Heart Health

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Several health conditions, your lifestyle, and your age and family history can increase your risk for heart disease. These are called risk factors. About half of all Americans (47%) have at least one of the three key risk factors for heart disease: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking.¹

Some of the risk factors for heart disease cannot be controlled, such as your age or family history. But you can take steps to lower your risk by changing the factors you can control.

Learn more about heart disease risk factors Conditions, Behaviors and Family History

Conditions:

1. High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease. It is a medical condition that occurs when the pressure of the blood in your arteries and other blood vessels is too high. The high pressure, if not controlled, can affect your heart and other major organs of your body, including your kidneys and brain.

High blood pressure is often called a “silent killer” because many people do not notice symptoms to signal high blood pressure. Lowering blood pressure by changes in lifestyle or by medication can reduce your risk for heart disease and heart attack.

2. Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance made by the liver or found in certain foods. Your liver makes enough for your body’s needs, but we often get more cholesterol from the foods we eat. If we take in more cholesterol than the body can use, the extra cholesterol can build up in the walls of the arteries, including those of the heart. This leads to narrowing of the arteries and can decrease the blood flow to the heart, brain, kidneys, and other parts of the body.

Some cholesterol is “good,” and some is “bad.” High cholesterol is the term used for high levels of low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, which are considered “bad” because they can lead to heart disease. A higher level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, or HDL, is considered “good” because it provides some protection against heart disease.

A blood test can detect the amount of cholesterol and triglycerides (a related kind of fat) in your blood.

3. Diabetes mellitus also increases the risk for heart disease. Your body needs glucose (sugar) for energy. Insulin is a hormone made in the pancreas that helps move glucose from the food you eat to your body’s cells. If you have diabetes, your body doesn’t make enough insulin, can’t use its own insulin as well as it should, or both.

Diabetes causes sugars to build up in the blood. The risk of death from heart disease for adults with diabetes is higher than adults who do not have diabetes.¹ Talk to your doctor about ways to manage diabetes and control other risk factors.

Behavior: Your lifestyle choices can increase your risk for heart disease and heart attack. To reduce your risk, your doctor may recommend changes to your lifestyle. The good news is that healthy behaviors can lower your risk for heart disease.

1. Unhealthy Diet - Diets high in saturated fats, trans fat, and cholesterol have been linked to heart disease and related conditions, such as atherosclerosis. Also, too much salt(https://www.cdc.gov/salt/index.htm) (sodium) in the diet can raise blood pressure levels.
2. Physical Inactivity - Not getting enough physical activity can lead to heart disease. It also can increase the chances of having other medical conditions that are risk factors, including obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. Regular physical activity can lower your risk for heart disease.
3. Obesity - Obesity is excess body fat. Obesity is linked to higher “bad” cholesterol and triglyceride levels and to lower “good” cholesterol levels. In addition to heart disease, obesity can also lead to high blood pressure and diabetes. Talk to your health care team about a plan to reduce your weight to a healthy level.
4. Too Much Alcohol- Drinking too much alcohol can raise blood pressure levels and the risk for heart disease. It also increases levels of triglycerides, a form of cholesterol, which can harden your arteries. Women should have no more than 1 drink a day. Men should have no more than 2 drinks a day.
5. Tobacco Use - Tobacco use increases the risk for heart disease and heart attack. Cigarette smoking can damage the heart and blood vessels, which increases your risk for heart conditions such as atherosclerosis and heart attack. Also, nicotine raises blood pressure, and carbon monoxide reduces the amount of oxygen that your blood can carry. Exposure to other people’s secondhand smoke can increase the risk for heart disease even for nonsmokers.

Family History - Family members share genes, behaviors, lifestyles, and environments that can influence their health and their risk for disease. Heart disease can run in a family, and your risk for heart disease can increase based on your age, and your race, or ethnicity.

Fayette County Memorial Hospital is fortunate to have Dr. Bruce Auerbach, Cardiologist in the Specialty Clinic. With over 30 years experience in cardiology, Dr. Auerbach welcomes new patients at the Medical Arts Building 2 office, 1510 Columbus Avenue. The cardiopulmonary department is staffed 24 hours a day and performs a variety of tests including stress test, electrocardiograms (EKG), Pulmonary Function Tests, Echocardiograms (Heart Echo) and Doppler studies. To schedule an appointment, call central scheduling at 740.333.2743.

And to find out the latest about Heart Health, don’t miss a chance to hear from Dr. Auerbach directly at the Healthy University Heart Health Class, Wednesday, May 2^nd, 5pm in Medical Arts Building 2, 1510 Columbus Avenue. To register for this free class, visit fcmh.org or call 740.333.2710.