Looking at the risk factors of heart disease

>> 250 MILLION, THE ESTIMATED AMOUNT OF PEOPLE LIVING WITH HEART DISEASE AROUND THE WORLD. 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 STATIN AND A DECLINE IN SMOKING. >> BUT DR. RON BLAKESTEEN, AT BRING HAMM WOMEN HOSPITAL SAID HEART ATTACKS ARE RISING IN ADULTS 40 OR YOUNGER. >> AND THERE ARE SOME KEY RISK FACTOR THAT IS ARE MORE COMMON IN YOUNG INDIVIDUALS. THOSE INCLUDE DIABETES, OBESITY AND IN SOME INDIVIDUALS THAT COULD BE BECAUSE OF A SMOKING CIGARETTES OR SUBSTANCE USE. >> BUT NOT ALL RISK KNOCK OR THES ARE THAT OBVIOUS AND APPEARANCES COULD BE DECEIVING. >> WHAT YOU DON’T REALIZE THERE COULD BE A GENETIC ELEMENT IN YOUR FAMILY HISTORY THAT LEAVES YOU TO HAVE NUMBERS THAT ARE WORSE THAN YOU THINK. >> THE TIME TO THINK ABOUT HEART HEALTH IS WHEN YOU ARE YOUNG AND HEALTHY. >> MOST IMPORTANTLY, KNOWING YOUR NUMBERS. YOU’D BE SURPRISED PEOPLE DON’T KNOW THEIR CHOLESTEROL LEVEL OR BLOOD PRESSURE. THE FIRST THING WE CAN DO IS KNOW. WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW IS THE RISK FACTOR THAT HELPS THE CARDIAC DISEASE BUILD-UP ESPECIALLY IN CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE WHICH IS PLAQUE BUILD-UP THAT SUPPLY BLOOD TO TO OUR HEART. >> WHEN SHOULD WE BEGIN TO FOCUS ON OUR HEART HEALTH? >> WE KNOW NOW THAT EVEN STARTING AS EARLY AS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL THAT’S WHEN A LOT OF INDIVIDUALS DEVELOP A HABIT OF EXERCISE. TO GET CHECKED. WHAT I WOULD SAY TO THEM IS PLEASE GET CHECKED BECAUSE WE CAN HELP YOU LIVE THAT ACTIVE LIKE THAT YOU WANT. >> I NEVER EXPECTED THIS TO EVER HAPPEN TO SOMEONE LIKE ME. >> MICHAEL SAID HE IS DAILY ROUTINE CONSUMING DOZENS OF PILLS TO PROTECT HIS NEW HEART STILL FEMALES SURREAL. >> 40 PILLS A DAY. >> IN 2005, HE WAS TRANSITIONS FROM A TWO-DECADE LONG CAREER IN THE MILITARY BOTH AIR FORCE AND NATIONAL GUARD TO A HISTORY TEACHER AT NASHOBA REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL. >> I FELT TIRED. BUT THEY TOOK ME OUT TO AN E.K.G. THEY SAID DO YOU HAVE AFIB? >> I SAID I DON’T KNOW WHAT THAT IS. YOU MIGHT WANT TO HAVE A CARD CONTROL GIST LOOK AT THAT. >> >> HE IGNORED AN ALARMING FAMILY HISTORY. >> FATHER, YOU KNOW, UNEXPECTEDLY PASSED AWAY AT 45. >> WHEN THEY TOLD ME THAT, I GUESS I HOPED IT WOULD SKIP A GENERATION. >> FOR A FEW YEARS, THE DOCTORS TREATED CARDIO MYOPATHY. WITH VARIOUS MEDICATIONS AND EVENTUALLY A PACEMAKERSER. BUT AT 47, IT ALL CHANGED. >> ABOUT FIVE YEARS AGO, I’M AT THE GYM. AND I’M ON A TRADE MILL. I COLLAPSE. FORTUNATELY, SOME GOOD SAMARITANS WERE ABLE TO GIVE ME C.P.R. THEY HAD A DEFIBRILLATOR. I WAS IN A COMA FOR TWO DAYS. I WOKE UP IN THE NINTH FLOOR OF THE HOSPITAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT. >> HIS HEART WAS BADLY DAMAGED. BEYOND THE TREATMENT THAT DOCTORS HAD BEEN PROVIDING. HIS LIFE EXTENDING GIFT CAME IN THE FORM OF A TRANSPLANT. >> I CAN’T BE MORE GRATEFUL FOR WHAT HAPPEN HAPPENED BECAUSE ALL I WANTED TO SAY IS THANK YOU. I CAN’T PUT INTO WORDS HOW GRATEFUL I AM. BECAUSE WITHOUT THAT PERSON WHO MADE THAT CONSCIOUS DECISION TO DO THAT, I’M NOT GOING TO BE HERE. >> IT’S BEEN 75 YEARS SINCE PRESIDENT HARRY TRUMAN SIGNED THE NATIONAL HEART ACT. >> IT’S THE LONGEST RUNNING HEART STUDY IN THAT TIME, PART — HEART EVENTS HAVE DROPPED 69%. BUT THERE ARE TRENDS NOT ONLY IN THE POPULATION 40 AND UNDER, BUT EVEN ADULTS IN MID LIFE WHERE DEATH RATES N

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 EST Feb 16, 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.