Heart Health
Heart Health Is Built Through Everyday Choices and Knowing What to Watch.
Heart health is connected to blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, movement, food, sleep, stress, smoking, medications, family history, and preventive care. You do not have to change everything at once to begin paying closer attention to the health of your heart.
Small habits matter, but knowing your personal risk factors matters too. Healthy routines work best alongside appropriate medical care, recommended screening, and conversations with a qualified healthcare professional.
Heart Health Basics
Supporting Your Heart Starts With Understanding the Bigger Picture.
Heart health is influenced by many things working together. Some factors can be changed, some cannot, and some require medical treatment rather than lifestyle changes alone. Knowing what affects your personal risk can help you make more informed decisions.
More Than One Number
Heart health cannot be judged by how healthy someone looks or feels.
Blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, smoking, activity, food, sleep, stress, medications, age, family history, and existing medical conditions can all contribute to cardiovascular risk. Regular preventive care can help identify concerns that may not cause obvious symptoms.
Know Your Health Numbers
Blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, and other health information can help your healthcare professional understand cardiovascular risk in the context of your overall health.
Keep Moving
Regular movement can support cardiovascular fitness, strength, mobility, energy, and other areas of health. The right amount and type of activity depend on the individual.
Build Supportive Food Habits
Everyday eating patterns can support heart health. Focus on practical, sustainable habits rather than extreme diets or trying to make every meal perfect.
Keep Preventive Care Routine
Regular healthcare visits can help review risk factors, medications, symptoms, family history, screenings, and changes that may deserve attention.
Everyday Heart Support
Small habits can work together over time.
These habits are general wellness strategies and do not replace prescribed treatment or individualized medical recommendations.
Walking, cycling, swimming, strength activities, active hobbies, and other forms of movement can all contribute to an active lifestyle.
Build meals around a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, protein foods, and other foods that fit your health needs and preferences.
Persistent poor sleep, severe daytime fatigue, or unusual breathing during sleep can be worth discussing with a qualified healthcare professional.
Movement, connection, rest, boundaries, relaxation practices, and professional support can all be useful parts of stress management.
Smoking and tobacco exposure are important cardiovascular risk factors. A healthcare professional can help with evidence-based support for quitting.
Do not stop or change blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, or other prescribed medication without discussing it with the prescribing professional.
Heart Risk Is Personal
Some risk factors can be changed. Others cannot.
Cardiovascular risk is based on the whole picture, not one habit or one laboratory result.
- Blood pressure
- Cholesterol and other blood lipid results
- Diabetes or other blood sugar concerns
- Smoking or tobacco exposure
- Physical activity and overall fitness
- Family history of cardiovascular disease
- Age and other individual health factors
- Existing heart, kidney, vascular, or other medical conditions
Family History Matters
Share what you know about heart disease in your family.
A family history of heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, or other cardiovascular conditions may be useful information for your healthcare professional. You cannot change your family history, but knowing it can help guide appropriate conversations about prevention and risk.
Prevention Is Not Only About Lifestyle
Sometimes healthy habits and medical treatment need to work together.
Some people may need medication or other medical care to manage blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, abnormal heart rhythms, or other cardiovascular risks. Needing treatment does not mean healthy habits failed. Appropriate medical care is part of heart health too.
Important: Individual cardiovascular risk depends on age, medical history, family history, laboratory results, blood pressure, medications, symptoms, and other factors. Use a qualified healthcare professional to interpret your personal risk and determine whether lifestyle changes, medication, testing, or other treatment is appropriate.
Next: Know Your Numbers
Health numbers are most useful when you understand what they are tracking.
Next, we'll look at blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, and other information that can help guide conversations about cardiovascular health and risk.
Know Your Numbers
Your Health Numbers Can Reveal Things You May Not Be Able to Feel.
Blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, and other measurements can provide useful information about cardiovascular and metabolic health. The numbers matter most when they are interpreted in the context of your medical history, medications, family history, and overall risk.
Numbers Need Context
One reading or one laboratory result does not tell your entire health story.
Some measurements can change from day to day, while others are best understood as part of a longer pattern. Your healthcare professional can help determine which numbers matter most for you, how often they should be checked, and whether changes require monitoring, lifestyle adjustments, medication, testing, or other care.
