ALEXANDRIA, La., February 2 -- Are you overweight? Do you suffer from high blood pressure? Or, do you have a family history of heart disease?
If you answered “Yes,” to any of those questions, you may be ready for a heart-to-heart – with yourself. Rapides Regional Heart Hospital can help, with a new online heart health assessment that patients can use to measure their heart health. The best part? It’s free!
The Heart Health Profiler – available at rapidesregional.com – calculates your risk for cardiovascular disease based on your answers to questions related to smoking, stress, family history, diabetes, previous heart health and medications. The test takes just a few minutes to complete.
At the end of the online test, patients can either print or save the 8-page, detailed report to bring to their next doctor’s appointment.
“In the United States, cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 cause of death,” said Theresa Hood, RNC, BSN, MS, Rapides Regional Medical Center’s director of education. “And most of those who die have no previous symptoms. This Heart Health Profiler lets you get an idea of how your risk factors measure up – and open that door of communication between you and your physician.
“Increasing your risk awareness is an important step toward better health, because what you don’t know can hurt you.”
The report explains what you should do to improve your risk factors – and tells you what you can do to lower your risk of cardiovascular disease.
And what better time to take this online assessment than in February, during national heart month?
“February is heart month,” Hood said. “It’s the perfect time of year to make sure your heart is healthy and to do your part in guaranteeing that you will be able to spend many more years with the ones you love.”
That’s why our Heart Health Profiler also allows you to share a link with your family members or friends via Twitter or Facebook, so they can test their heart health, too!
To take the free heart health assessment, visit rapidesregional.com, and look for the Heart Health Profiler under “Online Tools” – or find us on Facebook and follow the link.
Remember, too, that cardiovascular disease doesn’t adhere to specific age limits. Approximately 30 percent of heart attack victims are between the ages of 29 and 64. So no matter how young you are, it’s important to monitor – and control – your cardiovascular risk factors.