Cardiovascular Health

Screenings

During a cardiovascular screening following will be examined: Blood pressure, Cholesterol, body weight, blood glucose, tobacco use, activity level, and diet.

Blood Pressure Readings

Hypertension greatly increases your chances of getting heart disease or having a stroke. If your blood pressure is normal your doctor will check it every two to three years. If you are hypertensive your doctor will monitor your blood pressure more frequently, potentially prescribe blood pressure medicine and recommend appropriate lifestyle changes.

Body Mass Index (BMI)

BMI: Body weight in relation to your height. If your BMI is high, this can cause several health problems such as heart disease and stroke.

BMI CALCULATION EXAMPLE
BMI= Weight (kg)/ height (m2)
Weight: 150lbs
Height: 5ft, 6in

Step 1:  150lbs / 2.2= 68.18kg

Step 2:  66in X 0.0254= 1.68m

Step 3:  68.18kg / (1.68) m2

Step 4:  68.18kg / 2.82 = 24.2 Normal BMI

Major Signs and Symptoms of Cardiovascular Disease

Ischemia - Lack of oxygenated blood flow to tissues that cause pain in the chest, neck, jaw, arms, and heart. Ischemia can be brought on from exertion, excitement, stress, or after eating. Also, you may experience contracting, squeezing, heaviness, or burning pain in several areas of your body. This includes the neck, cheeks, teeth, forearms, fingers, and across the mid-thorax (chest).

Dyspnea - Shortness of breath. This is cause for concern when brought on at rest or with mild exertion.

Syncope - Fainting and dizziness. Several cardiac problems can cause inadequate blood flow to the brain causing you to faint or feel dizzy.

Orthopnea - Trouble breathing while sleeping. This is caused by poor left ventricular function. If you find you need to sleep sitting up in a recliner you may have orthopnea.

Ankle Edema - Ankle swelling that is suggestive of heart failure, blood clot, insufficiencies of the veins or a lymph system blockage.

Palpitations - Rapid beating or fluttering of the heart. It is also defined as an unpleasant awareness of the forceful or rapid beating of the heart. This can be brought on by various heart rhythm disorders such as tachycardia and bradycardia.

Heart murmurs - Unusual sounds caused by blood flowing through the heart which is indicative of valvular or other cardiovascular diseases.

Intermittent claudication - Severe calf pain when walking, often described as a cramp that only last about one to two minutes. The pain comes from the lack of oxygenated blood flow to the working muscle. Coronary artery disease is more common in people that have intermittent claudication.