The Importance of Prevention and Screenings
By Dr. Oscar Rivera, interventional cardiologist with CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System
Your heart is the most vital organ in your body, working to distribute blood, oxygen, and nutrients to cells and tissues, which is why it is so important to keep it healthy.
February is American Heart Month, recognized for raising awareness about heart disease and highlighting ways people can reduce their risk.
According to the American Heart Association, heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the U.S., killing about 630,000 Americans each year.
Taking action to care for your heart can help prevent future complications and improve quality of life by minimizing shortness of breath, chest pain, heart attack, or stroke.
Heart disease is a term used to encompass a variety of conditions affecting the heart and blood vessels: coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, heart rhythm problems, endocarditis, and congenital heart disease.
Prevention is key to avoiding heart disease. It is the most important thing you can do for yourself.
Screenings for hypertension can start at age 18, though cholesterol screenings are recommended at age 30.
Prevention can be as simple as engaging in some level of activity. Exercise is important in keeping your heart healthy. It is recommended to do some sort of exercise for at least 30 minutes five times a week. It could be walking, weightlifting, bicycle riding, isometric exercises, or swimming.
It is also crucial to eat healthy foods and create healthy habits. This is especially important for those who have a family history of heart disease, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
The Mediterranean and DASH diets are proven to help reduce the risk of heart disease. They both promote the importance of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. The DASH diet focuses on reducing sodium intake to help lower blood pressure. The Mediterranean diet emphasizes healthy fats and overall dietary balance that can help with blood pressure, glucose, and cognitive function, like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Those with high blood pressure can follow the DASH diet, which focuses on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat or fat-free dairy, lean protein, and nuts. It has been shown to help reduce the risk of heart failure.
Heart disease can present itself differently among men and women.
For some women, symptoms of heart disease are heart attack, fluttering feelings in the chest, shortness of breath, sudden fatigue, or swelling in the lower extremities like feet, ankles, or legs.
Heart attack symptoms can also differ between men and women. While both may experience chest pain, women have described also experiencing other symptoms like nausea, pain in the neck or back, and chest pain described as pressure or tightness.
Women can also experience pain in their neck, jaw, shoulder, upper back, or upper stomach; sweating; unusual fatigue; heartburn or indigestion; pain in one or both arms; shortness of breath; or lightheadedness or dizziness.
Having a primary care physician is beneficial. It helps to have a healthcare professional who knows your family history and habits looking out for you and can make recommendations as needed.
If additional heart care is needed, CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System has cardiovascular experts available, offering a wide range of interventions.
Our patients can rest assured that if they, unfortunately, do need treatment for any heart disease, we can care for them right here in San Antonio.
Care can range from simple screenings and minimally invasive procedures to more complex invasive treatments.
To learn more about CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health system, visit our website, CHRISTUSHealth.org.
