Heart Health

By Dr. Rebecca Katzman

As we come to the end of February, we come to the end of American Heart Month.  Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in American adults. The goal of American Heart Month is to improve awareness of heart disease and provide education about preventing and treating heart disease. Staying active, eating healthy, and managing stress are important for everyone’s heart health. For many, lowering blood pressure and cholesterol can also decrease the risk of heart disease. Stopping smoking reduces risk of a heart attack by half. The National Center for Health Statistics estimates that one-third of American adults have at least one of these three risk factors (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking) for heart disease.   Talk to your family members about their heart history as this can affect your risk of heart disease as well. A heart attack occurs when there is blockage in an artery around the heart leading to restricted blood flow and then damage to the heart muscle. The symptoms of a heart attack include chest pain or pressure, pain that moves from the chest into the jaw or arm, sudden dizziness, nausea, or trouble breathing. If you have new or concerning symptoms, call 911 or go to the hospital. In some cases, a heart attack can lead do a condition called cardiac arrest which requires CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) or electrical shock (also called defibrillation). Encouraging people to learn CPR and improving access to AEDs (automated external defibrillators) in public places increases the likelihood of survival from cardiac arrest.   Although February is almost over, our attention to heart health does not end and your healthcare provider is always happy to discuss how to stay healthy and decrease risk of heart disease.