Heart Disease Risk Assessment

Cardiac Risk Assessment to Prevent Heart Disease

Led by a multidisciplinary team of highly skilled medical professionals, Loyola Medicine is a leader in the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease. One in four adults have some form of cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death in the United States.

As with many medical conditions, early detection and prevention help increase your treatment options and improve your outcome.

To help you measure risk, Loyola offers the following cardiac risk self-assessment.

Note: if you answer “yes” to two or more risk factor questions below (excluding heart disease equivalents), if you are concerned about the possibility of heart disease or if you want more information on how to reduce your risk factor, contact your primary care physician or cardiologist to discuss your concerns.

Heart Disease Equivalents

• Have you had a heart attack, angioplasty or stent, or coronary artery bypass surgery?
• Have you had a stroke or been told you have blockages in other arteries in your body such as the carotids, renals or arteries in your legs?
• Do you have diabetes or fasting blood sugars higher than 110 mg./dL?

Major Cardiovascular Risk Factors

• Are you a male over 45 years old, or a female over 55 years old or have you experienced menopause?
• Do you have family members who developed heart disease at a young age? (Father or brother under 55 years old or mother or sister under 65 years old)
• Have you smoked cigarettes in the past 12 months?
• Select the numbers that most closely match your last blood pressure (BP) reading: 
  • Is your systolic BP (top number) 140 or above?
  • Is your diastolic BP (bottom number) 90 or above?
• Are you on medicine to lower blood pressure?

Cholesterol

Select the numbers below that most closely match your last lipid profile:

LDL Cholesterol¹

• Less than 100
• 100-129
• 130-160
• 161-190
• Over 190

HDL Cholesterol

• Less than 40²
• Between 40 and 60
• Greater than 60³

Contributing Cardiovascular Risk Factors

Do you have a high BMI (body mass index) of 25 or greater? To compute your BMI, use the below steps or try our BMI calculator:

• Step 1: Multiply your weight in pounds by 703
• Step 2: Multiply your height in inches by itself
• Step 3: Divide the figure from Step 1 by the figure in step 3 
   
• Are you exercising less than 30 minutes three times a week?
• Do you frequently have strong feelings of anger/hostility, stress or depression?

If you answered “yes” to two or more risk factor questions above (excluding heart disease equivalents), if you are concerned about the possibility of heart disease or if you would like information on how to reduce your risk factor, contact your primary care physician or cardiologist to discuss your concerns.

Learn more about how you can prevent heart disease

We also invite you to contact the Loyola cardiac risk factor reduction program at 888-584-7888 to schedule an appointment with a registered nurse for assistance in making desired lifestyle changes.

Why Choose Loyola for Cardiac Care?

Loyola’s multidisciplinary team of doctors collaborates with you and your referring primary care physician to discuss treatment options related to preventive measures, advanced lipid management and acute cardiac conditions needing attention.

In addition, our experts are able to provide assistance to patients seeking a second opinion.

Loyola recognizes that you benefit from a team approach; therefore our cardiologists work closely with your primary care physician and have access to expert cardiac surgeons, neurologists, endocrinologists and other specialists who are leaders in their field to help devise the best treatment plan for you.

Disclaimer: We provide this risk assessment for educational and informational purposes only. This is not medical advice. The results of the assessment should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or a disease, nor is this a substitute for medical advice or professional care. Should you have any health-care related questions or suspect you have a health problem, you should contact your health-care provider. Do not ignore professional medical advice or delay in seeking treatment because of something you have read on this site.  If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 911 immediately. Reliance on any information provided here is solely at your own risk.

1. Count one “yes” response if your ldl is greater than 130 (or greater than 100 if you have heart disease, diabetes or vascular disease.)
2. Count one “yes” response if your hdl is < 40.
3. Hdl > 60mg/dl is a protective factor. Subtract one “yes” response. (national cholesterol education program, adult treatment panel iii, 2001)