Check your family?s heart history this Thanksgiving.
Hypertension, heart disease and diabetes can affect many members of the same family, crossing generations, said Dr. Miriam Blitzer, head of human genetics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. The university and Maryland Science Center are encouraging people to learn their family?s medical history this Thanksgiving.
Arewe talking about genealogy, the hobby, or something more essential?
It?s a little more than just genealogy when you find out about your family health history. It?s exceedingly important to understand why genetics is important to the family. You can identify trends in families and identify people who might be at risk for certain disorders.
What do you stand to gain from learning this history?
With nearly every health risk, whether blood pressure, cardiovascular disease or cancer, it?s not unusual that these are passed on in families for generations. If we recognize our risk, we can identify some approaches to take.
Couldn?t that make some people uncomfortable?
You can learn so much about your past, it can be a really creative and compelling way to learn about [health issues] and draw you closer to your family.
