Heart disease is a killer. It’s the leading cause of death in the United States, according to the American Heart Association. More than 925,000 people died of cardiovascular disease in 2020, and, on average, someone dies of heart disease every 34 seconds in the United States.
February is American Heart Month and David Portugal, MD, shares some important information about the symptoms and risks of heart disease and what you can do to reduce your risk.
Heart Disease:
It’s Important to Know Your Risks
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Regular exercise and eating a healthy diet will help you maintain a healthy weight. Taking small steps every day can help you possibly avoid heart disease.
Dr. Portugal: When we talk about heart disease, it really refers to a number of different heart conditions. The most common is coronary artery disease, which involves plaque buildup in the coronary arteries that restricts blood flow to the heart and can cause a heart attack. Heart disease is something that gets worse over time. Sometimes people might not even realize that they have heart disease until they begin experiencing chest discomfort, shortness of breath or a heart attack.
And while people often think of breast cancer as a bigger risk for women, heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women in the United States. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 60 million women live with some form of heart disease, and in 2021 more than 300,000 women died from it. Pregnant women with high blood pressure and Black women are at particularly high risk of developing heart disease.
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Q: What is heart disease?
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Dr. Portugal: Medical advances over the years have made heart disease a much easier disease to treat, and we are seeing more patients live full, productive lives after a heart attack or other cardiac episode. Advances in aggressive revascularization through minimally invasive surgery, medications and lifestyle changes can allow a person with heart disease to live a long, active life. I believe the sooner you implement the changes and take the precautions I mentioned above, the better off you will be.
Q: Is heart disease a treatable illness?
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By StoryStudio on February 9, 2024
Sponsored by Memorial Hermann
- David Portugal, MD
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Regular exercise and eating a healthy diet will help you maintain a healthy weight. Taking small steps every day can help you possibly avoid heart disease.
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Sponsored by Memorial Hermann
Memorial Hermann offers comprehensive care when it comes to treating heart disease.
David Portugal, MD, is an interventional cardiologist with Memorial Hermann Medical Group.
Dr. Portugal: There are many risk factors when it comes to heart disease. High blood pressure, high LDL cholesterol and smoking are the top risk factors, with diabetes, obesity, a diet high in saturated fat and sugar, and a lack of physical activity not far behind. More than 45% of Americans have at least one risk factor. If you experience any type of chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, swelling of the feet and ankles, indigestion or heartburn on a regular basis, it’s best to see a cardiologist so they can help you map out a plan to combat the disease.
Q: What are some of the risk factors for heart disease?
Q: What can people do to possibly prevent heart disease?
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- David Portugal, MD
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Q: What is osseointegration?
Dr. Vanodia: It’s the installment of a metal implant into the femur bone of an individual with an above-knee amputation, so, over time, the metal integrates into the bone and becomes one unit. The surgery involves two stages. The first stage is where the femur bone is prepared to receive the metal implant and it is placed into the bone. Patients then wait three months to allow the metal to integrate with the bone. During the second surgery, surgeons screw in a titanium abutment that will come through the skin and attach directly to a prosthetic knee and foot.
David Portugal, MD, is an interventional cardiologist with Memorial Hermann Medical Group.
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Dr. Tojuola: The main screening tool we use right now is called a Prostate-Specific Antigen or PSA test. PSA is a protein made only in the prostate, and when cancer is present, the amount of PSA is elevated in the blood stream. We recommend men at average risk get screened starting at age 50, and those with a famly history get screened between ages 40 and 45. A normal PSA level is between 4 and 4.5, but if you are in your early 50s, your level should be less than 2. There are a few reasons why your PSA level might be high, so it’s important to have a conversation with your urologist to determine why the number is elevated and how to treat it. In addition to the PSA test, we have also found that Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the prostate and other genomic markers that have been developed, involving urine or blood tests, are also used to screen in some cases.
Dr. Portugal: Memorial Hermann has a large footprint in the Greater Houston area and has been one of the leaders in cardiovascular care and surgery for a long time. Memorial Hermann’s affiliated cardiologists and heart surgeons encompass a leading program dedicated to advancing comprehensive cardiovascular care, where innovation and quality intersect and are guided by pioneering physicians committed to enhancing patients’ lives. Memorial Hermann Heart & Vascular has invested in bringing together affiliated physicians who are innovators in their respective specialties, establishing a technologically advanced care model and infrastructure, educating the next generation of physicians, leveraging new technologies and conducting visionary research to find new and better ways of treating heart and vascular anomalies and conditions.
Q: What sets Memorial Hermann apart from other institutions when it comes to treating heart disease?
Dr. Portugal: If you are a smoker, I strongly suggest that you stop. Smoking damages blood vessels and lowers the level of oxygen in the blood, which makes your heart work harder. One year after you quit smoking, you cut your chances of developing heart disease in half! Also, it’s important to try and exercise at least 30 minutes a day, five times a week. You don’t have to do this all at once. You can break it up during the day. Regular exercise will lower your blood pressure, reduce inflammation in the body, improve your blood sugar levels, lower stress levels and help you sleep better. In fact, regular exercise helps improve nearly every risk factor for heart disease. I also suggest eating a Mediterranean diet filled with fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains, poultry, fish, etc.
Dr. Nair: There are many treatment options available for patients with lung cancer, and most of it is stage-specific. Patients with early stage lung cancers are best managed with surgery involving resecting the part of the lung with the cancer. Most patients with early stage lung cancer can be offered a minimally invasive surgical approach with robotic and video assistance. For those who do not qualify for surgery, radiation techniques are also a good option for people with early stage lung cancers. More advanced cancers are typically treated with some combination of chemotherapy and radiation, and we have added immunotherapy to this list, which has been proven effective for the treatment of patients with more advanced cancers and will continue to change our management of this disease. All of these treatment options are available at Memorial Hermann.
Q: What sets Memorial Hermann apart from other institutions when it comes to treating heart disease?
If a person has high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes, it’s important to stay on top of and manage these conditions. It’s recommended that women ages 55 to 65 and men ages 45 to 65 get cholesterol screenings every one to two years. People over 65 should get their cholesterol tested once a year. If you are overweight or have a family history of diabetes, you should begin yearly screenings at age 45.
To take the heart disease risk check visit memorialhermann. org/heartdiseaseawareness
Dr. Nair: There are many treatment options available for patients with lung cancer, and most of it is stage-specific. Patients with early stage lung cancers are best managed with surgery involving resecting the part of the lung with the cancer. Most patients with early stage lung cancer can be offered a minimally invasive surgical approach with robotic and video assistance. For those who do not qualify for surgery, radiation techniques are also a good option for people with early stage lung cancers. More advanced cancers are typically treated with some combination of chemotherapy and radiation, and we have added immunotherapy to this list, which has been proven effective for the treatment of patients with more advanced cancers and will continue to change our management of this disease. All of these treatment options are available at Memorial Hermann.
Dr. Portugal: Memorial Hermann has a large footprint in the Greater Houston area and has been one of the leaders in cardiovascular care and surgery for a long time. Memorial Hermann’s affiliated cardiologists and heart surgeons encompass a leading program dedicated to advancing comprehensive cardiovascular care, where innovation and quality intersect and are guided by pioneering physicians committed to enhancing patients’ lives. Memorial Hermann Heart & Vascular has invested in bringing together affiliated physicians who are innovators in their respective specialties, establishing a technologically advanced care model and infrastructure, educating the next generation of physicians, leveraging new technologies and conducting visionary research to find new and better ways of treating heart and vascular anomalies and conditions.