5 health questions you should ask your parents

Knowing your health heritage can help you avoid or detect conditions that may run in your family. Samantha Page suggests you look closely at your family tree, starting with these key questions.

- Samantha Page

Expectant parents hope their child will inherit their most positive qualities E and traits and not the less attractive ones. When it comes to health, there is a potentially lifesaving element to identifying risks despite the fact that there are a limited number of conditions where family health history has an impact. In the case of certain cancers, for instance, knowing you are genetically predisposed can prompt life-saving screenings earlier, and more frequently.

All diseases have a genetic component, however, just how much influence they have varies and remains much of a mystery, even to scientists. Nevertheless, knowing more about the health of your family tree means you can reap the benefits of early testing, new treatments and taking steps to prevent or manage these diseases from taking hold.

Lack of medical history is of particular significance to people who are adopted and may have gaps in their medical history, but there is no definitive way to prevent every illness and condition. While knowing is better than not knowing, it's a very personal choice for each individual. However, if you can ask your parents, these are some important questions.

1 Has anyone in our family had heart disease, high blood pressure or a stroke?

Heart disease is often a family matter and certain features of family history can indicate genetic heart disorder. These include sudden cardiac death, heart failure at a young age, palpitations or abnormal rhythm at a young age, fainting or seizures, and more than one relative with the same type of heart disease. Family history is a risk factor for hypertension since it tends to run in families, as a result it's essential to speak to your doctor about getting your blood pressure and cholesterol checked regularly. The higher your numbers, the greater your risk of heart attack or stroke.

THE BRIGHT SIDE