Among the components of your medical records will be your family medical history.
Why Record Your Family’s Medical History?
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Did your grandfather suffer fromAlzheimer’s disease?
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Does Great Aunt Emma have problems with psoriasis?
Did your mother havebreast cancer?
Does your brother have heart disease?
Tracking diseases and conditions suffered byblood relativescan help you reveal any risk factors you may have.
Once you’ve assembled the information you need, share it with your healthcare provider at your next check-up.
What Relatives Should Be Included?
These relatives are:
Even if these relatives have died, their health information may be important to you.
Since they are related only by marriage, their health history will not directly affect your health.
Types of Information to Collect and Record
There are two keys to the information you will collect.
Second, you are looking for trends that may follow you.
Does your father have high cholesterol?
You may develop high cholesterol, too.
Is your mother a twin?
If twins run in your family, you might be predisposed to have twins, too.
There are hundreds of genetic disorders which get passed through the generations.
It may be information you should have prior to having a baby.
Specific Diseases and Conditions to Record
Here are some of the diseases and conditions to track.
They represent the most common health problems that may emanate from one’s family.
It is not a comprehensive list.
A more comprehensive list may be found through theNational Institutes of Health.
What if your relative is healthy and there are no health or medical challenges to record?
Update the information later if that situation changes.
Has a relative already died?
Tuberculosis was called consumption.
Atherosclerosis was called hardening of the arteries.
you’re free to always refer to alist of old disease namesvs.
If that’s more than you want to tackle, consider using theFamily Health Portrait, from the U.S.
Surgeon General and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
It helps you track all necessary blood relatives, plus charts people and diseases for you.
The information gets saved to your setup.
Keep Your Family Health History Records Updated
Your family medical history will never be 100% complete.
But at each stage, it will be useful.
As time goes on, keep it updated as best you might.
When new family members are born, add them to your list.
Among the most important steps is to share your document(s) at each major stage.
U.S. National Library of Medicine Genetics Home Reference.Is the probability of having twins determined by genetics?
