How does a person's general health affect their heart disease treatment?

How does a person's general health affect their heart disease treatment?

Rose Marie Robertson, MD, FAHA, FACC, FESC (Chief Science Officer and Past President of the Board of American Heart Association) gives expert video advice on: What do I do if I think I'm having a heart attack?; How can I examine myself for heart disease?; What questions should I ask my doctor if I am diagnosed with a heart condition? and more...

When your physician decides on the treatments that are best for you in terms of heart disease, one of the things they will always consider is other conditions you have. Those are called comorbid conditions, just a term for any other diseases or risk factors or conditions that might be present in you that would affect either treatments that are prescribed or advised or medications you might take or your ability to participate in a particular regimen. For example, if you have a serious orthopedic problem, a problem with your back or a problem with joints, then your ability to participate in physical exercise is going to be affected by that. It might be that exercising in a swimming pool is better for you than trying to take up a walking or running regimen. So your physician will want to think about all of your health history as they design your regimen and you'll wanna make sure that your physician has all the information they need as they work with you to design to design the best possible care plan.