Are you at risk of developing cardiac disease??

If you are over forty years,suffering from Diabetes and or Hypertension,leading a sedentary life style,smoker,overweight or if Heart disease runs in your family,then you are at risk of developing Heart disease.If you feel that you may be at risk then you should consult a Cardiologist who will conduct Cardiac Risk Assessment-this is a group of tests and health factors that have been proven to indicate your chance of having a Coronary Heart Disease. The lipid profile is the most important blood test for risk assessment.The lipid profile measures cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL (“good” cholesterol), and LDL (“bad” cholesterol).Below are the desirable ranges for the components of the lipid profile:Cholesterol <200> 40 mg/dLLDL-cholesterol <100 mg/dLTriglycerides <150 mg/dLIf any or all of your results are significantly outside these ranges, your risk of a Heart Disease is increased. Another test useful in predicting Cardiac Risk is is serum homocysteine. Homocysteine is an amino acid that comes from the normal breakdown of proteins in the body and appears to be a better test than cholesterol for predicting heart disease, stroke, and reduced blood flow to the hands and feet.Higher the level of homocysteine,higher is the cardiac risk. There are other tests, non-invasive and invasive, which may be used in cardiac risk assessment. Non-invasive tests may include a stress test, CT scan, and echocardiogram. Invasive tests include an arteriogram and cardiac catheterization