Blood Pressure
Blood pressure reflects the pressure of blood against artery walls. Repeatedly elevated readings can matter even when someone feels fine, which is why appropriate monitoring and professional interpretation are important.
Cholesterol & Blood Lipids
Cholesterol testing may include several different measurements. Your healthcare professional can interpret the complete pattern alongside age, blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, family history, and other cardiovascular risk factors.
Blood Sugar
Blood glucose and related testing can help identify diabetes, prediabetes, or other concerns involving glucose regulation. Diabetes and cardiovascular health are closely connected.
Other Health Information
Depending on your health history, your healthcare professional may consider kidney function, weight trends, medications, smoking history, family history, symptoms, or additional testing when evaluating cardiovascular risk.
How to Think About Health Numbers
Use numbers as information, not as a grade.
Measurements are tools that can help guide decisions. They are not a judgment about effort, character, or personal worth.
One reading may be affected by timing, stress, illness, medication, activity, or other factors. Repeated measurements can sometimes provide a clearer picture.
The importance of a result can depend on age, medical history, family history, medications, and other cardiovascular risk factors.
Your personal treatment or monitoring goal may be different from someone else's. Ask your healthcare professional what range or target is appropriate for you.
Keeping blood pressure readings and laboratory results organized can make it easier to compare changes over time and discuss them at appointments.
A better reading does not automatically mean medication is no longer needed. Changes should be discussed with the prescribing healthcare professional.
If you do not understand a result, ask what it means, whether it changed, what may affect it, and what you should do next.
When You Track at Home
Consistent notes can make home readings more useful.
If your healthcare professional has asked you to monitor a health number at home, follow their instructions about what to measure, how to measure it, and how often.
- Record the date and time
- Write down the actual reading rather than relying on memory
- Note relevant symptoms when appropriate
- Keep medication information available
- Follow the measurement technique recommended by your healthcare professional
- Bring your readings to appointments
- Ask when a reading should prompt a call to your healthcare team
Free Life's Healthy Solutions Tool
Keep Your Health Numbers Organized in One Place.
The Healthy Numbers Tracker can help you keep a simple record of health information so you have it available for your own reference and conversations with your healthcare professional. It is an organization tool, not a diagnostic or treatment tool.
Do Not Chase Someone Else's Numbers
Your health goals should be based on your own health situation.
Numbers posted online, shared by friends, or presented as universal goals may not reflect what is appropriate for you. Pregnancy, age, medications, diabetes, kidney disease, heart disease, other medical conditions, and individual risk factors can all influence how a healthcare professional interprets results.
Important: This page intentionally does not provide universal target numbers for blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, or other health measurements. Appropriate ranges, treatment thresholds, and goals can vary by individual. Use your healthcare professional to interpret your results and determine what action, if any, is appropriate.
Next: Food & Everyday Heart Support
Heart-supportive eating does not require a perfect diet.
Next, we'll look at practical food habits, meal-building ideas, fiber-rich foods, fats, sodium awareness, convenience, and ways to make heart-supportive choices realistic.
Food & Everyday Heart Support
Heart-Supportive Eating Can Be Practical, Flexible, and Enjoyable.
Eating for heart health does not require giving up every favorite food or following a rigid diet. The bigger picture is the pattern you build over time and whether your everyday food choices support your overall health needs.
Think Pattern, Not Perfection
One meal does not make or break your heart health.
A heart-supportive eating pattern can include vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds when appropriate, fish, poultry, other protein foods, dairy or alternatives, and the foods that fit your culture, budget, preferences, and medical needs.
Add More Plant Foods
Vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and other plant foods can help add fiber, variety, and nutrients to everyday meals.
Choose Protein That Fits Your Needs
Fish, poultry, beans, lentils, eggs, dairy foods, soy foods, nuts, seeds, and other protein choices can all fit depending on your health needs and preferences.
Pay Attention to Fats
The types of fats in a person's overall eating pattern can matter. Oils, nuts, seeds, fish, avocado, dairy foods, meats, and packaged foods may all contribute different types of fat.
