AARP Eye Center
By Curt Buckley
The easiest thing to do in terms of avoiding preventable deaths from cardiovascular disease is to keep up with the indicators and risk factors that affect your heart health. Scheduling (and keeping) appointments with your doctor will help you monitor important risk factors like blood pressure and cholesterol.
This step is especially important if you smoke, have diabetes, or have a family history of heart disease, as these things make you significantly more likely to develop a cardiovascular disease. A good dialogue with your doctor and regular checkups will ensure that you stay ahead of health issues.
Following your doctor's exact instructions is crucial to both your heart health and your overall health, so don’t skimp on the details.
Keep your doctor informed of recent illnesses, symptoms or concerns you may have, regardless of whether you think they are relevant or not. They went through the training to know if something is cause for concern, you probably didn’t.
Monitoring your heart health is just one simple way to avoid unwanted consequences like a cardiovascular disease, a stroke or worse. Come back again tomorrow as we continue our look at how to keep your heart happy and healthy.
This is one in a series of posts on heart health. Find the others here: