;Resize=(1200,627)&impolicy=perceptual&quality=mediumHigh&hash=5731e3a34dcdac3379af55fbf607772ddb81de01d96771b65a57c84ce1fe5621 "is your heart healthy Find out with this 12-point check")
The following questions are based on the heart attack risk test of the German Heart Foundation. It is an abbreviated version of the test. Here you can interactively click through the complete test to get the best possible assessment of your personal heart attack risk from the Heart Foundation. Important: The test is aimed at people who are not currently suffering from a vascular disease.
1. Do you have relatives who have had a heart attack?
If close relatives such as your parents or siblings have already had a heart attack, your personal risk may also be increased. Because our genes can play a role in the development of heart attacks. In 2014, international scientists led by the University of Lübeck identified 23 genetic variants that increase the risk of heart attack. Among them were 13 previously unknown risk genes. The researchers examined two million markers in the genomes of around 87,000 subjects worldwide.
Heart and circulatory system healthy
Diseases of the cardiovascular system are among the most common in Germany. Even the simplest things can reduce the risk of a heart attack, for example. Our e-paper tells you how to keep your heart and circulation healthy.
2. Do you smoke more than 20 cigarettes a day?
It is well known that smoking can lead to lung cancer. Many are less aware of the extent to which smoking also increases the risk of vascular diseases and thus heart attacks, strokes and brain damage. Smoking can cause deposits to form in the blood vessels, which in the worst case can completely block the vessel. Every cigarette damages the body – according to the German Heart Foundation, the risk of a heart attack is particularly high in people who smoke an average of more than 20 cigarettes a day – namely six times higher than in non-smokers.
3. Do you exercise for at least 20 minutes less than once a month?
If you exercise regularly, you can prevent calcification of the vessels and even help existing deposits to recede. This reduces the risk of heart attack. At least 20 minutes of exercise twice a week is ideal – or more.
4. Are you overweight?
Being overweight is a risk factor for many diseases, including a heart attack. You can calculate whether you are considered overweight using the body mass index, or BMI for short. To do this, use the following formula: body weight in kg / (height in m)2. A BMI over 25 indicates overweight, and over 30 indicates obesity. The location of the fat in the body can be important for health. Doctors consider the vascular abdominal fat, which accumulates around the organs and produces inflammatory substances that damage the heart, to be particularly dangerous. Men are considered at risk from a waist circumference of 94 centimeters and women from 80 centimeters.
5. Do you often eat meat, sausages, fast food, cakes, sweets and drink sodas?
A diet that promotes obesity and diabetes is bad for the heart. The foods mentioned should therefore only rarely be on your menu. Instead, the German Heart Foundation recommends daily vegetables, salad, fruit, legumes, whole grain products, fiber, olive and rapeseed oil and fish rather than meat.
6. Are you often stressed?
Appointments, time pressure, excessive demands: Anyone who is constantly under stress at home or at work not only suffers mentally, but also physically. Stress makes the heart beat faster and blood pressure rise. In the long run this is harmful.
7. Do you have high blood pressure?
As I said, persistently high blood pressure puts a strain on the heart. The German Heart Foundation recommends that your blood pressure should be below 140 to 90 mmHg. It is best to have the measurement carried out by a doctor. At home, various errors can falsify the values - such as a loose or too small cuff or an arm placed too high when measuring.
8. Do you have high LDL cholesterol levels?
To find out, you can take a test from your family doctor or buy a measuring device or quick home test. Cholesterol is a blood fat that can build up on the inner walls of blood vessels and narrow them to the point where blood flow to the heart is life-threateningly disrupted. For a long time, eggs were considered bad cholesterol bombs, but today researchers know that diet is only partly responsible for cholesterol levels. The rest is genetics. If the values are high, it is therefore not enough to simply do without the fried egg in the morning. If you have a high LDL cholesterol level in your blood, you should discuss with your family doctor which measures are sensible.
9. Do you have diabetes?
An increased blood sugar level also promotes deposits in the vessels. Diabetics therefore have an increased risk of a heart attack. Since many diabetics also suffer from obesity and high blood pressure, several risk factors apply to you.
11. Do you have occasional chest pain or chest pressure for more than five minutes?
The German Heart Foundation describes pain that can precede a heart attack as follows: It occasionally occurs in the chest area and may radiate into the neck or an arm. Pressure, a feeling of tightness or shortness of breath can also occur. Then you should speak to a doctor immediately about these symptoms.
Doctors refer to the pressure in the chest as angina pectoris: it initially only occurs during physical exertion, for example during sport, but later also during rest periods. It becomes particularly critical if the pressure in the chest or a burning sensation behind the breastbone lasts longer than five minutes. Then you should not hesitate to dial 112. It can be an alarm signal for a heart attack.
12. Have you ever been examined for a suspected heart attack?
Even then, you should pay particular attention to warning signs from your body in the future and prevent another incident with a healthy diet and sufficient exercise.