Heart health: It’s a family affair
Knowing your health history could save your life
Did your grandfather ever have a heart attack? Do your brothers or sisters have high blood pressure? Did your Great Aunt Betty have diabetes? If you don’t know the answers to questions like these, you’re not doing all you can to guard against disease.
Most people understand that many medical conditions, including heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, cancer and peripheral artery disease, run in families. And according to a survey done by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 96 percent of Americans think it’s important to know their own family health history.
But knowing and doing are two different things. Only one-third of those surveyed have actually tried to compile their health history. For those who haven’t, the U.S. Surgeon General’s Family History Initiative can get you started.

High tech history
The centerpiece of the initiative is a Web-based tool called My Family Health Portrait. It helps you compile and organize your family history, creating both a drawing of your family tree and a chart of your family health history. You can then edit or update your information at any time, save it to a disk, print it, share it with family members or present it to your healthcare providers. The tool is free and strictly confidential. The information you enter is stored only on your own computer and not on any government server.

Why the knowledge is important
Although you can’t change your family or your genetic makeup, you can change your own behaviors that affect your health. People with a family history of heart disease, for example, may have the most to gain from quitting smoking, exercising more, maintaining a healthy weight and eating better. Knowing your personal health risks may also encourage you to get timely screenings for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar and other markers of heart health. You can also use it to develop prevention plans with your doctor. You’ll find My Family Health Portrait at www.familyhistory.hhs.gov.