PARTNERING FOR PREVENTION - Heart Testing In Arkansas

Heart disease is common, and can happen for many reasons. A majority of heart diseases are a result of
risk factors such as blood pressure, cholesterol or diabetes. Other factors include age, biological sex, race,
diet, lifestyle or certain medications. The potential effects of risks factors include the buildup of plaque in the arteries
(atherosclerosis), which can cause heart attacks or strokes. Heart disease can also be inherited. Genetic
heart disease is the results of changes in genes, inherited from our parents and can passed along to our
children. Inherited cardiac conditions can run in families and affect people of all ages.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Testing is important for identifying if you’re a carrier. Someone with the following personal or family
history should consider testing:

 

• Cardiomyopathy

• Arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythms)

• Vascular Ehlers-Danlos, Marfan, or Loeys-Dietz syndrome

• Aortic aneurysm or dissection

• Familial Hypercholesterolemia

• Familial or unexplained pulmonary hypertension

• Heart attack or coronary artery disease testing

• Heart defects

• Familial amyloidosis

 

The cause of heart disease is not always known. Genetic testing is simple, safe and non-invasive.