Your Heart Attack Risk May Be Lower Than You Think - East Idaho News
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Your Heart Attack Risk May Be Lower Than You Think

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thinkstock 2.17.15 heart?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1424229668097BrianAJackson/iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Your risk of heart attack might not be what your doctor tells you it is.

Currently, doctors assess your risk for heart attack and stroke based on a variety of factors, such as smoking, cholesterol, blood pressure, and family history.

Your doctor will then evaluate these factors with a risk assessment, or “calculator,” to determine your risk for a heart attack or stroke in the next 10 years.

However, new research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine reveals these estimates may be missing the mark.

After following nearly 7,000 patients for 10 years, researchers have found risk assessments or “calculators” used by doctors are overestimating patients’ risk for heart attack and heart disease by 30 to 150 percent.


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