Looking at the risk factors of heart disease

NUMBERS. 250 MILLION. THE ESTIMATED AMOUNT OF PEOPLE LIVING WITH HEART DISEASE AROUND THE WORLD. AND THERE IS, HOWEVER, ENCOURAGING RESEARCH THAT INDICATES A DECREASE IN HEART ATTACKS AMONG ADULTS BETWEEN 55 AND 75, DUE IN LARGE PART TO THE USE OF MEDICATIONS LIKE STATINS AND A DECLINE IN SMOKING. A LOT OF TIMES WE DON’T PAY ATTENTION UNTIL SOMETHING HAPPENED. BUT DR. RON BROWNSTEIN, A PREVENTIVE CARDIOLOGIST AT BRIGHAM AND WOMEN’S HOSPITAL, SAYS HEART ATTACKS ARE STEADILY RISING IN ADULTS. 40 OR YOUNGER. AND THERE ARE SOME KEY RISK FACTORS THAT ARE MORE COMMON IN YOUNG INDIVIDUALS. THOSE INCLUDE DIABETES TO INCLUDE OBESITY, AND IN SOME INDIVIDUALS THAT CAN ALSO BE BECAUSE OF SMOKING CIGARETS OR ALSO SUBSTANCE USE. BUT NOT ALL RISK FACTORS ARE THAT OBVIOUS AND APPEARANCES CAN BE DECEIVING. YOU FEEL YOUNG AND HEALTHY, YOU MIGHT BE ATHLETIC AND WHAT YOU DON’T REALIZE IS THERE MIGHT ALSO BE A LITTLE BIT OF A GENETIC ELEMENT IN YOUR FAMILY HISTORY THAT LEADS YOU TO HAVE NUMBERS THAT ARE SLIGHTLY WORSE THAN YOU WOULD THINK IF YOU JUST LOOK IN THE MIRROR. DR. AMOEBA SAYS THAT THE TIME TO THINK ABOUT HEART HEALTH IS WHEN YOU ARE YOUNG AND HEALTHY. MOST IMPORTANTLY, KNOWING YOUR NUMBERS, YOU’D BE SURPRISED HOW MANY PEOPLE DON’T KNOW THEIR CHOLESTEROL LEVEL. THEY DON’T KNOW THEIR BLOOD PRESSURE. AND THE FIRST STEP WE CAN DO IS JUST KNOW. WHAT YOU DON’T REALIZE IS THE RISK FACTORS THAT HELP THE CARDIAC DISEASE BUILD UP, IF YOU WILL, ESPECIALLY IN CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE, WHICH IS PLAQUE BUILDUP IN THOSE CORONARY ARTERIES THAT SUPPLY BLOOD TO OUR HEART, THAT STARTS AT A YOUNG AGE. SO WHEN SHOULD WE BEGIN TO FOCUS ON OUR HEART HEALTH? IT’S NEVER TOO EARLY TO START. WE KNOW NOW THAT EVEN STARTING AS EARLY AS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL, I THINK THAT’S WHEN A LOT OF INDIVIDUALS DEVELOP THEIR HABITS IN TERMS OF EATING AND EXERCISE. I THINK FEAR OR DENIAL IS ONE REASON AN ACTIVE YOUNG PERSON DOESN’T WANT TO GET CHECKED. AND WHAT I WOULD SAY TO THEM IS, PLEASE GET CHECKED BECAUSE WE CAN REALLY HELP YOU LIVE THAT ACTIVE LIFE THAT YOU WANT. I NEVER EXPECTED THIS TO EVER HAPPEN TO SOMEONE LIKE ME. MICHAEL POIRIER SAYS HIS DAILY ROUTINE CONSUMING DOZENS OF PILLS TO PROTECT HIS NEW HEART, STILL FEELS SURREAL. ABOUT A LITTLE OVER 40 PILLS A DAY IN 2005, HORROR GEAR WAS TRANSITIONING FROM A TWO DECADES LONG CAREER IN THE MILITARY. BOTH AIR FORCE AND NATIONAL GUARD, TO A HISTORY TEACHER AT NASHOBA REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL. JUST WAS GOING AFTER MY NORMAL PHYSICAL. I FELT A LITTLE TIRED, BUT THEY HOOKED ME UP TO AN EKG AND THEY WERE LIKE, DO YOU KNOW YOU’RE YOU AND AFIB? AND I’M LIKE, WHAT THE HECK IS AFIB? THAT’S ATRIAL FIBRILLATION. I WAS LIKE, I DON’T KNOW WHAT THAT IS. YOU MIGHT WANT TO HAVE A CARDIOLOGIST CHECK THIS OUT. WARRIOR WAS FIT IN HIS EARLY 40S. SURPRISED TO LEARN HIS HEART WAS STRUGGLING, BUT HE ADMITS HE IGNORED AN ALARMING FAMILY HISTORY. FATHER UNEXPECTEDLY PASSED AWAY OF A HEART ATTACK AT 45. MY MOM HAD A STROKE IN 48, SO WHEN THEY TOLD ME THAT AFTER THE CARDIAC ARREST, I GUESS I’D HOPED IT WOULD SKIP A GENERATION FOR A FEW YEARS, DOCTORS WERE ABLE TO TREAT HIS CARDIO MYOPATHY, A DISEASE OF THE HEART MUSCLE THAT MAKES IT HARD FOR THE HEART TO PUMP BLOOD TO THE REST OF THE BODY WITH VARIOUS MEDICATIONS AND EVENTUALLY A PACEMAKER. BUT AT 47, IT ALL CHANGED. AND ABOUT FIVE YEARS AGO, I’M AT THE GYM AND I’M ON A TREADMILL. I COLLAPSED. FORTUNATELY, SOME GOOD SAMARITANS WERE ABLE TO GIVE ME CPR. THEY HAD A DEFIBRILLATOR AT THE GYM. SOMEONE MANAGED TO SHOCK ME. I WAS IN A COMA FOR ABOUT TWO DAYS. I WOKE UP ON THE NINTH FLOOR OF THE BRIGHAM AND WOMEN’S HOSPITAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT, POIRIER’S HEART WAS BADLY DAMAGED BEYOND THE TREATMENTS THAT DOCTORS HAD BEEN PROVIDING FOR HIS LIFE, EXTENDING GIFT CAME IN THE FORM OF A TRANSPLANT. I CAN’T BE MORE GRATEFUL FOR FOR WHAT HAPPENED BECAUSE ALL I WANT TO SAY TO SAY IS JUST THANK YOU. I CAN’T PUT INTO WORDS HOW GRATEFUL I AM BECAUSE. BECAUSE WITHOUT THAT PERSON WHO MADE THAT CONSCIOUS DECISION TO DO THAT, I’M NOT GOING TO BE HERE. YOU KNOW, THERE’S ALWAYS A LOT OF DEBATE AND I THINK CONFUSION AROUND WHAT EXACTLY IS THE BEST HEART HEALTHY DIET. BUT MOST DOCTORS, THOUGH, SAY, HAVE A PLANT FOCUSED DIET, NOT PLANT ONLY DIET, BUT A PLANT FOCUSED ON AND THEN LIMIT FOODS THAT ARE HIGH IN SUGAR, SALT AND PRESERVATIVES. RIGHT. AND WHEN IT COMES TO HEART HEALTH, THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT ARE NOT UP FOR DEBATE. SMOKING, DRUG USE, THOSE ARE NO GOES. ALSO, YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE TO MOVE YOUR BODY AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. EXERCISE IN A GOOD DIET, AS WE’VE ALWAYS HEARD. COMING UP,

Proactive healthcare: Looking at the risk factors of heart disease

The easiest way to stay healthy is to take preventative measures

Updated: 8:10 PM EDT Jun 27, 2023

The American Heart Association is fighting heart diseases and stroke, the No. 1 and No. 5 killers of all Americans. From working alongside community leaders, to supporting more walking and biking routes, to driving initiatives that make healthier food options available in all neighborhoods, to providing our kids with more opportunities to be active in school.Michael Poirier is recovering from a transplant he received at Brigham and Women’s hospital in Boston. Poirier had a rare genetic predisposition that contributed to a heart failure in his 40s.The Elizabeth Anne and Karen Barlow Corrigan Women’s Heart Health Program at Massachusetts General Hospital provides a unique clinical service—cardiac care designed specifically for women. Because there are differences in the way men and women present heart disease, it is important to have specialists fluent in diagnosing and treating female patients.In 2012, while living in South Africa at the age of 26, Bouba Diemen was diagnosed with a congenital heart condition known as left ventricular non-compaction cardiomyopathy. Following his experience with heart disease, Bouba became intently committed to raising awareness about hypertension and other cardiac conditions, particularly in predominantly BIPOC communities. As a result, he founded the Heart of a Giant Foundation in 2018 as a nonprofit organization with a mission to foster healthy outcomes for patients managing chronic heart disease.

NEEDHAM, Mass. —

The American Heart Association is fighting heart diseases and stroke, the No. 1 and No. 5 killers of all Americans. From working alongside community leaders, to supporting more walking and biking routes, to driving initiatives that make healthier food options available in all neighborhoods, to providing our kids with more opportunities to be active in school.

Michael Poirier is recovering from a transplant he received at Brigham and Women’s hospital in Boston. Poirier had a rare genetic predisposition that contributed to a heart failure in his 40s.

The Elizabeth Anne and Karen Barlow Corrigan Women’s Heart Health Program at Massachusetts General Hospital provides a unique clinical service—cardiac care designed specifically for women. Because there are differences in the way men and women present heart disease, it is important to have specialists fluent in diagnosing and treating female patients.

In 2012, while living in South Africa at the age of 26, Bouba Diemen was diagnosed with a congenital heart condition known as left ventricular non-compaction cardiomyopathy. Following his experience with heart disease, Bouba became intently committed to raising awareness about hypertension and other cardiac conditions, particularly in predominantly BIPOC communities. As a result, he founded the Heart of a Giant Foundation in 2018 as a nonprofit organization with a mission to foster healthy outcomes for patients managing chronic heart disease.