, director of Penn Cardiology International and an associate professor of clinical medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, tells SELF, “There may be times when the only way you have an idea that there is an issue is if you know your family history.
But what details should you look for, exactly? Having a general inkling that some family members had heart-related issues is a good place to start if it’s all you’ve got access to, but if you can get more specific, it’ll help you at your appointment. “It’s important to know exactlyheart condition [your family members] had or were diagnosed with, and the age that they [were diagnosed],”
, a cardiologist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, tells SELF. Conditions like coronary artery disease and risk factors like high blood pressure and high cholesterol are often influenced by a person’s genetics.