Step 3 What Other Risk Factors Do You Have - Your Personal Risks And Goals: Heart Disease
Content provided by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School
Step 3: What other risk factors do you have?
You and your doctor should also assess other major risk factors to determine your overall risk profile. The NCEP uses these additional factors to assess risk:
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cigarette smoking
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high blood pressure (140/90 mm Hg or higher, or any number if you are on antihypertensive drugs)
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family history of premature heart disease in a parent or sibling (before age 55 for men, or before 65 for women)
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age 45 or over for men, or 55 or over for women.
If you have none, or only one, of the major risk factors detailed in Steps 1, 2, and 3, your risk of developing heart disease or having a heart attack in the next 10 years is low — less than 10%. You can skip to Step 5. If you have two or more major risk factors, go to Step 4.
| Last updated: | May 03, 2007 |
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Medical content reviewed by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School. Harvard Health Publications, Copyright © 2007 by President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. Used with permission of StayWell.
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