Why Understanding Your Heart Risk is the Key to Living Longer (and Healthier)
It’s hard to do something difficult, especially when you have no idea why you are doing it, or whether the effort will even pay off. Take dessert, for example. You know exactly why you eat it. It’s rewarding, it tastes good, and it makes you happy, at least for a fleeting moment. The logic is simple and immediate.
Now think about something like losing weight. You probably know exactly why you should do it: to feel better, to prevent disease, to fit into your favorite jeans. But, it takes time and effort, and depending on your patience or your determination, not to mention genes, the outcome is variable. The results are delayed, uncertain, and different for everyone.
It Starts with Knowing Your “Why”
It starts with understanding your “why,” and that “why” is a simple analysis of your risk. According to the American Heart Association’s Life's Essential 8-
High blood pressure
High cholesterol
High blood sugar
Poor diet
Physical inactivity
Obesity
Smoking
Poor sleep
These risk factors are mostly driven by lifestyle, and that means that they are within your control. But, here’s the thing—knowing you should eat better or exercise more isn’t enough. You need to know why it matters for you.
Personal Risk is More Than Just Numbers
Personal risk is more than just your numbers. Let’s use cholesterol as an example. If you are told your cholesterol is “borderline,” does it mean you are at risk for a heart attack? Maybe or maybe not. Without looking deeper into your physiology, genetics, metabolism, inflammation and hormones, it is not an accurate assessment. And clearly, behavior doesn’t change based on guessing!
Women-Specific Risk Factors
Adesso focuses on the data that matters most. Our platform goes beyond traditional cardiovascular risk scoring by incorporating the unique factors that affect women throughout their lives, including:
Menopause & Hot Flashes – metabolic and hormonal shifts that accelerate cardiovascular risk
Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes – preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and preterm birth as early warning signs
Mental Health & Psychosocial Stressors – depression, anxiety, and loneliness as contributors to heart disease
Autoimmune Conditions – disproportionately affecting women and associated with vascular inflammation
What’s Missing From Most Risk Assessments: Overlooked and Underutilized Blood Tests:
Basic cholesterol tells us something, but without understanding your true personal risk, it does not tell us enough. There are several blood tests that are incredibly important but often overlooked, that can dramatically change your understanding of heart health. Lipoprotein(a) is a genetic marker that increases your risk of plaque formation leading to heart attacks and strokes. This blood test is not part of the standard lipid analysis that is usually drawn. Diet and exercise do not lower this marker, but it is crucial for knowing if you need advanced screening or more aggressive treatment.
Your metabolism is also an essential piece to understanding your risk. Hemoglobin A1C (HBA1C) measures your average blood sugar over 3 months. Levels greater than 5.7% to 6.4 % indicate prediabetes. Levels over 6.5% indicate type 2 diabetes.
Elevated HBA1C can be associated with inflammation, weight gain, hypertension and heart disease, but many women do not know that they are insulin resistant until symptoms appear.
What Is the Metabolic Syndrome, and Can You Reverse It?
If you have 3 out of 5 of these risk factors you most likely have metabolic syndrome.
High blood pressure- greater than 130/85
Abdominal obesity- waist circumference greater than 35 inches for women, 40 inches for men
High triglycerides- over 150 mg/dL
Low HDL cholesterol- less than 50 mg/dL for men and 40 mg/dL for men
High fasting blood sugar- greater than 100 mg/dL
This diagnosis is driven by insulin resistance, meaning your body is having difficulty processing sugars and simple carbohydrates, which leads to increased inflammation and eventually cardiovascular risk. Oftentimes, polycystic ovarian disease (and difficulty getting pregnant) are associated with metabolic syndrome.
There is a treatment, making it reversible. With the right diet and exercise, you can actually reverse it!
Heart Care Is Self-Care
Every woman deserves to understand her true risk and have a plan to reduce it. Prevention is not a mystery. It’s not just luck and good genes. It’s a strategy, science and determination AND support!
We built Adesso so you can understand your risk, understand your numbers, and what they mean for your future, and how to take action! This is a journey, but you don’t have to do it alone without knowing exactly what to do, how to do it, and why.
— Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum