Just as the Hubbel and James Webb telescopes have vastly expanded our understanding of the Universe, research is having similar success in matters of the heart, more specifically heart health. And while progress has moved the needle in our understanding and application of this new knowledge, there is still so much to learn.
“It’s incredible to me how far all fields of medicine have come,” said Denver Health and Hospital cardi- ologist, Dr. Shay Hogan. “Every five years,” said Hogan, “so many new therapies, diagnosing and imag- ing” breakthroughs are made in combating America’s number one cause of death.
Heart disease followed by cancer and then COVID, says the Centers for Disease Control, are the three leading causes of death in the U.S. Nearly 700,000 Americans will die this year from heart disease, said the CDC. Death by heart disease will outpace those of cancer by nearly 100,000.
While Colorado often ranks high for overall health, heart disease deaths in Colorado mirror national mortal- ity rates. In 2022, Colorado recorded 8,317 deaths from heart disease, but that number also reflected a 3.7 percent increase from the previous year.
Often heart disease is a matter of luck, bad luck. And then there’s genetics, said Hogan. We can’t do anything about that. But, she said, there are plenty of other things we can do to optimize our chances of living longer and enhancing quality of life. Many of them, if not most, are simple to accomplish.
“One of the first things is making sure you see your medical provider, your doctor, nurse practitioner,” she said.
“They will tell you those things you need to do and things to look out for.”
“Stay active,” Hogan suggests, is the easiest thing to do. “Exercise, move around during the day…moving around is important.” Also, manage stress levels. “Take care of both mind and body and try and get good sleep.” In addition to establishing good sleep patterns, so too is establishing a more disciplined diet.
While it’s certainly fine to cheat on a diet from time to time, doing so regularly will, sooner or later, catch up to you. But, if you must cheat, remember there are a number of foods that should be absolutely minimized or avoided altogether for a healthy heart.
It’s important to read labels on the foods you eat. Things to look for are foods high in sodium and tropical oils. Sodium can raise blood pressure and high blood pressure can lead to heart disease, stroke and even kidney disease. More than 70 million Americans have high blood pressure. On your next visit to your healthcare provider, asking a few questions about it is a good idea.
Cutting back on some foods will be more difficult than others. Bacon is a good example. But bacon is high—through the roof, in fact—in saturated fat. Saturated fat raises bad cholesterol. Heart doctors also recommend cutting back on red meat, sodas, baked goods—cookies, cakes and pastries. And, if a food label contains tropical oils—palm or coconut oil—think twice. You’ll survive without it.
Doctors also recommend eliminating as much processed meat, including cold cuts as you can. Cutting back on alcohol is also recommended. And, as important as anything, stop smoking or using tobacco products. The warning printed on cigarette packs is actually true.
Since 1964 when the surgeon general released its report connecting cigarettes and heart disease, smoking rates have plummeted. The year the report was released, it’s estimated that 42 percent of the American population identified as smokers. In the six decades since, the number of smokers has dropped to 11.5 percent.
But despite all that is known about smoking, in 2023 the CDC reported that one in ten middle and high school-aged students are current tobacco users, a number down slightly from the previous year. Also down from the previous year is the use of E-cigarettes. They are the most commonly used tobacco delivery system, but their rates have also dropped from 14.1 percent to 10 percent.
E-cigarettes are a way big tobacco and the vaping industry create future customers. Vaping pens deliver nicotine which is highly and also a cocktail of harmful chemicals.
But heart disease is also the result of other health conditions that are too often overlooked, said Hogan. “Some patients have undiagnosed diabetes or high cholesterol. It’s important to get checked for both conditions.
Cholesterol is a waxy substance our bodies naturally make. Cholesterol is manufactured in the liver. It’s necessary to build cells and for making vitamins and hormones. But it also comes from the meat that we eat. Too high a cholesterol count can also be ‘red-flag’ dangerous.
There are two types of cholesterol, HDL and LDL. The former is what doctors call ‘good’ cholesterol. It carries bad cholesterol away from the arteries and back to the liver. LDL is considered bad because adds to fatty buildups and can clog arteries. Narrow arteries decease blood flow and can lead to heart attack and stroke. Two high risk groups for these conditions are Latinos and African Americans.
The world has advanced a light year since 1967 when South African surgeon Dr. Christiaan Barnard performed the first human-to-human heart transplant. While not routine—no surgery is—heart transplants today are common.
In 2023, there were 4,039 heart transplants performed in the United States, an increase of 11 percent from the previous year. At Boston’s Tufts Medical Center, there were an average of five heart transplants each month during 2023. Heart transplants are just one reflection of how far medicine has advanced each decade. New medicines are another, said Hogan. “The past five years have been amazing,” she said. And it doesn’t stop there.
A device designed by MIT engineers using 3D technology is a soft and flexible model of a patient’s heart. It can be transplanted into a human and copy the rhythm of the human heartbeat to keep blood pumping.
Heart disease will always be around, said Hogan. But treating it continues to improve as we have seen over the decades. Hogan said when President Roosevelt suffered a heart attack in 1944, his doctors advised him to stay in bed, perhaps for months.
That would not happen today, said Hogan. The Denver Health and Hospital cardiologist said today a heart patient is “out of bed the following day” and “starting rehabilitation the following week.”
