Assessing your family history is an important part of how we can understand your current and future heart health. It tells us information about your cardiovascular system and your risk of developing certain heart conditions.  

At your first London Heart Clinic consultation, our expert cardiologist will do a thorough assessment to understand more about your concerns, symptoms, medical history, lifestyle and family history.  

Read on to learn about why your family history is important and how we use it to help us assess your risk for heart conditions.   

A family history of heart disease means that one or more people in your family have some kind of cardiovascular-related health condition. However, it’s important to consider what the conditions are and when they were diagnosed.  

Some of these conditions don’t always cause symptoms, therefore it is important to tell your doctor if they run in your family. You should also mention if any of your family members suffer from symptoms that might be related, like fainting or palpitations.  

If you have a family history of cardiovascular disease, it can put you at a higher risk of developing the same condition. For example, if someone in your family has had a heart attack, you might have a higher risk of having one yourself.  

Other conditions that can run in families include stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes and certain types of arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms).  

At London Heart Clinic, we offer a comprehensive family history screening package. This can help us spot early warning signs, identify your risks, detect certain heart conditions early and recommend lifestyle changes and treatment options.  

Our expert cardiologist will ask you questions and go through your family history during your consultation. This could include:  

• Identifying genetic patterns to check whether certain heart-related conditions, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure, are common in your family. We look at this pattern to see if there is a genetic link of this condition in your family. 
• Looking at the age of diagnosis for the conditions in your family. This is important as being diagnosed at a younger age can indicate a higher genetic risk.  
• Understanding the lifestyle factors within your family, such as unhealthy habits like smoking, poor diet, and lack of exercise. These can affect families across generations.  
• Exploring other health conditions that may run in your family, like diabetes or obesity. These can impact your overall risk and affect your heart health.  

Our family history screening package also includes: 

• A full medical history with one of our experienced cardiologists 
• A full physical examination  
• Blood tests, including a diabetic screen, cholesterol level and to check the function of your thyroid, kidneys and liver  
• Exercise electrocardiogram (ECG) with a full report  
• Heart echocardiogram (ultrasound scan of your heart) to assess how your heart is working by looking at the heart muscles, valves and the blood flow 
• Follow up appointment and discussion of findings along with recommendations 

Our expert team will support and guide you through every step of this process. Find out more about our heart screening packages and their prices here.