Cardiac Family History: Complications

Name Institutional Affiliation Course Code/Title Instructor Date Cardiac Family History The role of the cardiovascular system is to transport blood to all living cells in the body, and is made of the heart and blood vessels. The heart serves to pump blood to all tissues in the body while blood vessels, which include arteries and veins, carry blood away from the heart and from other tissues to the heart (Starr & McMillan 121). The arteries carry oxygenated blood from the heart to the rest of the body while veins carry deoxygenated blood from tissues to the heart. Besides the heart, arteries, and veins, the circulatory system contains arterioles, venules, and capillaries. The components that make up the circulatory system help to maintain homeostasis by transporting substances to and from cells. In the United States, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) is the leading cause of death and the risk factors include smoking, sedentary lifestyle, elevated levels of blood cholesterol, and hypertension (Starr & McMillan 134). While these risk factors can be prevented, other factors such as old age and genetic predisposition or family history of heart diseases cannot be prevented. In my family cardiac history, only my grandmother would have a cardiac complication. The doctor had conducted a series of medical tests to find out her risks to heart condition and the best lifestyle she could adopt to reduce the risks. She was advised to take regular physical exercise to help reduce her risks of related heart problems. Apart from the physical body exercise she does, she was advised to maintain her emotional and physical health after the doctor reviewed her family history and found that she was likely to suffer from he...