|
Questions on Heart Disease
Coronary heart disease is the
number-one killer of adults in the United States.
Fortunately, you can vastly improve your heart health by
understanding the things that put you at risk and the
lifestyle choices you can make to improve your chances
for a long and healthy life.
The following questions can serve
as a guide to information you may want to discuss with
your physician.
Questions
Patients Should Ask Their Doctors
• What
exactly is heart disease? Does it only involve the
heart? |
| •I
feel okay most of the time, so why is heart
disease such a big
deal? |
| •How
did I get heart disease? Is this
hereditary? |
| •What
sort of tests and procedures will I
need? |
| •What
are my treatment
options? |
| •Now
that I have heart disease, will it go away if I
take
medications? |
| •How
long do I need to be on
medications? |
| •Are
there different treatment choices for me? How
about herbs and Eastern
medicines? |
| •Do I
need to modify my lifestyle? Exactly what do I
need to change or
do? |
| •What
risks do I run if I decide not to take any
medications and rely mainly on changing my diet,
exercising regularly, and reducing
stress? |
| •Will
I need
surgery? |
| •How
often should I see
you? |
Questions Clinicians May Ask Their
Patients
| •Tell
me about your family history. Have you had any
family members with high blood pressure, high
cholesterol, stroke, diabetes, or suffered from
obesity? |
| •Tell
me about your eating habits. If a serving of meat
is the size of a deck of cards, how many servings
of meat and fats do you eat in a
day? |
| •Do
you exercise regularly? What kind of exercise do
you do and for how long?
|
| •Do
you smoke now or have you ever smoked? How long
ago did you
quit? |
| •Have
you had your blood cholesterol tested? Did the
doctor give you the
results? |
| •Do
you have a stressful job? Are there other reasons
that you could be
stressed? |
| •In
the past month have you experienced any
palpitation, chest pain or shortness of
breath? |
| •Have
you experienced any other unusual symptoms or
health
problems? |
| •When
was the last time you had a thorough physical
exam? |
| •Are
you currently taking any medications for any
conditions, herbal ones and over-the-counter
medicines
included? | |
