Heart Disease

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists heart disease as the leading cause of death in the U.S., killing more than 600,000 people every year. Heart disease is an umbrella term describing a host of cardiovascular conditions ranging from coronary artery disease to arrhythmias and more.

Common Types of Heart Disease

• Arrhythmia: With arrhythmia, also known as irregular heartbeat, the heart can have an irregular rhythm or beat too fast or too slow.
• Cardiomyopathy: Cardiomyopathy represents a variety of conditions in which the heart muscle becomes damaged and can begin to falter.
• Congestive Heart Failure: Congestive Heart Failure doesn’t mean that the heart has failed, but rather that the heart isn’t working as well as it should be.
• Coronary Artery Disease: As heart disease develops, the coronary arteries become narrow due to a build-up of plaque. This raises the risk of heart attack.
• Heart Valve Disease: Heart valve disease occurs when valves do not close completely or the valve opening becomes narrowed. Some valve defects can be treated with medicine, while others may be repaired or replaced surgically.
• High Blood Pressure (Hypertension): High blood pressure is one of the major risk factors for heart disease and stroke – if your blood pressure is high, it can damage and weaken your arteries.

Assess Your Heart Disease Risk

Here are four tests that can tell you what your risk for heart disease is.

• Blood Pressure: As simple as getting your blood pressure checked is, it’s one of the most important screenings – high blood pressure doesn’t typically have any symptoms and can’t be identified without being measured.
• Blood Glucose: High blood glucose levels also put you at risk of developing insulin resistance, prediabetes, type 2 diabetes and, if left untreated, can lead to heart disease, stroke and other serious health problems.
• Fasting Lipoprotein Profile: With this blood test, you’re asked to fast overnight before. This screening measures total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and triglycerides in your blood.
• Cardiac Calcium Scoring: This scan shows your heart’s arteries and any calcium deposits in them, which can narrow your arteries and increase your risk of heart attack. This test can show you and your doctor if you have a higher risk of a heart attack or other heart-related issues before you ever have any obvious signs of heart disease.

Schedule an Appointment

To request an appointment with a cardiovascular physician or for a non-invasive cardiac test at a Crozer Health facility, please complete the online secure appointment form below or call 1-866-95-PULSE (1-866-957-8573). A representative will get back to you within the next business day. We regret that we cannot take appointment requests for pediatric patients at this time.

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