Edward Hospital rolls out online heart disease screening

Edward Hospital is unveiling a new online test to help determine who might be at risk for heart disease.

The HeartAware test asks several questions about age, ethnicity, blood pressure, cholesterol, medical and family history before calculating whether the test-taker is at risk for heart disease, diabetes or other medical maladies. At the end of the test, those who are deemed to be at risk can sign up for free screenings that further examine someone's heart healthiness.

The test can be taken by visiting edward.org/heartaware. It takes about five minutes to complete.

"We tried finding a new novel way to promote early prevention and screening, and this fit perfectly," said Dr. Vincent Bufalino, medical director of cardiovascular services at the Naperville hospital and president and CEO of Midwest Heart Specialists. "Early detection leads to prevention."

The screenings offered by the hospital are the same that many patients have used to learn they were suffering from serious heart disease. Aurora resident Barbara Hunt underwent one of the screenings that led to triple bypass surgery. The 61-year-old had recently hiked to the top of a mountain and thought she was in good shape despite feeling fatigued afterward. She signed up for a heart screening because of a family history of heart disease.

"A lot of the fatigue I felt I blamed on getting older and not being as in shape as I was," she said. "But after the surgery, the fatigue is gone. The lesson is to listen to your body."

Bufalino said there are many contributing factors to heart disease, but poor lifestyle has the biggest impact.

"That's a big piece," he said. "Genetics is there, but so much can be done by just kicking up your exercise and losing weight."

Bufalino said naysayers will complain that the online test is rigged to scare people into worrying about their heart's health.

"People can say that," he said, "but when you think about the fact that 940,000 people died of heart disease last year, you can tell me I'm scaring you all you want, but some of you need to be scared."