Health Tips

Measuring Risk Factors by HALFS

Think in HALFS, Laura Mahoney suggests, to help in remembering the most important risk factors for coronary heart disease: Hypertension; Age; Lipids (measured by HDL and LDL cholesterol levels); Family history; and Smoking. "Each factor adds to your risk of heart disease," Ms. Mahoney says. "By quitting smoking, an individual can cut the risk of heart disease drastically. And the wonderful thing is, once you quit, within ten years your risk of heart disease is the same as it would be if you had never smoked at all."

A major change in the new guidelines is the recommendation to calculate a global risk score to determine risk level for a heart attack within ten years. This information can help guide physicians in prescribing cholesterol-lowering drugs.