Be Sodium Aware
Sodium can come from restaurant meals, packaged foods, sauces, soups, deli meats, snacks, and many everyday products, not only from salt added at the table.
Build Meals That Work in Real Life
Simple food choices can still support heart health.
You do not need elaborate recipes or specialty products. Start with familiar foods and improve the balance where it makes sense.
Fresh, frozen, canned, or pre-cut vegetables and fruit can all make it easier to add variety without creating extra work.
Oatmeal, brown rice, whole-grain breads, whole-grain pasta, or other familiar options can add fiber and variety to meals.
Beans, lentils, eggs, tuna or other fish, chicken, yogurt, cottage cheese, tofu, or similar foods can make quick meals easier.
Frozen vegetables, fruit, fish, grains, and simple meals can be useful tools on busy days. Convenience and healthy eating can work together.
Nutrition labels can help compare products for sodium, saturated fat, fiber, added sugars, and other nutrients relevant to your personal health goals.
A sustainable eating pattern should leave room for enjoyment, traditions, celebrations, restaurant meals, and foods you genuinely like.
Sodium Awareness
Sodium needs are not identical for everyone.
If your healthcare professional has recommended reducing sodium, look at the foods you eat most often rather than focusing only on the salt shaker. Packaged foods, sauces, restaurant meals, soups, frozen meals, deli meats, and snacks can contribute substantial sodium depending on the product. Your personal goal should come from appropriate medical guidance.
Think About the Overall Fat Pattern
Heart-supportive eating is not about removing all fat from food.
Foods such as nuts, seeds, fish, avocado, and plant oils can provide different types of fats than foods high in saturated or trans fats. Rather than treating all dietary fat as the same, focus on the overall pattern and follow individualized advice when you have high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, or another medical condition.
Heart-Supportive Eating in Real Life
Make healthy choices easier instead of relying on willpower every day.
- Keep simple meal ingredients available
- Use frozen and canned foods when they make life easier
- Compare labels when choosing foods you buy regularly
- Add vegetables or fruit instead of trying to rebuild the entire meal
- Prepare extra portions when cooking so another meal is already started
- Keep easy snacks available for busy days
- Allow restaurant meals and celebrations without treating them as failure
- Focus on the eating pattern you repeat most often
Important: Nutrition needs can change with diabetes, kidney disease, heart failure, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, food allergies, pregnancy, medications, and other medical conditions. If you have a diagnosed condition or have been given specific nutrition instructions, follow your healthcare professional or qualified dietitian's guidance rather than relying on general heart-health information alone.
Next: Movement, Stress & Sleep
Food is only one part of supporting cardiovascular health.
Next, we'll look at everyday movement, strength, stress, sleep, recovery, smoking, and other lifestyle factors that can work alongside preventive care and appropriate treatment.
Movement, Stress & Sleep
Heart Health Is Supported by More Than What Is on Your Plate.
Movement, sleep, stress, recovery, smoking, daily routines, and preventive care can all influence cardiovascular health. The goal is not to create a perfect lifestyle. It is to build supportive habits that fit your health needs and real life.
Think Beyond Exercise
Supporting your heart includes how you move, rest, recover, and cope.
A daily walk can matter. So can getting enough sleep, managing ongoing stress, following treatment recommendations, avoiding tobacco, keeping appointments, and paying attention when your body begins sending new or unusual signals.
Move Regularly
Walking, cycling, swimming, strength training, active hobbies, and everyday movement can all support cardiovascular fitness and overall function.
Pay Attention to Stress
Persistent stress can affect sleep, eating, activity, mood, medication routines, and other behaviors that influence health.
Protect Sleep
Sleep supports recovery and daily functioning. Persistent insomnia, severe daytime sleepiness, or unusual breathing during sleep may deserve professional evaluation.
Avoid Tobacco
Smoking and tobacco exposure are important cardiovascular risk factors. Quitting can be difficult, and evidence-based professional support may make the process more manageable.
Make Movement More Realistic
You do not have to become an athlete to become more active.
Choose forms of movement that fit your health, ability, schedule, preferences, and current level of activity.
A neighborhood walk, indoor walking, errands on foot, or short walks throughout the day can all add movement.
Resistance exercises can help support muscle, function, mobility, and independence when appropriate for your health and ability.
Stand, stretch, walk around the room, or take short movement breaks when long periods of sitting are part of your day.
Dancing, gardening, swimming, biking, active hobbies, recreation, or walking with someone can make movement easier to continue.
If you have been inactive, begin with a realistic amount rather than trying to make up for years of inactivity in one week.
If you have heart disease, significant symptoms, major mobility limitations, or another health concern, ask your healthcare professional what activity is appropriate.
Stress & Heart Health
Stress management is not about creating a life with no problems.
Work, finances, caregiving, grief, family concerns, illness, relationships, and uncertainty can all create stress. Look for healthy ways to cope, such as movement, rest, social connection, boundaries, enjoyable activities, relaxation practices, prayer, counseling, or other professional support when stress becomes difficult to manage.
Sleep Is Part of the Picture
Repeated poor sleep is worth paying attention to.
If you regularly struggle to sleep, wake feeling unrefreshed, experience severe daytime sleepiness, or someone notices loud snoring, gasping, choking, or pauses in breathing during sleep, bring those concerns to a qualified healthcare professional. Sleep problems can have causes that go beyond bedtime habits.
Smoking & Tobacco
Quitting does not have to be a willpower-only project.
If you smoke or use tobacco, consider asking a healthcare professional about evidence-based quitting support. Medication, counseling, structured programs, and other resources may be appropriate. If quitting has been difficult before, that does not mean another attempt cannot be successful.
Pay Attention During Activity
New or unusual symptoms should not always be pushed through.
- New or unusual chest pressure, discomfort, tightness, or pain
- Unusual shortness of breath
- Fainting or feeling as though you may faint
- New or significant dizziness
- Unusual weakness or severe fatigue
- New palpitations or a racing or irregular heartbeat that concerns you
- Symptoms that repeatedly appear with activity
- A noticeable decline in what you can comfortably do
Important: The appropriate type and amount of physical activity can vary based on age, fitness, heart disease, blood pressure, medications, previous procedures, disability, and other health conditions. Do not use general exercise information to override individualized instructions from your healthcare professional. Seek urgent or emergency help for severe or concerning symptoms rather than trying to exercise through them.
Next: Warning Signs & When to Get Help
Knowing when something may be urgent is part of taking heart health seriously.
Next, we'll look at heart-related warning signs, symptoms that should not be ignored, when to contact your healthcare team, and when emergency care may be needed.
Warning Signs & When to Get Help
New or Concerning Heart Symptoms Should Not Always Wait.
Heart and circulation problems do not always feel the same from one person to another. Some symptoms may be mild or caused by something unrelated to the heart, but severe, sudden, unusual, or worsening symptoms deserve appropriate medical attention.
Do Not Diagnose Yourself From a Checklist
Symptoms need context, especially when they are new, severe, or unusual.
Chest discomfort, shortness of breath, dizziness, weakness, palpitations, fatigue, or other symptoms can have many possible causes. A website cannot determine the cause. When symptoms are severe, sudden, or make you think something may be seriously wrong, seek appropriate medical care.
Chest Discomfort
New or unusual pressure, tightness, squeezing, heaviness, pain, or discomfort in the chest deserves attention, particularly when it is severe, persistent, or occurs with other concerning symptoms.
Breathing Changes
Sudden or unusual shortness of breath, trouble breathing, or difficulty doing activities that were previously comfortable may require prompt medical evaluation.
Fainting or Severe Dizziness
Fainting, near-fainting, or significant unexplained dizziness can have many causes and should not automatically be dismissed, especially when it is new or occurs with other symptoms.
Palpitations or Rhythm Changes
A racing, pounding, fluttering, or irregular heartbeat can sometimes be harmless, but new, persistent, severe, or symptomatic episodes are worth discussing with a healthcare professional.
Seek Emergency Help
Do not wait for a routine appointment when symptoms may represent an emergency.
If you believe you or someone else may be having a heart attack, stroke, severe breathing problem, or another life-threatening emergency, contact emergency services right away.
