Diagnosing Coronary Heart Disease Overview

 

Diagnosing coronary heart disease
Doctors consider many factors when
assessing your risk of heart disease
.

Physicians use multiple tools to diagnose coronary heart disease. One tool includes a tally of independent major risk factors and risk equivalents. As exposure to more of these risk factors or risk equivalents increases, the risk of coronary heart disease increases.

For instance, if you have high blood pressure or are currently taking blood pressure medication, that counts as one independent major risk factor that increases you risk of coronary heart disease. However, if you have a high HDL-cholesterol level (60 mg/dL or greater), this reduces the tally of risk factors. The final tally of risk factors is one component used to determine overall risk of coronary heart disease.

Another component includes Framingham 10-year risk scoring. This tool estimates the risk a person has of experiencing a heart attack or death due to coronary heart disease within the next 10 years. This tool takes into consideration many of the same risk factors that are used to tally the total number of independent major risk factors.

Some of those risk factors can be treated, and some, like age, can't. Find out what they are on the next page.

For more information about coronary heart disease, see:

This information is solely for informational purposes. IT IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE. Neither the Editors of Consumer Guide (R), Publications International, Ltd., the author nor publisher take responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, procedure, exercise, dietary modification, action or application of medication which results from reading or following the information contained in this information. The publication of this information does not constitute the practice of medicine, and this information does not replace the advice of your physician or other health care provider. Before undertaking any course of treatment, the reader must seek the advice of their physician or other health care provider.