Knowing your family’s health history is a great way for you and your doctor to take a proactive approach to your health. It can also help your doctor to know if and when you should be tested for specific health conditions. If a glance at your family tree tells your doctor that you are at risk for developing certain health conditions like hypertension or type 2 diabetes, you may be able to implement lifestyle changes that can greatly reduce your risk. Your doctor can tell you which preventative measures you can take to lower your risk.
Also, it is important to remember that your genes are not your destiny. If you have already developed a health condition that runs in your family, you may be able to manage it so that you do not experience it as severely as others in your family have. For example, my family has a history of high blood pressure. I have high blood pressure right now, and my doctor and I are in the process of trying to sort out whether it is here to stay or whether it is left over from my recent pregnancy during which I developed preeclampsia, a condition that has high blood pressure as one of its symptoms.
If you were to look at my family medical history, you would see that I am at risk for developing high blood pressure. Fortunately, high blood pressure that develops during pregnancy often goes away a few weeks after the baby is born. To increase the chance that it will, I have started exercising regularly. At my doctor’s request I have also been monitoring my blood pressure, and the results look promising. It is possible that my blood pressure is returning to a normal level and that I will be able to go off of the medication that I am taking for it. At least for now, it looks like I have been able to avoid the health hazard that is lurking in the branches of my family tree. Of course, that could change at any time. Fortunately I know that I am at an increased risk and I have learned what things I can do to help myself stay healthy.
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