November is Family History month and while we are sure you will enjoy combing through old photos and signing up on an ancestral tree website, there is one type of family history we consider more important than some. We’re talking about your family’s health history. Knowing your family’s health history is more vital than you may realize…in fact it may even save your life.
What is a Family Health History?
Your family health history is a record of health information about you and your closest relatives. A complete family health history includes information from three generations of your relatives including children, parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Why Do I Need to Know My Family’s Health History?
Your family’s health history is important for a number of reasons. You and your relatives often have similar genetic backgrounds, environments, and even lifestyles. Family health records reveal common patterns of disorders and clue healthcare providers to health conditions that run in your family.
Your healthcare provider can learn information about rare diseases caused by genetic mutations that run in your family. They can also identify people with a higher risk of developing more common diseases such as heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and certain cancers. Having this information informs your provider about your risk of disease and the need for certain tests throughout your lifetime to screen for conditions that run in your family.
Arming your healthcare provider with your family’s health history means they will monitor you for signs and symptoms of certain conditions. This is another reason why yearly health exams are vital for everyone. Wellness visits give you a chance to share and discuss your family’s health history with your provider so they can make better-informed decisions about your health and provide those important health screenings.
Do you need to update your family’s health history with your Mantachie Rural Health Care provider? There is no better time than right now to schedule a routine wellness visit! Click here to request your appointment.
