Many people wonder why a health pedigree should be compiled and what it looks like. A Family Health History is constructed much like a pedigree chart except that, instead of personal historical information, it contains medical information that is represented using nationally recognized symbols. The type of information needed for and questions used to gather the data to construct a Family Health History are medically technical in nature. A family can learn much about it's medical future by examining its past. Many of the key factors that will determine just how healthy we are throughout life, which illnesses we contract, even how long we will live, we inherit from our ancestors.
Genetic factors underlie all aspects of health and disease.
Scientists have already identified over 2,000 genetic diseases and the list keeps growing with new medical discoveries. Many other conditions, though not inherited, do tend to occur more frequently in some families than in others. By researching your Family Health History you can provide your family with a medical genealogy containing important information about the health of the relatives who preceded them. The information gathered in a Family Health History can steer you to good preventive health care, such as regular doctor check-ups, simple changes in eating habits and exercise. Certain family health patterns can alert you and your doctor to the fact that you need to be watching for early warning signs of a certain illness with regular monitoring tests.