How your family history affects your heart

If ever there were an organ in the body that could be described as ‘one who sticks closer than a brother’ it would be the heart. Despite its miniature size (like that of a human fist) the heart packs a big punch and is solely responsible for pumping blood and oxygen throughout our entire body while returning carbon dioxide to the lungs to be removed. But despite its power and resilience, the heart is still vulnerable to diseases.

Cardiovascular disease has become a major cause for concern in Jamaica and the Caribbean over the past several years.

In 2021 it was reported that 30 per cent of deaths in Jamaica each year were caused by heart or cardiovascular disease.

But, did you know that your family history is one of the risk factors associated with developing heart disease? Yes, your genealogy plays a major role in the health of your heart.

Persons who have a family history of heart disease could be at a greater risk of developing a heart condition later on in life.

Dr Andrene Chung, consultant cardiologist and chair of the Heart Foundation of Jamaica, explained that heart disease has a genetic component that predisposes people from families who have a heart condition to be at a greater risk.

“All this information is passed down in our genes, so we get that in our make-up. So you were determined from the time you were born to have a greater risk of developing hypertension by the time you’re 40 or 50. If your mother and your father are hypertensive, you’re going to have a greater risk of developing hypertension. It’s a genetic disease ... Whereas I might live until I’m 105 and never develop hypertension because I don’t have that genetic information in me,” Dr Chung said. Understanding your family history is also important for determining how early you should start screening for adverse heart conditions.

“If your mother, and your father had heart attacks at young ages, you are at significantly increased risk. And therefore it would be prudent for you to start screening for the risk factors for heart disease at an earlier age than what we’d usually recommend because it suggests that there are likely to be some genetic factors that could make you more at risk. So it’s important for people to know what the family history is,” Dr Chung said.

Still, the risk of developing a heart disease from your lineage is not just caused by genetics. It can also be as a result of the unique lifestyle and environmental factors associated with being a part of your distinct family tree.

“[While] you have the predisposition, they’re certainly environmental conditions and lifestyle factors that can bring it on earlier ... both things play a part. You all grow up in the same house, you’re exposed to the same environmental things, including the type of diet that you eat, your predisposition [to] exercise or not to exercise. These are things that people who grow up together sort of tend to do the same thing. So you are also increasing your risk in that way,” Dr Chung said.

PREVENTION OVER CURE

While there’s no way to reverse genetic make up, knowing one’s family history and the associated risks can help us to make smarter lifestyle choices. There is no magic bullet for preventing heart disease, but steps can be taken to lower our risk, decrease its severity or even delay its onset.

“The advantage it gives you to know your history is that you can start trying to modify the things that you can modify at an earlier age, because you know what your risk is. So if you know that everybody in the family has hypertension, then you would start making sure you maintain a healthy weight, doing your regular exercise, reducing the salt in the diet before you start to show any signs of that. And also if you have one chronic condition, then another ... they add up and the risk is exponential.” Dr Chung said.

The cardiologist shared that it’s also important for people to educate themselves on the warning signs of deteriorating heart health.

“If you’re having the conditions that are developing like heart disease, you may notice warning signs. For example, chest pain ... abnormal beating of the heart, what we call palpitations, getting more easily fatigued just doing your regular activities.

You know getting short of breath, getting swelling of the feet or ankles. (These) are some of the things that certainly would make you want to go and get checked out and see if they mean anything,” Dr Chung said.

As the popular Jamaican adage goes, ‘prevent betta dan cure’. So now is the time to start implementing healthy practices like yearly screening to lower your chances of developing a heart disease.

“What you want to do is to start getting your medical screening as early as possible. As you get into your mid-20s, you want to make sure you go for your annual medical check-up.You want to at every visit have your blood pressure checked for sure, and if it is normal then you just go for your regular annual check-up. If it is higher than normal, then doctor would probably want to see you maybe back in another three months. You do what’s necessary to make sure that you know what’s going on with you. Since our risk of heart disease is closely connected to our lifestyle, it’s important to take proactive steps to lower our risk, such as getting regular exercise, maintaining a healthy diet, and managing our weight,” Dr Chung advised.