Falls Church, Virginia –

Did you know that heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 695,000 people died from heart disease in the United States in 2021, which is the leading cause of death for men and women. That’s 1 in 5 people. It is very important to take care of your heart.

“Keeping your heart healthy is important at any age,” said Janine Pickrell, nurse consultant for disease control and population health at the Defense Health Agency. “TRICARE covers many preventive services, such as blood pressure and cholesterol tests, that can help you monitor your heart health.”

Heart disease is a term used to describe a variety of heart conditions, including:

• Vascular diseases such as coronary artery disease
• irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia)
• Congenital heart problems (congenital heart defects)
• heart muscle disease
• heart valve disease

Heart disease can lead to heart attack, heart failure, and stroke. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, diabetes, poor diet, being overweight, and lack of exercise can increase your risk of heart disease.

If heart disease is detected early, treatment is more likely to be successful. Many heart diseases have no symptoms at first. That’s why it’s so important to receive preventive care.

For adults, TRICARE covers services that check your risk of heart disease. Also:

In some cases, TRICARE also covers the following preventive services:

• echocardiogram
• Abdominal aortic aneurysm screening (for men aged 65-75 with a history of smoking)

Talk to your doctor about the preventive services you need based on your age, risk factors, and symptoms. As explained in TRICARE Costs and Fees Fact Sheet, TRICARE makes it easy to get the preventive care you need. If you use a TRICARE network provider, TRICARE covers all medically necessary preventive services at no out-of-pocket cost.

Women of all ages should take care of their heart health and know the signs of a heart attack. U.S. Air Force Col. (Dr.) Travis Butts, chief of cardiology at Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgery Center at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, said heart attack rates are increasing for women between the ages of 30 and 50. Stated. Women often have different heart attack symptoms than men. These symptoms include pain between the shoulder blades, abdominal pain, and nausea. If you have these symptoms, it is important to see a doctor right away. For more information about heart attacks in women, visit Health.mil.

In addition to receiving preventive treatment, you can take control of your heart health by:

• no smoking
• eat healthy food
• do regular exercise
• reach a healthy weight
• managing stress
• I am taking my heart disease medication as prescribed.

These tips are things you can do every day to improve your heart health without going to the doctor.

These lifestyle changes support overall health. Talk to your doctor about how to make these changes. To learn more about how TRICARE can help, please visit Covered Services.

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