Searching for Hidden Heart Risks

Calculating your body mass index and Framingham risk score are a snap, thanks to tools provided by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. For the body mass index, your weight and height is everything you need. For the Framingham risk score, the numbers you need to have on hand are your total cholesterol, HDL (good) cholesterol, and systolic blood pressure (the top number of a blood pressure reading).

Learn more about inflammation and heart disease.

Articles of interest:

• Eating to ease inflammation from the September 2004 issue of the Harvard Heart Letter.
• Excerpt from: The Healthy Heart: Preventing, detecting, and treating coronary artery disease
• Inflammation information from the July 2005 issue of the Harvard Health Letter