 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
By now it should be possible for you to apply the general information of this chapter in order to evaluate your personal risk profile by responding to the following questions:
Are your blood fat levels abnormal? More specifically, how
high is your cholesterol level? How high is your triglyceride level? Is your uric acid level elevated? When were these laboratory tests last done?
Are you overweight? What should your normal or ideal weight be?
Do you have diabetes?
Is your blood pressure normal or elevated? When was it last checked?
Are you a cigarette smoker? How many cigarettes do you smoke per day? How long have you been smoking?
Do you exercise regularly? Would you describe your life-style as sports-oriented or not? For how many hours per week are you active in sports (for example, hiking, swimming, bicycle riding)? Less than two hours weekly?
Are you aware of any close relative (sisters and brothers, parents, grandparents) who sustained heart attacks, or have hypertension, diabetes, or abnormal fat levels (hypercholesterolemia)?
Do you suffer from any chronic infections? For example, sinusitis, chronic bronchitis, gall bladder or kidney infections (pyelitis)?
Do you think that you are under extreme psychological stress? Are you the extremely ambitious Type A personality described by Friedman and Rosenman?
The risk factors listed in these nine questions are by no means equally important or dangerous. For this reason we suggest that you do not evaluate your personal risk profile according to some kind of point system. Instead we believe that only a physician, familiar with your case history, is competent to explain the, significance of various risk factors for you. Besides, only the risk factors mentioned in the first five questions are generally accepted, while questions six through nine are still in debate. The patient should be made aware of the controversial nature of some risk factors. We nevertheless emphasize that it may be of critical importance in certain cases to recognize and eliminate potentially harmful life-styles and habits whenever possible.
*12\351\2*
Cardio & Blood