Cardiovascular disease (including heart disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease) is far and away the #1 killer of Americans. There are many factors that can put you at an increased risk: family history, age, smoking, poor diet, heavy alcohol use, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, physical inactivity, and diabetes (as well as a bunch of others). The good news is, besides family history and age, a lot of risk factors can be minimized through a healthy lifestyle and working with your doctor to tightly control your diabetes, blood pressure, and cholesterol. It is good to know your results of your cholesterol and diabetes testing, especially if you have a strong family history of heart disease, diabetes, or stroke. Come discuss this with me today!
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