JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas –
Heart disease is the leading cause of death among men and women in the United States, claiming more than 600,000 lives each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Although some risk factors are unmodifiable, such as age, gender and family history, the impact of modifiable risk factors – which include high blood pressure, high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, obesity, excessive alcohol use and smoking – can be mitigated with the right lifestyle choices.
“Some of the ways to prevent heart disease are through regular exercise and diet,” said Capt. Brenda Robinson, 359th Medical Operations Squadron family nurse practitioner. “People should eat more fruits and vegetables and avoid diets with high meat protein content because they are associated with cardiovascular disease.”
Robinson and other Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph health care professionals tout the benefits of regular exercise and a healthy diet – along with limited alcohol use and not smoking – because these choices can bring high blood pressure, or hypertension, under control and can also lower high LDL cholesterol and combat obesity and diabetes. Medication also plays a role in managing blood pressure and cholesterol levels and can reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke and kidney disease.
Capt. Katie Lam, 359th MDOS physician assistant, explained how exercise and diet help prevent and manage heart disease.
“Physical activity, specifically cardiovascular activity such as running, swimming and biking, increase high-density lipids, or HDLs,” she said. “These types of lipids serve as a protective effect for one’s arteries and can reduce overall risk of cardiovascular disease.”
According to the American Heart Association, Lam said, “Just 40 minutes of aerobic exercise of moderate to vigorous intensity done three to four times a week is enough to lower both cholesterol and high blood pressure. Brisk walking, swimming, bicycling or a dance class are examples.”
Changes in diet are also key to lower bad cholesterol, Lam said.
“The American Heart Association advises eating a diet with predominantly fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, poultry, fish and nuts,” she said. “Limiting red meat, fried foods, sugary foods and beverages will help to reduce low-density lipids, or LDLs, a form of bad cholesterol.”
Robinson called hypertension “one of the most underrated causes of heart disease.”
“It’s a silent killer, but it’s controllable,” she said.
Hypertension is dangerous because it can overburden the heart and blood vessels and cause disease, she said. Hypertension can lead to coronary heart disease, heart failure, stroke, kidney failure and other health problems. Factors associated with hypertension are genetics, excessive sodium intake, excessive alcohol consumption, obesity, weight gain and a sedentary lifestyle.
Blood pressure should be less than 140/90 for most people but less than 130/80 for diabetics, Robinson said.
Blood pressure numbers, measured in millimeters of mercury, include systolic and diastolic pressures. Systolic pressure, the first number in the measurement, is the pressure when the heart beats while pumping blood; diastolic pressure is the pressure when the heart is at rest between beats.
Robinson said the three predominant cardiovascular conditions are hypertensive heart disease, which is linked to high blood pressure and certain diseases or infections, ischemic heart disease and inflammatory heart disease.
“Ischemic heart disease is caused by plaque buildup in the arteries,” she said. “Inflammatory heart disease can by caused by many things, especially infections.”
Men are particularly vulnerable to heart disease, Robinson said.
“For males, it’s the ‘macho effect’ – not being able to express their emotions, reluctance to seek help and alcohol abuse,” she said. “They’re also more prone to suicide and premature death.”
Although some heart attacks are sudden and intense, most heart attacks start slowly, with mild pain or discomfort, Robinson said. Warning signs include chest discomfort; discomfort in other areas of the upper body such as one or both arms, the back, the neck, the jaw or the stomach; shortness of breath; breaking out in a cold sweat; nausea and lightheadedness.
Chest pain or discomfort is the most common symptom, but women are more likely than men to experience symptoms such as shortness of breath, nausea and back or jaw pain, she said.
Robinson said there are a number of ways to diagnose coronary heart disease, including a coronary angiogram, which uses a dye inserted into arteries and an X-ray to see how blood flows through the heart, and an electrocardiogram, or EKG, which records the electrical activity of the heart.
“Our job is to get to the root of the cause,” she said.