Health Department Offers Heart Screenings

McHenry County Department of Health (MCDH) is still taking appointments for its cardiovascular screening on Saturday, April 16, from 7:30am - 11:30am, at its Crystal Lake, 100 N. Virginia St. The screening requires a 12-hour fast and includes total cholesterol, HDL and LDL cholesterol, fasting blood glucose, triglycerides, blood pressure, cardiovascular education and heart age assessment. Appointments are necessary at 815-334-4536. The cost is $35.00.   

You can do a lot to influence your risk of heart disease and it's never too late to start promoting a healthy heart. Learning the risk factors of heart disease is the first step towards lowering your chances of having a heart attack, stroke or similar health condition. Age, gender and family history are risk factors beyond our control but there are many dietary and lifestyle changes that you can implement to not only reduce the risk but actually reverse the damage of heart disease.

Risk factors you can change are high cholesterol, smoking (including second-hand smoke), diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, lack of exercise, excessive alcohol use and poor nutrition. The more risk factors a person has, the greater the chances of developing cardiovascular disease.

 For more information on cardiovascular disease and its risk factors, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.