The Importance of Understanding Heart Disease Risk

At Piedmont Heart, we take women’s heart health seriously – after all, 90% of women are at risk for heart disease. That’s why our team of experts created a $99 screening designed just for women that goes well beyond what you’d get at a normal checkup, giving you a detailed report with recommendations to keep your heart healthy. That’s a small price to pay for big peace of mind.

This screening program is based on research at Piedmont Heart Institute where we evaluated cardiac risk factors, symptoms and expression of heart disease in our patients by cardiac imaging using computed tomography (CT). Based on this data and women's heart national guidelines, we are better able to screen women more appropriately and determine those women at risk that require additional testing - at an earlier stage.  

Initial Risk Assessment Sets Baseline for Heart Disease 

With many health risks, if you don’t know the baseline numbers when you’re healthy, you won’t know how serious a change in your health can be. At Piedmont Heart Institute, we offer an initial heart disease risk assessment, especially for women, as a baseline to monitor and set standards of your heart health. By knowing your numbers – such as cholesterol and blood pressure – you and your physician can more quickly identify any concerns or issues.

Did you know?

Beyond your numbers, the following are additional risk factors for women that may increase your chance of developing coronary artery disease:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Diabetes
• Family history of early heart disease
• History of gestational diabetes
• Inflammatory diseases
• Lupus
• Menopause
• Physical Inactivity
• Pregnancy
• History of preeclampsia during pregnancy
• Smoking
• Unhealthy diet

Women’s Heart Disease Risk Screening - What to Expect

Please arrive 30 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment and expect to stay for 1 to 1.5 hours.

You do not have to be fasting for this appointment. Our  Nurse Practitioner will determine your risk for heart disease by completing a thorough cardiovascular evaluation, which will include:

Complete Health History: Includes family history, pregnancy history, risk for depression, assessment of sleep habits and assessment of exercise capacity.

Physical exam: Includes a complete heart exam, with arm blood pressures and a special measurement, called an ABI (Ankle brachial index), to screen for circulation abnormalities in your legs. Your waist circumference will be measured and your BMI will be calculated. We will also check an ECG to check the electrical activity of your heart.

Extensive Lab Work: We will process a simple finger stick using a cholestech machine that will give us a small drop of blood. This machine will give us your blood sugar and cholesterol panel results within 5 minutes. After your visit, you will have labs drawn via venipuncture (out of your vein) that will provide inflammatory markers (CRP, C reactive protein) and Lp(a) which is a high risk cholesterol marker. 

Heart Health Report: During your visit, you will receive a heart health report that will be customized for you with next steps. The following day our Nurse Practitioner will either call or email you with your lab results that were drawn via venipuncture as these results are not available the day of your visit.
 

Call Now for Heart Disease Risk Screening Information

Risk screenings are conveniently located at a range of Piedmont Healthcare locations, including: