heart-letter
At age 64 I had a severe heart attack that left me with a 20% ejection fraction. A recent echocardiogram showed that my heart is getting larger. I have no shortness of breath or swelling, but wonder how long I have before symptoms of heart failure appear?
People know that they can “prevent” heart disease by not smoking, losing weight, exercising, watching cholesterol and blood pressure, and eating right, but they still get heart disease. Is it really possible to prevent heart disease, or just slow it down?
An iPod or other digital music player held too close to the chest of a person with a pacemaker can interfere with the heart device’s function. Cell phones can also cause this interference.
Guidelines from the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology offer advice on protecting the heart during noncardiac surgery.
Researchers examining deaths during or soon after bypass surgery found that the surgeons and hospitals that did the most surgeries had the lowest death rates.
Researchers found that the blood thinner warfarin is more effective than aspirin at preventing strokes and blood clots, allaying concerns that it was too powerful to be taken safely by older people.
While there is a risk of adverse effects from any pain reliever, most people can take them safely. Use common sense, and have your blood pressure checked regularly if you are in a higher risk group due to heart disease.
Heart disease, once thought to be a man’s disease, is now understood to affect women and men equally, but there are still disparities in the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease in women.
Women who drink too much alcohol risk cardiovascular problems and an increased chance of breast cancer, but in moderation (no more than one drink per day) alcohol is associated with a lower risk of heart disease and stroke.
Aspirin plus warfarin is an effective defense against stroke-causing blood clots, but many people cannot take warfarin. A study found that aspirin plus clopidogrel (Plavix) was also effective.