Lourdes Cardiologist: Minimize Controllable Risks to Protect Heart Health

February is American Heart Month

Between 1999 and 2009, the rate of deaths from cardiovascular disease (CVD) fell 32.7 percent, but still accounted for nearly one in three deaths in the nation. That’s 2,150 people dying from CVD each day — about one death every 40 seconds, according to the American Heart Association.

Dr. Howard Weinberg, part of the cardiology team at South Jersey Heart Group, an affiliate of Lourdes Cardiology Services, says heart health is compromised by a variety of factors, and some of them controllable. With that in mind, he urges people to take action when they can in protecting their heart health. 

“We as a society have made strides in raising awareness of heart disease,” says Dr. Weinberg.  “But if we don’t do more to educate the public about the importance of heart health, and for individuals to act on that knowledge, then those strides will become losses to the war on heart disease.” 

Dr. Weinberg says action steps include diet and exercise. “First step, eat healthier foods and move your body more often. Second step, act as soon as the first sign of a heart issue pops up. Patients should be evaluated right away by a physician to manage heart problems, with a goal of preventing future damage.”

Stress, while not fully understood, has also been linked to heart disease, says Dr. Weinberg. “Work-related stress has been recently associated with an increase in the risk for a heart attack. In addition to stress causing higher blood pressure, some people may smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol as a coping mechanism.   

“The best ways to act on stress-reduction is by continuing a healthy diet, refraining from smoking and drinking, and by practicing relaxation techniques. These techniques can include meditation, deep breathing, taking more breaks from a stressful situation, securing a social network of friends and family, getting frequent massages, and regular exercise.” 

Finally, Dr. Weinberg urges those who are obese or have diabetes, to act by losing the extra weight. “Obesity, which is a risk factor for diabetes, increases the risk of heart disease.  Having a healthy weight will reduce the risk of both diabetes and heart disease.” 

Bottom line, Dr. Weinberg says the following are all controllable risk factors for heart disease:

·         Diabetes

·         Obesity

·         Physical inactivity

·         High cholesterol

·         High blood pressure

·         Stress

·         Smoking

“The incidence of having a heart attack is much higher for patients with controllable risk factors,” says Dr. Weinberg. “A healthy lifestyle may allow someone to reduce the risk of heart disease substantially.”