An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and, when it comes to your heart, knowing your numbers -- blood pressure, cholesterol and body mass index, all heart disease risk factors – can help you stay one step ahead of heart disease.

February is Heart Health month and is a great time to learn your risk factors for heart disease.  Because your heart doesn’t just belong to you.

According to the American Heart Association, Missouri is one of the states with the highest death rates due to heart disease and stroke.  The good news is that while some risk factors are out of your control, such as age and family history, there are many ways you can increase your heart health.

According to Dr. Gordon Knight, medical director of cardiovascular surgery at Des Peres Hospital, any person’s heart attack risk is “50 percent genetics and 50 percent cheeseburger factor” or a person’s lifestyle choices.

“Especially if a patient has a genetic disposition to coronary artery disease, then a healthy lifestyle of exercising, eating right, stress and weight management is a must to help delay the onset of disease,” said Knight. 

People with a family history of heart disease need to realize they can feel fine but have “silent” trouble like high cholesterol and high blood pressure. That is why early regular screenings and physician follow up are vital to detect and manage underlying problems.

For those without a genetic predisposition to heart disease, not smoking and maintaining a healthy weight to prevent the onset of diabetes are two very important keys to staying heart healthy.

To learn what you can do to minimize your risks, take our free heart health assessment.