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Last Posted: Sep 16, 2023
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How to Talk to Your Family About Their Heart Health History Even if you’re not super close to your relatives, you’ve got options.
K Miller, Self, September 2023

From the website: "If someone in your bio family has heart problems, don’t freak out: It doesn’t mean that you’ll automatically develop them too. Yes, that does increase your risk of developing an issue—but there are loads of other factors that might be meaningful, and this genetic link is just one part of a fuller picture. Bring any information you turn up to a primary care physician first (if you’re not already seeing a specialist): Depending on what you share, your PCP might refer you to a cardiologist who can take a closer look at your overall health, as well as any symptoms that could be indicative of a larger cardiovascular issue. "

Are You Up to Date on Your Preventive Care?
CDC, July 2023 Brand

Family health history is a record of the diseases and health conditions in your family. You and your family members share genes. You may also have behaviors in common, like what you do for physical activity and what you like to eat. You may live in the same area and come into contact with similar harmful things in the environment. Family history includes all of these factors, any of which can affect your health. If you have a family history of a chronic disease, like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, or osteoporosis, you’re more likely to get that disease yourself.

Family and personal history of cancer in the All of Us research program for precision medicine.
Lauryn Keeler Bruce et al. PLoS One 2023 7 (7) e0288496

The All of Us (AoU) Research Program is making available one of the largest and most diverse collections of health data in the US to researchers. Using the All of Us database, we evaluated family and personal histories of five common types of cancer in 89,453 individuals, comparing these data to 24,305 participants from the 2015 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Comparing datasets, we found similar family cancer history (33%) rates, but higher personal cancer history in the AoU dataset (9.2% in AoU vs. 5.11% in NHIS).

Talking About Your Family History of Cancer
CDC, July 2023 Brand

Having open conversations about your family history of cancer can help you and your family members understand your risk for hereditary cancer and make a plan to manage it. Let’s Talk: Sharing Info About Your Family Cancer Risk is an interactive tool to help you learn ways to talk about cancer risk with your family members.

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Disclaimer: Articles listed in the Public Health Genomics and Precision Health Knowledge Base are selected by the CDC Office of Public Health Genomics to provide current awareness of the literature and news. Inclusion in the update does not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention nor does it imply endorsement of the article's methods or findings. CDC and DHHS assume no responsibility for the factual accuracy of the items presented. The selection, omission, or content of items does not imply any endorsement or other position taken by CDC or DHHS. Opinion, findings and conclusions expressed by the original authors of items included in the update, or persons quoted therein, are strictly their own and are in no way meant to represent the opinion or views of CDC or DHHS. References to publications, news sources, and non-CDC Websites are provided solely for informational purposes and do not imply endorsement by CDC or DHHS.

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