Heart screening can tell you a lot about your health, but it can be tricky to know exactly what the results of cholesterol, blood pressure or ECG tests mean. As well as individual test results you will be given an overall heart risk score, which can make it a little easier to understand.

Heart Risk

The overall result of your heart screening will be given as a percentage of risk. A result of less than 10% is considered low risk. The risk is moderate if it is between 10 and 20%. If your result is over 20% then you are at high risk of heart disease. Your doctor will help you to understand exactly what this score means for you, but essentially it is an estimate of how likely you are to experience heart problems in the next ten years. A 10% risk would mean that there is a one in ten chance that you will develop a cardiovascular problem in the next decade. Even if your risk is high, it doesn’t mean you will definitely develop cardiovascular disease, but it does mean you should be aware. You should also seriously consider making some lifestyle changes to reduce your risk.

If You Get a Diagnosis

In most cases, heart screening will simply provide you with an assessment of your future cardiac risk and some recommendations for lifestyle changes to reduce it. However, there is a chance that the screening tests will reveal an existing problem that requires treatment. Your doctor may recommend additional tests to investigate further or some treatment to help manage your condition. . You will get a full explanation of any issues that have been detected along with detailed information about your treatment options, but make sure that you ask as many questions as you need to in order to understand your results or diagnosis.