What's the big deal about heart disease anyways?

#1 thing I forget about my patients: they didn't go to nursing school. Wait...what? I find myself rolling my eyes sometimes when I get asked a 'stupid' question (When I wake up, my blood sugar is 250, but that's pretty good right?). I scoff at the history that states 'had chest pain for 2 years, came to ER last night'. You groan when the over weight sweating patient asks if he can order out chinese food because the food they gave him in the cardiac unit is too bland. When my patients are allowed to eat solid food, I used to tell them they can eat 'whatever they want'...thinking people understood the gravity of being admitted to a cardiac unit and the lifestyle choices that may have contributed to their current predicament. But they don't understand. They haven't had this kind of education drilled into them every day. They don't see the consequences of bad diet, no exercise, avoiding the doctors office and leading a stressful lifestyle everyday. That's why I love those commercials with the live heart surgery that warn against smoking....that is no joke. Have you ever seen a sternum sawed open and then sewed back up with metal wires? That's enough to make you want to get your cholesterol checked and only eat kale chips and quinoa for the rest of your life. 

So...because I'm always on the CDC website for school anyways, I thought I'd outline some facts and stats about heart disease.

There were over 50,000 admissions for cardiac intervention in New York State in 2011(NY Dept of Health). Most of them in NYC. It's stressful living in NYC, having to ride on the subway on a daily basis is enough for me to have some narrowing of my arteries.

Heart disease is the number one cause of death of Americans, female and male. Every year, more than 720,000 Americans will have a heart attack...costing our health system over 100 billion dollars. That. Is. Nuts. I thought I would find that heart disease death rates would be more prevalent in large cities in America, but deaths related to heart disease are actually higher in the Southern states and in the West.

In 2005, a study was done to determine what people knew about the warning signs of a heart attack. 92% knew that chest pain was a major symptom of a heart attack, but only 27% knew the other symptoms and to call 911 when someone was having a heart attack. 27%. More than 88% of heart attacks occur at home. These are the signs and symptoms of a heart attack and reason to either visit the ER or call 911:

• Chest pain or discomfort.
• Upper body pain or discomfort in the arms, back, neck, jaw, or upper stomach.
• Shortness of breath.
• Nausea, lightheadedness, or cold sweats.

Not only is it important to call 911 or know when to go to the ER, it's also important to know CPR! Did you know that only 32% of heart attack victims receive CPR from a bystander and only 8% of those people who have a cardiac arrest outside the hospital will survive? Here is a link to the Hands Only CPR video from the AHA. 

So there's a bunch of stuff about how scary it would be to have a heart attack and how often it actually happens....but who is at risk?

Men are more at risk than women, having a little over half of the deaths from heart disease in America. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for African Americans, White and Hispanics. High blood pressure, high LDL cholesterol and smoking are key risk factors for heart disease, almost half of Americans have one of these three risk factors. Other risk factors include obesity, diabetes, poor diet, little exercise and excessive alcohol use. (CDC, 2014) 

But, I LOVE saturated fats and lying on my couch and drinking too much......mmm oreos and prosciutto and lard.....WHAT! Could it be so easy to prevent having a heart attack? Could it be so simple?

Stop smoking.
Eat a diet rich in fiber and low in saturated fats.
Take an Omega 3 supplement.
Exercise 3 times a week for at least 30 minutes (please call your doctor before you start running marathons and dancing some Zumba).
Don't drink...so much. Red wine is full of antioxidants!!! (More on antioxidants in another blog post!)

Visit the CDC Website for suggestions on a healthy heart lifestyle!

One last thought. I have had two patients that I can remember that lived to tell the tale of receiving CPR (they may not remember that part) and being admitted to the ER, having heart surgery and being discharged. Two. That means that out of all the people (those 88% that have heart attacks at home) and become unresponsive, I have seen two live. Worth it to look up some quinoa and kale chips recipes right?