Fitness & Wellness
DNA Testing and Heart Disease
Introduction
Your risk for heart disease can be increased by some medical issues, your lifestyle, your age, and your family history. They are referred to as risk factors. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking are the three main risk factors for heart disease that at least half of all Americans (47%) have.
You cannot change some heart disease risk factors, such as your age or family history. However, you may take measures to reduce your risk by understanding your DNA.
What Causes Heart Disease?
A significant risk factor for heart disease is high blood pressure. It is a medical disorder that develops when your blood vessels, including your arteries, are under too much pressure. If the excessive pressure is not regulated, it might harm your kidneys, brain, heart, and other vital organs. Studies indicate that high blood pressure is highly heritable. Therefore, one of the best ways to prevent high blood pressure is to understand your genes and make informed decisions about your lifestyle to ensure your health and safety.
Another factor that contributes to heart disease is having unhealthy blood cholesterol levels. A waxy, fat-like substance produced by the liver or present in some meals is cholesterol. Your liver produces enough cholesterol for your body’s requirements, but we frequently consume extra cholesterol from our diets.
The additional cholesterol can accumulate in the walls of the arteries, particularly the walls of the heart if we consume more cholesterol than our bodies can utilise. This causes the arteries to constrict, which in turn reduces blood flow to the kidneys, heart, and other organs. Many factors can lead to high cholesterol levels including genetics and lifestyle. It is wise to consider genetic testing if you believe you may be at risk for familial hypercholesterolemia. Abnormal genes can be found and if you have familial hypercholesterolemia can be determined by genetic testing.
Another factor that could lead to heart disease is diabetes. In the blood with diabetes, sugar builds up. Compared to individuals without diabetes, adults with diabetes have a greater chance of dying from heart disease. There are two types of diabetes and for both types, genes and DNA play a significant role in prediction and prevention. If you have a history of diabetes in your family, it is crucial to consider genetic testing to possibly prevent diabetes and heart disease in the future.
Moreover, obesity Genes play a crucial role in weight management and achieving fitness goals. Certain people may not even eat much and still gain weight while others may eat a lot and still not gain much. That is due to genetic differences. With a DNA test, you’d be able to manage your weight to a healthy level and find the perfect workout routine and diet just designed for you.
Behaviours That Can Increase The Risk Of Heart Disease
- Eating a diet that is high in fat and cholesterol
- Lack of physical activity
- Drinking alcohol
- Tobacco use
How Can Genetic Testing Prevent Heart Disease?
Genetic testing can check for the possibilities of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease and diabetes. All of these factors are risk factors for heart disease and by taking a DNA test you can understand your chances of developing heart disease and also the related risk factors. Using this information you can modify your diet, fitness routine and lifestyle to prevent heart disease and many other illnesses. One shoe does not fit all and using a DNA test you can get the information and lifestyle modifications that are perfect for you. Taking a DNA test is now easier than ever. There are plenty of at-home test kits such as myPreciseDNA. myPreciseDNA has 129 traits in 15 categories. All you have to do is order a test kit online and once you receive the test kit, you need to take a swab from the inside of your cheek and mail it back for testing. It is easy and it can change your life forever.
Learn more about how our DNA test can help you. It’s considered the most advanced DNA test in Malaysia that we can provide, so we’d like to offer you our premium DNA test. You can take advantage of this offer and reap the benefits of getting a DNA test.