Health 101: The Importance of Knowing Your Family Health History

As we begin a new year, this is the perfect time to gather with your family and work on or update your family health history. A family health history is a record of the medical conditions that have affected your family – from siblings, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents – over several generations. But why should you work on a family health history? Here are 4 great reasons why you should:

It can determine your risk for certain diseases.

You can start early treatment for diseases that run in your family.

It can determine whether you should get certain genetic tests or not.

It can let you know if you are at risk of passing a disease onto your children.