Family Pedigree: Family Assessment

Deborah Reecer

Community Health

February 13th 2017

Family Assessment

A. Attached copy of Family Pedigree

B. The health status for myself I would consider to be in jeopardy. Before this assignment

I would have said I was a healthy person, I have always known that I needed to decrease my BMI, but now I also see that there is a genetic risk for heart problems. As a child I had chicken pox at the age of nine and measles at the age of twelve. No other childhood diseases. As an adult I have not had any illnesses other than seasonal allergies, common colds, or the occasional sore throat. Currently I have no chronic illnesses, but I was recently diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD).

On both my father’s and mother’s side of the family there is a history of cardiac issues such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and myocardial infarction ultimately leading to the death of grandparents on both sides. Hyperlipidemia is “defined as one of the most common denominated genetic disorders, resulting in a high level of lipids in the blood stream that can enter the

There are several known risk factors for hypertension such as, family history ( if your parents have hypertension you are more likely to have hypertension), age (as we age our blood vessels tend to loose elasticity), gender (up to the age of 45 men are more likely to have HTN greater than the age of 65 women are more likely to have HTN), race ( African Americans have a higher incidence of developing HTN), sedentary lifestyle ( lack of physical activity), diet ( high sodium, high fat diets increase your risk of developing HTN), being overweight ( BMI greater than 30), smoking ( causes coronary constriction leading to heart disease), and even stress (high levels of stress can cause