In the past 100 years, Americans’ risk of death from cardiovascular disease has been cut in half, according to the American Heart Association. Despite that progress, heart disease is still the No. 1 cause of death in the United States and around the world. Minimize your risk of heart disease by knowing how you score on a variety of numbers that help gauge your overall health.

Excess weight puts you at risk for heart disease. Body mass index, or BMI, is a great way to determine if you are maintaining the optimal weight for your height. A normal BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9. If your BMI is 25 or over, you are considered overweight or obese, and it’s time to make some changes to reduce your risk of heart disease and other serious illnesses.

High blood pressure is a serious condition that is a major cause of heart attack and stroke and has no warning signs or symptoms. Health care providers measure it using a pressurized cuff.

People with high blood pressure can also monitor their blood pressure at home. If your number is high, your provider will work with you to lower it using medication or lifestyle changes.

High cholesterol is a well-known indicator of risk for heart disease.  Working with your physician to keep your LDL and HDL cholesterol counts and triglycerides in healthy ranges reduces heart attack risk.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends healthy adults should have their cholesterol checked every four to six years, unless risk factors suggest more frequent testing. If a blood test indicates your cholesterol numbers are high, your doctor may suggest lifestyle changes, such as weight loss or diet changes. Your doctor may also prescribe a cholesterol-reducing medication. 

Diabetes is another risk factor. People managing this condition can minimize their heart attack risk by controlling their blood sugar levels.

Physicians routinely check for diabetes using blood tests that measure blood sugar after an overnight fast. There are three types of diabetes, type 1, type 2 and gestational, and all of them can present serious health risks if left uncontrolled.

If you have prediabetes, you may be eligible to join Tidelands Health diabetes prevention program. The nationally recognized program aims to lower the prevalence of prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes through education, lifestyle changes and support.

“As a cardiologist, I can put a patient’s numbers for these indicators into something called a risk calculator,” says Dr. Jacqueline Sennott, cardiologist at Tidelands Health Cardiology. “That allows us to calculate the patient’s 10-year risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, or ASCVD, which can lead to heart disease or stroke.  We use the ASCVD score to determine if a patient is low, intermediate, borderline or high risk for cardiovascular disease.”

For those patients who have risk factors and want to get a definitive look at their heart attack risk profile, Dr. Sennott recommends a test called a CT heart calcium score.

It’s a quick and painless, non-invasive CT heart scan that measures the amount of plaque buildup in the coronary arteries. A heart scan gives you a calcium score that is an accurate predictor of heart attack risk. Tidelands Health offers heart scans at Tidelands Waccamaw Community Hospital and Tidelands Georgetown Memorial Hospital.

Round out your risk reduction strategies with a couple of non-numeric improvements. If you smoke, try to quit. In addition, try to get at least 150 minutes of moderately intense exercise a week, like riding a bike or going for a brisk walk.

“While we can’t do anything about some risk factors like age and family history, knowing our numbers and keeping them in healthy ranges can help us keep our hearts healthy longer,” Dr. Sennott says.