans have healthy cholesterol levels.
• Obesity: 68% of adult Americans are overweight or obese.
• Inactivity: The risk of heart disease increases with physical inactivity.

What action can I take to lessen my risk of heart disease?

Now that you know your score to the above survey and understand the possible contributors, here are some ways to lessen your possibility of heart disease.

Exercise: Aim to do some physical activity at least 3 times a week. This can include activities such as walking, biking, swimming, running, and many more. It’s important to make conscious strides towards an active lifestyle. By doing this, you are lessening your risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity, all of which are contributors to heart disease. If you are currently inactive, talk to your doctor about increasing your activity level, start slowly, and set achievable progressive goals. St. Mary's Wellness Center can help.

Diet: Work to improve your diet. More specifically, aim to eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. In the same way, lessen your intake of foods with added sugars and foods with saturated fats and high sodium. These changes will positively impact your blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Talk to your doctor or schedule a visit with our outpatient nutritionist by calling (706) 389-3669.

Eliminate smoking: While the use of tobacco products truly is an addiction, it is best to cut out this habit. Talk to your doctor about effective ways to quit smoking. St. Mary's American Lung Association Freedom from Smoking classes, beginning Nov. 1, 2021 and Jan. 4, 2022, are led by an ex-smoker and have a high success rate.

Manage your diabetes: Make sure you get an annual wellness checkup with a Primary Care Physician to measure your blood glucose level and detect possible diabetes or pre-diabetes. Effective management can prevent complications, including heart and blood vessel disease. St. Mary's Outpatient Diabetes Education program can help you make dietary and lifestyle adjustments, understand your medications, and improve your quality of life.

At St. Mary’s Health Care System, we are here to best serve you. We have many teams and services which can help you handle the contributors of heart disease.

Primary Care

Oconee Heart and Vascular Center

Health and Wellness - St. Mary’s offers a wide variety of services to promote heart health such as fitness classes, diet plans and recipes, and diabetes education

Healthy Heart Living Class - St. Mary’s offers a free class every month that provides an hour of education each about diabetes, nutrition, medications, early heart attack care and an introduction to smoking cessation. Learn more or sign up by calling (706) 389-2915.

Clinical information provided by or reviewed by certified clinical staff of St. Mary's Health Care System in their areas of expertise. For information about your individual medical needs, please contact your doctor.