It’s daunting to be reminded of the costs and consequences of heart disease:
•One in three deaths in the United States is due to cardiovascular disease, and about 160,000 occur in people under age sixty-five.
•One in every six health-care dollars is spent on cardiovascular disease.
•Heart disease kills more Americans each year than cancer, gun violence, and drug overdose combined.
•About 1.5 million heart attacks and strokes occur every year in the United States because of coronary heart disease.
•About half of those with heart failure will die within five years.
•About half of those who experience a heart attack have no previous symptoms (silent heart disease).
Here’s the good news: most heart disease—including silent heart disease—is preventable, or can be significantly delayed, now! As we learned in Part II, risk factors such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol are easily manageable with modern-day medications. Another whole category of risk factors stem from lifestyle choices—how you eat, drink, exercise, and sleep.
The following two tests are designed to give you a quick snapshot of your cardiac risk factors. To be sure, they are not in any way a replacement for an evaluation by a medical professional, notably your doctor or cardiologist. However, the theme of this book is that knowledge is power, so the more you know about your cardiac health, the better.
The first is an online questionnaire developed by the American Heart Association, “Check. Change. Control. Calculator.” You can access it here: https://ccccalculator.ccctracker.com.
The second, which follows, is an updated version of a quiz that I first created for my previous book, Preventing Silent Heart Disease.
If the results of the tests indicate you’re at risk for heart disease—even moderate risk—consult with your doctor about a treatment regimen right for you.
Answer the questions below as accurately as possible. (There are no “right” answers.) Note each question asks for the selection of one score. When you’re finished, add all the scores and find your cardiac risk on the scale at the end of the quiz.
My age and sex:
| 0 | woman younger than 50 |
| +1 | woman aged 50–65 |
| +2 | woman older than 65 |
| +1 | man younger than 40 |
| +2 | man aged 40–50 |
| +3 | man aged 50–65 |
| +4 | man older than 65 |
SCORE___
Among my parents or siblings, there have been heart problems (e.g., heart attacks, angina, sudden death) before the age of 60:
| 0 | in no parent or sibling |
| +1 | in 1 or more parents or siblings over the age of 60 |
| +2 | in 1 parent or sibling under the age of 60 |
| +4 | in 2 or more parents or siblings under the age of 60 |
SCORE___
Smoking (Tobacco Cigarettes)
| 0 | I have never smoked |
| I quit smoking: | |
| +1 | over 5 years ago |
| +2 | 2–5 years ago |
| +3 | 1–2 years ago |
| +6 | less than 1 year go |
| I now smoke: | |
| +6 | less than 10 cigarettes a day |
| +8 | 10–20 cigarettes a day |
| +16 | 20–40 cigarettes a day |
| +20 | over 40 cigarettes a day |
SCORE___
Cholesterol and Other Fats
My serum cholesterol level is
| 0 | 179 or less |
| +1 | 170–200 |
| +2 | 200–240 |
| +4 | 240–300 |
| +6 | over 300 |
SCORE___
My LDL is
| 0 | 130 or less |
| +2 | 131–160 |
| +4 | 161–190 |
| +6 | over 190 |
SCORE___
My HDL is
| 0 | over 60 |
| +1 | 45–60 |
| +2 | 30–44 |
| +3 | 25–30 |
| +4 | less than 25 |
SCORE___
Blood Pressure
My blood pressure is
Age under 60
| 0 | below 140/90 |
| +4 | 140/90 or above |
Age 60 or over
| 0 | below 140/90 |
| +1 | between 140/90 and 180/96 |
| +4 | above 180/96 |
SCORE___
Diabetes
My fasting blood sugars have always been
| 0 | normal |
| +1 | occasionally elevated |
| +3 | diabetes after age of 30 |
| +4 | diabetes before age of 30 |
SCORE___
Exercise
I exercise aerobically (running, vigorous walking, swimming, cycling, etc.)
| 0 | regularly 3–5 times per week |
| +2 | only on weekends |
| +4 | little or none |
SCORE___
Weight
My weight is
| 0 | ideal |
| +1 | 5–10 percent overweight |
| +2 | 10–20 percent overweight |
| +3 | 20–30 percent overweight |
| +4 | over 30 percent overweight |
SCORE___
Stress
I feel stressed
| 0 | rarely or not at all |
| +1 | occasionally |
| +2 | frequently |
| +4 | all the time |
SCORE___
TOTAL SCORE___
Your Cardiac Risk Factor
0–14 = low risk
14–24 = moderate risk
24 or more = high risk