How do I know if I have heart disease?

About Dr. Chris Oh

Back to homepage

10/12/2011
How do I know if I have heart disease?
Heart disease can start insidiously so you need to pay attention to your body. The most important consideration in assessing for heart disease is how many risk factors you have: advanced age, family history, tobacco use, obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

The more risk factors you have the more likely you will develop heart disease. The best way to look for heart disease is exercise stress test done in the office. If you are over 45 and have two or more risk factors I would consider a stress test. I have found many heart disease in patients with risk factors that led to early intervention, thus preventing a heart attack.