- Severe, sudden, or persistent chest pressure, pain, tightness, or discomfort
- Chest symptoms accompanied by significant shortness of breath, sweating, nausea, fainting, or severe weakness
- Severe difficulty breathing
- Collapse, loss of consciousness, or inability to stay awake
- Sudden weakness or numbness, especially on one side of the body
- Sudden difficulty speaking, understanding speech, seeing, walking, or maintaining balance
- Any sudden symptom that feels severe or life-threatening
Contact Your Healthcare Professional
Not every concerning symptom is an emergency, but persistent changes still deserve attention.
If symptoms are new, recurring, worsening, or affecting your normal activities, it may be appropriate to contact your healthcare team even when emergency care is not needed.
- A noticeable decline in exercise tolerance or everyday stamina
- New shortness of breath during normal activities
- Repeated episodes of dizziness or near-fainting
- New or frequent palpitations
- Unexplained swelling or other new physical changes
- Persistent unusual fatigue or weakness
- Symptoms that repeatedly appear with activity and improve with rest
- A meaningful change from what is normal for you
Symptoms Can Look Different
Do not assume every heart problem has to begin with dramatic chest pain.
Heart-related symptoms can vary by person and circumstance. Some people may experience chest discomfort, while others may notice unusual shortness of breath, nausea, sweating, weakness, fatigue, dizziness, or discomfort elsewhere in the upper body. When symptoms are severe, sudden, unusual, or concerning, seek appropriate medical care rather than trying to identify the cause yourself.
Before a Nonemergency Appointment
A few details can help your healthcare professional understand what changed.
- Write down what the symptom feels like
- Note when it started and how long it lasts
- Record what you were doing when it happened
- Note whether activity, rest, food, stress, or position seems related
- Bring your current medication and supplement list
- Bring relevant home blood pressure or other readings if your healthcare professional has asked you to track them
- Mention important family history and existing medical conditions
- Write down questions you want answered
Important: This section is general educational information and cannot determine whether a symptom is caused by the heart or another condition. Do not delay emergency care while searching a website or waiting to see whether severe or life-threatening symptoms improve.
Next: Heart Health Tools & Doctor Questions
Being prepared can make preventive care conversations more useful.
Next, we'll bring together practical heart-health tools, questions to ask at appointments, ways to organize your health information, and simple steps for staying more involved in your care.
Heart Health Tools & Doctor Questions
Better Questions Can Lead to Better Conversations About Your Heart Health.
You do not need to understand every medical term before an appointment. Keeping your information organized and writing down questions ahead of time can help you leave with a clearer understanding of your risk, your results, and what comes next.
Be an Active Participant
Your healthcare professional has the medical expertise, but you bring important information too.
You know what you have been feeling, which medications you take, what changes you have noticed, what your family history includes, and what questions are worrying you. Bringing that information into the conversation can make preventive care and follow-up more useful.
Keep Your Results
Keep copies of important blood pressure readings, cholesterol results, blood sugar information, medication changes, and other relevant health records so you can compare them over time.
Keep a Medication List
Include prescription medications, over-the-counter medicines, and supplements. Knowing names and doses can help make appointments and medication reviews more accurate.
Know Your Family History
Write down what you know about heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, or other significant cardiovascular conditions in close relatives.
Bring Your Questions
Appointments can move quickly. Writing questions down ahead of time can help you remember what you wanted to discuss and what you still need clarified.
Questions to Ask Your Healthcare Professional
Use the questions that fit your situation.
You do not need to ask all of these at one appointment. Choose the questions that are most relevant to your health and concerns.
What are my biggest cardiovascular risk factors right now?
How should I interpret my blood pressure readings?
What do my cholesterol results mean in the context of my overall risk?
Should I be concerned about my blood sugar or diabetes risk?
Are there symptoms I should watch for based on my health history?
What type of physical activity is appropriate for me?
Are any of my medications affecting my blood pressure, heart rate, or other heart-health concerns?
What changes would make the biggest difference for my health right now?
How often should my blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, or other risk factors be checked?
Does my family history change what you recommend for me?
What should prompt me to call your office rather than wait for my next appointment?
Is there anything I should track at home between visits?
Prepare for the Appointment
A few minutes of preparation can make the visit easier.
You do not need a complicated medical binder. Bring the information most likely to help your healthcare professional understand your current health and concerns.
- Current medication and supplement list
- Recent laboratory results when available
- Home blood pressure or other readings your healthcare professional asked you to track
- New or changing symptoms
- Relevant family health history
- Recent medication changes or side effects
- Questions about food, movement, sleep, stress, smoking, or other habits
- A short written list of your most important questions
Free Life's Healthy Solutions Tool
Keep Your Health Information Organized Between Appointments.
The Healthy Numbers Tracker can help you record important health information in one place so it is easier to bring relevant readings and notes to appointments. It is designed for organization, not diagnosis or treatment.
Medication Questions Matter Too
Do not stay confused about why you are taking something.
If you take medication for blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, heart rhythm, heart disease, or another health concern, ask what the medication is intended to do, how it should be taken, what side effects may deserve attention, and what to do if you miss a dose. Do not stop or change prescribed medication without discussing it with the prescribing healthcare professional.
Important: These questions are general conversation starters only. They are not a substitute for individualized medical advice. Your healthcare professional may recommend different testing, treatment, monitoring, or follow-up based on your symptoms, medical history, medications, family history, and overall cardiovascular risk.
Next: Heart Health Resources
Bring everything together with practical resources for your next step.
Next, we'll connect this page with related Life's Healthy Solutions topics, the Healthy Numbers Tracker, everyday wellness resources, and the closing message for Heart Health.
Heart Health Resources
Protecting Your Heart Is a Long-Term Process, Not a One-Time Project.
You do not need to overhaul your entire life today. Start by understanding your personal risk, keeping up with preventive care, knowing your numbers, and choosing one realistic habit you can continue.
Keep the Whole Picture in Mind
Heart health is bigger than any single food, number, or habit.
Food, movement, sleep, stress, smoking, blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, medications, family history, preventive care, and existing medical conditions can all contribute to cardiovascular health. Focus on the areas you can influence while getting appropriate care for the areas that need professional attention.
Healthy Eating
Build practical meals around variety, fiber-rich foods, protein, healthier fats, sodium awareness, and choices that fit your real life.
Explore Healthy Eating →Healthy Habits
Create realistic daily routines around movement, hydration, sleep, recovery, consistency, and making healthy choices easier to repeat.
Explore Healthy Habits →Stress & Sleep
Learn practical ways to support rest, manage daily stress, notice sleep problems, and know when professional help may be needed.
Explore Stress & Sleep →Weight & Metabolism
Explore metabolic health, blood sugar, weight trends, energy, habits, and the factors that can influence long-term health.
Explore Weight & Metabolism →Healthy Aging
Explore strength, mobility, preventive care, nourishment, recovery, connection, and healthy-living habits through later stages of life.
Explore Healthy Aging →Guides & Downloads
Find practical trackers, printables, checklists, and wellness guides designed to make health information easier to organize and use.
Browse Guides & Downloads →Not Sure Where to Begin?
Start with four simple heart-health actions.
These do not replace individualized medical care, but they can help you become more involved in your own health.
Ask which health numbers matter for you and what your personal goals should be.
Add a realistic amount of movement that fits your current health and ability.
Add produce, choose a higher-fiber option, compare labels, or improve one regular meal.
Preventive care can identify risks and changes that may not cause obvious symptoms.
Free Healthy Numbers Tracker
Keep Important Health Information in One Place.
Use the Life's Healthy Solutions Healthy Numbers Tracker to organize readings, health information, and notes you may want available for your next healthcare appointment. It is an organization tool, not a diagnostic tool.
One Step at a Time
You do not have to wait for a health scare to start paying attention to your heart.
Learn your risk factors. Keep your health information organized. Ask questions. Build habits you can maintain. Take prescribed treatment seriously. And when new or concerning symptoms appear, get the appropriate medical help instead of trying to manage everything on your own.
Keep Exploring
Small decisions today can support healthier years ahead.
Continue exploring practical wellness information in the Life's Healthy Solutions Blog, or visit Healthy Eating for everyday food strategies that can support your overall health.
Life's Healthy Solutions provides general educational and wellness information for informational purposes only. Content is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease or replace individualized medical advice, diagnosis, screening, examination, treatment, or emergency care from a qualified healthcare professional.