As of 2024, heart disease is the leading cause of death globally. In the United States, 1 in every 5 deaths is caused by heart disease. Yet according to the Cleveland Clinic, 90% of heart disease—which falls under the umbrella of cardiovascular disease (CVD)—could be prevented by lifestyle changes.
Better heart health means taking action before CVD and cardiac emergencies like heart attacks and cardiac arrest cause serious damage or even death. It also means ensuring that emergency responses are rapid and personalized, taking the patient’s needs and medical history into account when they do need urgent care so their symptoms can be treated without delay.
This American Heart Month, Sollis Health is sharing everything you need to know about the proactive and preventative care needed to take control of your heart health today and prevent heart disease in the future.
Learn your risk factors for heart disease
According to the CDC, health conditions like high blood pressure and high cholesterol; lifestyle choices like smoking cigarettes and vaping; and even your family history and genetics can increase your risk for heart disease.
Another lifestyle risk factor for heart disease is stress. Short-term stress may contribute to behaviors linked to increased risk for heart conditions, like smoking, lack of sleep, or not taking your prescribed medications. Long-term—or chronic—stress can lead to high blood pressure on its own, which can increase risk for heart attack and stroke in the future.
Yet other risk factors have to do with healthcare as a system. According to Harvard Medical School, women have higher mortality and worse prognosis rates after acute cardiovascular events like heart attacks or cardiac arrest, which may be due in part to lack of equitable healthcare. One 2022 study found that women who came to the emergency department with chest pain had to wait an average of 11 minutes longer to see a doctor or nurse than men who described similar symptoms. The study also found that women were less likely to receive an electrocardiogram (a standard test to check for a heart attack) and less likely to be hospitalized.
Structural racism in healthcare affects people of color in parallel ways. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), Black adults are more than twice as likely to die of CVD than white adults. Similarly, American Indian individuals are 1.5 times as likely to be diagnosed with coronary heart disease compared with white people. In a 2015 scientific statement, the AHA confirmed that there are clear indicators that members of racial and ethnic minority groups must endure everyday slights and offenses that undermine their health.
While some risk factors for heart disease are out of your hands, everyone can take steps to improve their current and long-term heart health with proactive lifestyle changes and preventative care.
Why screening for heart health is crucial
Managing your risk factors with a high-quality diet, regular exercise, good sleep hygiene, and healthy blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and blood glucose will all support better heart health. But discovering your risk factors will require regular screenings with your primary care physician (PCP) and specialists. The AHA recommends the following screenings:
Blood pressure at each regular healthcare visit or at least one per year if blood pressure is less than 120/80 mm Hg
Cholesterol every 4-6 years for normal-risk young adults; more often as you age, or if you have other risk factors for heart disease and stroke
Weight/BMI and waist circumference during your regular healthcare visit
Blood glucose at least every 3 years starting at age 45
Additional/more frequent testing if you’ve been diagnosed with CVD or have a history of heart attack, stroke, or other cardiovascular events or have a family history
Do I need a CT calcium score or CAC test?
Another critical heart health screening is the calcium score test, also known as a coronary artery calcium (CAC) test.
This quick, noninvasive test that uses a CT scan takes detailed images of the calcium deposits in the arteries that supply blood to the heart. A collection of calcium in the walls of your heart’s arteries can mean that there’s a build-up of plaque, which could increase your risk of a heart attack or stroke. Your calcium score can help your doctor decide if you need additional medical care—even if you don’t currently have any symptoms.

How Sollis supports your best heart health
While better heart health is possible with proactive care like lifestyle changes and preventative care like screenings and tests, staying on top of everything can be overwhelming to say the least.
At Sollis Health, we’re more than just the emergency experts. Our ER-trained medical teams make better heart health easier and more convenient by helping them learn their risk factors, take steps to prevent CVD down the road, screen and test, and of course providing 24/7 emergency care whenever and wherever it’s needed that keeps our members out of confusing, crowded ERs with rapid care.
24/7 telehealth: Never wonder “Is this an emergency?” No matter what your symptoms are, from a racing heart, to trouble breathing, to chest pain, to unusual fatigue, Sollis doctors are available 24/7, 365, to answer medical questions via chat, video, or phone.
Same-day, little-to-no-wait care: Our flagship centers in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and South Florida are open 24/7, 365, for after-hours care that can handle 90% of what a typical ER treats, keeping you out of urgent care and the emergency room 95% of the time. Designed with sophisticated finishes and thoughtful amenities, our centers create a comfortable, concierge experience that’s personalized, warm, and discreet.
On-site imaging and in-house labs: Instead of sending you to the urgent care or ER to get diagnosed, we have hospital-level diagnostics on-site for faster treatment, like troponin tests to confirm heart attacks and ICU-level cardiac monitoring equipment.
Care navigation: Sollis is like having a personal medical assistant when you need one most. From navigating care between providers to administrative paperwork, your Care Navigation Team simplifies your care journey so you can focus on you.
Proactive and preventative care: Protecting your heart health now and in the future, Sollis offers:
Vaccines: Get vaccinated against flu, COVID, pneumococcal pneumonia, TDAP, and other infections that can lead to health problems (including heart conditions) down the road.
Screening and tests: From cardiac screening packages that include CT calcium scores (available in New York and Los Angeles) to Zio® ECG monitors to diagnose irregular heart rhythms to ultrasound, Sollis offers a suite of screening and test services to help you stay on top of your heart health.
Expedited specialist access: Want to take control of your lifestyle risks? Sollis can connect you with a leading nutritionist from our 2,000+ network of specialists (including the nation’s top cardiologists) and help you skip the waitlist so you can be seen in days, not weeks.
Complimentary perks: All Sollis members receive complimentary Wellness Consultations, which include an EKG if recommended by a doctor.
Trust your heart with Sollis Health
Sollis Health members don’t just receive expert urgent and emergency care: they also receive the peace of mind that comes with the only medical membership that’s on-demand 24/7, 365.
As a member, you never have to ask yourself where to go when you have chest pain, another scary symptom, or symptoms that may only seem unrelated to heart health, like nausea or arm pain. Your ER-trained medical team is just a call away, ready to coordinate with your other providers—like your PCP and specialists—to make sure you receive the world’s best care no matter what.