Do you really know your family’s heart history? It’s time to make sure.

When it comes to reducing our risk for developing heart disease, we don’t have to revamp our lifestyle overnight.

Sometimes starting slowly can create longer-term health benefits. Watching our diets and stepping up exercise are a couple of ways to tweak daily routines in order to manage heart rate and overall health. Skipping snacks and walking for 30 minutes around the neighborhood also go a long way toward reducing blood pressure and improving overall cardiovascular fitness.

It takes time, but working consistently toward a weight management and exercise regimen will help burn calories and build extra blood flow in the long run, said cardiologist Dr. Kaustubh Dabhadkar of Novant Health Heart & Vascular Institute - Mint Hill.

“Heart disease will always be destined to be the leading cause of death unless we avoid processed food, smoking and alcohol,” Dabhadkar said. “As for exercise, the most important thing is getting started, even if it means taking baby steps, like walking for three minutes then gradually increasing your activity.”

Dabhadkar weighs in on how to take those first steps toward reducing heart disease risk.

We can't suddenly kick bad habits, but what are some incremental steps we can take right away?

Most people know right off the bat what their vices are. If you have a habit of snacking, think about why you’re doing it: Many of my patients who work from home admit to getting bored and going to the pantry for a bag of chips. One of the biggest suggestions I have for people is to start with one tiny thing, then gradually progress from there. I specifically encourage them to be mindful of the sugar they're eating. It’s OK to eat a cookie, but it’s important to be mindful.

There are factors, including race and family medical history, that are out of our control. How important are these when it comes to getting an annual checkup?

You cannot ignore race and the implications of lacking socioeconomic access to health care, gyms, public parks and healthy food. But even more important is your family history.

You'd be surprised how little people know about their parents. They may know that their mom has some kind of heart disease and uses a pacemaker, but that information is often not sufficient to be helpful.

So I encourage people to sit down and ask their parents about the medical history of their own parents — did they truly have a heart attack, or were there other factors involved? If someone’s grandfather had a weakening heart for years and died in his sleep, that's different from him being healthy up to that point. This is why that family conversation is critical.

What do you find that patients misunderstand most often about their heart health?

One of the biggest things I constantly explain to patients is to think of a blood vessel as a living organism. Your blood vessels adapt to changes that are happening elsewhere in your body. So when you’re sick, that puts stress on the heart and the blood vessels. Smoking, diabetes and sleep apnea also affect how the arteries respond to other things in your body. I think people often fail to consider the impact of other things happening in their bodies, and how those are affecting the heart.

What's the best way to motivate someone who just isn't really interested in exercising?

I tell my patients that it doesn't matter if they start exercising for only five minutes, as long as they’re starting. The goal then is to increase the activity level by 20% every two weeks. It’s common for people to join a gym in January, then get discouraged.

If you don't enjoy running, don't plan to run for 30 minutes right away. Instead, run with a buddy for five minutes, and do it again each day for a week before building up to seven minutes. The goal is to combine physical activity with something social, like working out with a friend or listening to podcasts while you exercise. Just get started.