“We think that over 90% of cardiovascular disease is due to preventable, modifiable risk factors.” – Dr. Erin Michos, carDiologist at Johns hopkins WHILE MY INTENTIONS ARE TO cover fitness and nutrition with this space, with February being American Heart Month I will lean towards health and lifestyle factors that affect your ability to stay “heart healthy”. Heart disease is the number one killer of Americans, causing one out of every four deaths. According to the CDC, about 805,000 people in the United States have a heart attack every year. Of these, 605,000 are a first heart attack, but 200,000 happen in people who have already had a heart attack. Most people know that chest pain is an indicator of a heart attack. We are all familiar with the theatrical image of what we envision what having a heart attack looks like. However, there’s a lot that people don’t know about heart disease. • One person dies every 33 seconds in the U.S. from CVD (cardiovascular disease). • According to the CDC, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for men, women, and people of most racial and ethnic groups in the U.S. • Every year 18-19 million people are diagnosed with atherosclerosis and CVD. • Heart disease was responsible for 695,000 deaths in the U.S. in 2021, 1 in every 5 deaths. • While people seem to fear cancer more, heart disease accounts for almost 2x the deaths. There are numerous answers to this question. Heart disease is actually a broad term used for a wide variety of diseases of the heart and blood vessels, such as coronary artery disease, heart rhythm disorders called arrhythmias, and defects of the heart present at birth, also called congenital heart defects. The most common type of heart disease in the United States is coronary artery disease, also called coronary heart disease or cardiovascular disease. This is a condition in which plaque, which is made up of fat, cholesterol, calcium, and other substances in the blood, builds up inside the coronary arteries which supply oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle. This plaque buildup is called atherosclerosis. A plaque can grow large enough to reduce or completely block blood flow through an artery. More frequently, a plaque may rupture, causing a blood clot to form that either blocks the artery or breaks off and travels somewhere else in the body causing a blockage at another site. When the blockage takes place in a blood vessel that feeds the heart, the result is a heart attack or, depending on the severity, sudden cardiac death. { b y M a r i s s a O l i v e r } Studies have shown that even a 5% drop in your weight - regardless of your BMI - will help your heart* (www.orlandohealth.com) INTHEVUE.COM | FEBRUARY 2024 43
