Relatives enjoy gathering around the grill in the summer for birthdays, holidays or just to stay connected. This connection follows us, especially when it comes to our health. Like our blue eyes, our parents and grandparents can pass on the likelihood for disease. These include birth defects, diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, stroke, or cardiovascular problems as well as more sensitive issues like mental illness and learning disabilities. But discovering our family health histories allows us to take action and watch for signs of trouble.
Family gatherings are the perfect place to gently ask aunts, uncles, and other members for a snapshot of their health. A conversation might uncover information that was buried simply because no one thought to ask. A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services study found that 96% of people think that knowing their family health history is important, but fewer than a third of them actually know it.
Learning about your family’s health is the first step to guarding it.
A complete medical record alerts a doctor to possible problems and helps them strategize for your best care. The ability to trace illness can steer a doctor to a specific test or to develop a plan to delay or avoid disease.
Your health search should cover three generations on both sides of the family. As you talk, take notes and pose questions. For example, if granddad suffered a heart attack, ask if he had surgery and whether there were other factors such as high blood pressure. Afterward, use all the information to create your family medical tree with a Web tool at familyhistory.hhs.gov. Here, the data can be saved, shared, and sent electronically to relatives and doctors.
How do you know if an illness or condition is significant? Apply the 3-2-1 Rule. If you can answer “yes” to any of the following situations for blood relatives affected by a particular disease, you are at risk —three members on the same side of the family or two closely linked members (like siblings or parent and child) or one member affected at a young age (such as under 50 for heart disease). Note this on your health record and follow up.
Patrick Burns, a 41-year old fit and able fireman, failed to uncover his family history. A heart attack filled in the blanks—both his father and grandfather suffered from heart disease and early death. Those risk factors indicated a heart screening. The procedure might have saved Burns from his emergency ambulance ride to Flagstaff Medical Center. Now, he advocates gathering family histories and using the information to make better choices.
As you begin these conversations, explain your desire to learn more in order to care for everyone’s health. If you can’t have a face-to-face chat, call or send an email. This also allows you to explore a situation more carefully or privately. The purpose is to fill in your family medical tree from root to tip. Then, pass on the information. Like real trees, this one keeps growing, so add new facts as people age. These details might save your life or the life of someone you love.