One of the most important uses of history is to help predict the future and avoid the mistakes of the past. When it comes to medical matters, many people say they would just as soon not know what the future holds. This might have made sense in the past when a person could not do much about his medical future. However, we now have lots of options, and based on what you know of your family's medical history, you may be able to influence your future health.

For example, of my six grandparents and parents, five died of stroke or heart attack. My own cholesterol continued to climb in spite of careful dieting. When I learned that three close relatives also had high readings I realized this was a hereditary problem. Fortunately, we now have medication to help even the poor odds that a bad gene might have given us.

If there is a family history of unusual afflictions — even seemingly benign ones — or many people dying from similar causes, you would do well to begin investigating. You may find there is simply a predisposition to one disease and there are precautions that can be taken. Or, you might find a genetic...

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