Your Heart Health Questions Answered by Cardiologist Muhammad Bajwa, MD
Sponsored by Memorial Hermann
By Annie Chung on February 01, 2026
Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death globally with risk factors like diabetes, sedentary lifestyle and smoking/vaping on the rise. Understanding how to protect your heart can feel overwhelming so we sat down with Muhammad Bajwa, MD, interventional cardiologist with UTHealth Houston and affiliated with Memorial Hermann, to address the most pressing questions. Read on to learn about subtle symptoms, lifestyle changes, treatment goals and psychological challenges patients may face while managing chronic heart disease.
In my experience, the hardest modifiable, or controllable, risk factors for patients to manage are their habits, primarily smoking, alcohol use and sedentary lifestyle. "
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— Muhammad Bajwa, MD
The No. 1 change I recommend that will help you lower your risk is to engage in moderate to high-intensity activity for at least 30 to 45 minutes three to five days each week."
— Muhammad Bajwa, MD
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Muhammad Bajwa, MD
Interventional cardiologist with UTHealth Houston and affiliated with Memorial Hermann
Q: What are the classic signs and symptoms of a heart attack and how can they differ for men and women?
A: Heart attack symptoms often mirror what we see portrayed in mainstream media: a person clutching their chest indicating chest pain, which is typically caused by a blocked blood vessel or artery. The pain can feel like pressure, squeezing or a tightening sensation like someone is pushing or sitting on your chest. Sometimes the pain can radiate to the neck, shoulder and/or left arm. It can be accompanied by sweating and difficulty breathing. While both men and women can experience these classic symptoms, female patients often report feelings of indigestion like something is stuck or burning in their chest, as well as fatigue and shortness of breath.
Q: What are some of the less common symptoms of heart attack?
A: Some of the less common symptoms include consistent heartburn not related to a change in diet and an overall lack of energy. The heart is a muscle and if it is not functioning properly due to a blockage, you may feel unusually tired or short of breath. Also, dizziness and loss of consciousness can indicate a serious heart problem, especially among those who have existing risk factors.
Q: What is the difference between modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease? What can be hardest for patients to address?
A: Modifiable risk factors are things you can control. For instance, high blood pressure, diabetes, high blood cholesterol, diet, exercise, stress, smoking and alcohol usage are all areas in your life that you can improve upon to lessen your risk of cardiovascular disease. Likewise, you can take medications to control high blood pressure, improve your glucose and lower LDL cholesterol.
Non-modifiable risk factors are those things you cannot control such as gender, age, family history and race to name a few. While you cannot completely control these factors, you can take steps to stack the odds in your favor.
As an example, let’s compare your age to a house. As you age the structural framework of your body changes just like a house. When you’ve owned a house for 30 years, you may experience doors that start to stick, plumbing that gets clogged or walls that start to crack, so what do you do? You monitor the issues and perform regular maintenance to keep the house in working order. You must do the same for your body by scheduling annual physicals with your medical provider to keep abreast of your health.
In my experience, the hardest modifiable, or controllable, risk factors for patients to manage are their habits, primarily smoking, alcohol use and sedentary lifestyle. While there is not a magic pill to eliminate bad habits, help is available and a good place to start is by asking your physician for support and resources.
Q: What are the three most important lifestyle changes that can help significantly lower the risk of developing cardiovascular disease?
A: As a cardiologist, the No. 1 change I recommend that will help you lower your risk is to engage in moderate to high-intensity activity for at least 30 to 45 minutes three to five days each week. This can include a brisk walk, light jog, or gym-based cardio workout.
The second is eating a balanced diet rich in a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, healthy sources of protein such as fish and seafood and lean and unprocessed meat and poultry. The goal is to keep it simple and to reduce the consumption of the culprits that lead to blockages, including fried food, red meat and processed food. Also, avoid added salt and sugar.
The third lifestyle change I highly recommend is to visit your primary care doctor once a year for an annual screening. The visit should include bloodwork to check your complete blood count, metabolic panel, lipid panel, glucose and more. This is especially important for patients who have known risk factors of cardiovascular disease.
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Q: What are the primary treatment goals following a heart disease diagnosis, and how do you prioritize them?
A: In my opinion, quality of life is the primary treatment goal. I want to get my patients back to their normal activity level and feeling like themselves again. Along those same lines, we focus on symptom resolution and keeping them out of the hospital. These combined goals produce the best outcome following a heart disease diagnosis.
Q: What is the most common psychological challenge patients face in managing chronic heart disease? How do you address mental health support when discussing their care plan?
A: Being diagnosed with heart disease can be psychologically overwhelming and just plain scary. At the beginning of a patient’s journey, the symptoms may reduce their energy and prevent them from enjoying their daily activities. But even after the blockage is repaired, patients may find themselves afraid to return to their baseline activity level. This can lead to anxiety and depression.
I recommend they start slow. Set aside at least 20 to 30 minutes every day to engage in light physical activity and see how they feel. Slowly increase the activity level until they have the confidence to get back into their normal routine. However, if they continue to struggle with mental health after their diagnosis, it is vitally important to ask for help. If their energy or mood does not improve or they still do not find joy in activities they previously loved, they should consult their physician who can help them establish a mental health support plan.
Hemoglobin A1C: If you are diabetic, the target is less than 8% and ideally below 7%.
If you are not diabetic, the target is less than 5.5%.
Hyperlipidemia: LDL (bad) cholesterol should be less than 90 mg/dl if you do not have established cardiovascular disease. If you have established cardiovascular disease, the target is less than 50 mg/dl.
Hypertension: Normal blood pressure is 120/80 mmHg.
Coronary artery calcium score: The normal value is zero, which indicates no plaque buildup and low risk for cardiac events, such as heart attack.
Q: At what age and frequency do you recommend patients begin routine screenings for key biometrics?
A: To reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, you can never start monitoring too early. With that said, age 40 is generally the recommended age when you should start annual screenings and bloodwork. Some of the key numbers your physician will monitor include: