One thing that your doctor will measure is your blood pressure. Blood pressure is the strength that your blood exerts on the inside walls of veins and arteries as it flows through the body. If it is too high, the blood puts extra stress on your heart and arteries, creating a higher risk for heart attack or stroke. [2] X Research source Your doctor may also take a sample of your blood and send it off to the lab. One thing that she should look for is your blood glucose level — that is, your amount of blood sugar. A normal blood glucose level is 7. 8 mmol/L (140 mg/dL) two hours after eating. Higher levels — 11. 1 mmol/l or more (200 mg/dl or more) after eating— can indicate diabetes. [3] X Research source (Target levels will be different if you take the test while fasting. ) The blood sample will also test your LDL and HDL cholesterol levels. LDL is “bad” cholesterol that builds up in the arteries, while HDL is “good” cholesterol that acts as a kind of janitor, helping the body to process bad cholesterol. A healthy LDL level is generally below 100 mg/dL, while a healthy HDL is around 40 mg/dL. [4] X Trustworthy Source American Heart Association Leading nonprofit that funds medical research and public education Go to source
Calculate for your age. Add or subtract from a baseline of zero. If you are male, subtract 1 point if you are between 30 and 34 years of age. Add one point for every 5 years. That is, if you are between 65 and 69 years of age, add 6 points. The highest age group (70 to 74 year olds) should add 7 points. If you are female, subtract 9 points from a baseline of zero if you are between 30 and 34 years of age. Subtract 4 for 35 to 39 and 0 for 40 to 44. Add 3 points for 45 to 49, 6 for 50 to 54, 7 for 55 to 59 and 8 for 60 to 74 years.
Continue to add or subtract from your answers above. If you are male, subtract 3 points if your LDL level is below 100 mg/dL. Similarly, add 0 points for 100 to 159 mg/dL, 1 for 160 to 190 mg/dL, and 2 for more than 190 mg/dL. If you are female, subtract 2 points if your LDL level is below 100 mg/dL. Add 0 points for 100 to 159 mg/dL and 2 for more than 160 mg/dL.
If you are male, add 2 points if your HDL level is below 35 mg/dL. Similarly, add 1 point for 35 to 44 mg/dL, 0 for 45-59 mg/dL, and subtract 1 point for more than or equal to 60 mg/dL. If you are female, add 5 points if your HDL level is below 35 mg/dL. Similarly, add 2 for 35 to 44 mg/dL, 1 for 45 to 49 mg/dL, 0 for 50 to 59 mg/dL, and subtract 2 for more than or equal to 60 mg/dL.
Add 0 points if you are male and your blood pressure is less than 130/85. Add 1 for a reading of 130/85 – 139/89. Add 2 for a reading of 140/90 – 159/99. Add 3 for pressure of more than or equal to 160/100. If you are female, subtract 3 points if your blood pressure is less than 120/80. Add 0 points for a reading 120/80 – 139/89. Add 2 for systolic pressure 140/90 – 159/99. And add 3 for blood pressure more than or equal to 160/100. Take the higher reading if your systolic and diastolic pressures fall in different ranges. For example, if you are male and your systolic pressure is 170/90, add 3 points rather than 2.
If you do not have diabetes, add 0 points (either male or female). If you have diabetes or take anti-diabetic drugs, add if you are male and 4 points if you are female.
Subtract 1 point if you are male or female and meet the recommended guidelines. Add 1 point if you do not.
Add 0 points if you are male or female and a non-smoker. Add 2 points if you are a smoker. Consider yourself a smoker if you have smoked even one cigarette, cigar, or pipe of tobacco in the previous month.
The American Heart Association has heart healthy guidelines. [14] X Research source Check these and subtract 1 point if you meet them (either male or female). Add one point if you do not.
For example, if you are a 62 year old woman (8 points), regular exerciser (-1 points) with healthy diet (-1 points), non-smoker (0 point), diabetic (4 points) with blood pressure 130/80 (0 point), HDL level 45 mg/dL (1 point) and LDL level 140 mg/dL (0 point), your final score will be 8-1-1+0+4+0+1+0= 11. If you are a 48 year old male (2 points) who does not exercise (1 point), smokes (2 points), eats poorly (1 point), has diabetes (4 points), and has a blood pressure of 160/100 (3 points), HDL of 20 mg/dL (2 points) and LDL of 220 mg/dL (2 points), your score will be 2+1+2+1+4+3+2+2=17.
If you are a male, a point total of less than -3 represents a 1% risk of heart disease in the next 10 years. Similarly, you have a 2% risk for -2 or -1 points, 3% risk for 0 points, 4% for 1 or 2 points, 6% for 3 points, 7% for 4 points, 9% for 5 points, 11% for 6 points, 14% for 7 points, 18% for 8 points, 22% for 9 points, 27% for 10 points, 33% for 11 points, 40% for 12 points, 47% for 13 points, and more than 56% for 14 points or more. Our 48 year old male, for example, has a score of 17. This means that his 10 year risk is more than 56%. In other words, more than 56 people out of 100 with a similar score will have a heart attack or cardiac event in the next 10 years.
Our 62 year old female has a score of 11. This means that she runs a 13% ten year risk of heart disease. So, 13 out of 100 with a similar score will experience a heart attack or other cardiac event in the next ten years.
Talk to your doctor about heart health, even if you got a fairly good score. She will be able to recommend ways in which you can improve, including quitting smoking, controlling your blood pressure, eating and exercising better, or lowering your bad cholesterol. Your doctor may want to perform further tests, like checking markers in your blood that are associated with a higher risk of heart attack or stroke, or using radiological imaging tools to see whether they’re cholesterol plaque buildup in your arteries. [16] X Expert Source Shervin Eshaghian, MDBoard Certified Cardiologist Expert Interview. 26 June 2020.
