5-point heart check

Health-conscious? New research reveals that most South African doctors don’t check their patients for emerging heart risk factors, such as too much fat around the waist, low levels of good cholesterol and high levels of fat in the blood. They merely focus on the “classic” risk factors, such as smoking and diabetes.

Take action:
To really get a picture of your heart health, make sure your doctor does the 5-point healthy heart check: 1) waist circumference; 2) blood sugar levels; 3) good (HDL) and bad (LDL) cholesterol levels; 4) blood fat levels; and 5) blood pressure.