Family physicians say former president Bill
Clinton’s quadruple coronary bypass surgery this fall is a prime
example of why every patient should understand their risk for
heart disease. While no one can predict who will actually have a
heart attack, it is important for people to know they’re at risk
so they can work to reduce the chances of it happening and take
immediate action should they experience symptoms (chest pain,
discomfort in other areas of the upper body, shortness of breath,
nausea, cold sweats or lightheadedness).
“After the former president’s experience, we
had a lot of people coming into our offices wanting to talk heart
disease,” said Amy Bonifas, M.D., a Brooklyn Center family
physician and member of the Minnesota Academy of Family
Physicians. “People were amazed that someone who had received
presidential health care for so many years could have been so
close to a heart attack. But that’s the problem; heart disease
sneaks up on you.”
According to the American Heart Association,
64 million Americans have been diagnosed with heart disease.
Millions more are at risk, but don’t know it. That’s why
Minnesota family physicians hope an increased concern about heart
disease will be a long-term trend, even though the former
president’s ordeal is now out of the public spotlight.
“Some people visit their doctor regularly to
have their blood pressure and cholesterol checked, but others
haven’t been to a clinic in years,” Dr. Bonifas said. “We want
everyone to stay on top of ‘their numbers’ because heart disease
is largely preventable.”
And while there are certain precursors for
the disease that are uncontrollable, such as age, heredity and
gender, there are other risk factors that can be managed. First,
quit smoking. Using tobacco greatly increases your risk of having
a heart attack. Second, work with your doctor to control medical
conditions like high blood pressure, high cholesterol and
diabetes. Many of the things necessary to help control these
conditions also help reduce your risk for heart disease. These
include sticking to a healthy diet by avoiding foods high in
saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol; watching your
weight; reducing stress levels; and getting regular exercise. You
should aim for 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise everyday.
Doctors say one of the biggest
problems is getting people to realize that heart disease is a real
issue for them. The executive vice president of the Minnesota
Academy of Family Physicians, Virginia Barzan, would rather have
ignored the discomfort in her chest and arm this summer, but instead
decided to go to the emergency room believing she might be
experiencing the early signs of a heart attack.
“I didn’t want to admit that it
might be happening to me, but I knew I had to,” Barzan said. “I was
embarrassed about going to the ER at first, but everyone there took
me very seriously.” While Barzan did not suffer a heart attack, she
did learn more about her personal risk factors and is taking steps
to change her lifestyle.
“Knowing that you’re at risk is scary, but it
was a wakeup call that helped me change my course.” Barzan said.
A simple way to assess your personal risk for
heart disease from home is to use an online checklist. (You will
need to recent blood pressure and cholesterol readings to get
results.) These can be found on the American Heart Association
website (www.americanheart.org) or on the National Heart, Lung and
Blood Institute website (www.nhlbi.nih.gov). Both of these risk
assessments use information from the Framingham Heart Study to
predict a person’s chance of having a heart attack in the next ten
years. But these online tests in no way should be a substitute for
a visit to your family doctor. The best way to stay alert to the
possibility of heart disease is to schedule regular checkups with
your doctor.
“Finding a medical home with a physician who
knows you and knows your family history is crucial to tracking heart
conditions that develop over time,” added Dr. Bonifas.
The Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians is a professional
association of approximately 2,900 family physicians, family
medicine residents and medical students organized to assist family
physicians in providing quality medical care in Minnesota. The MAFP
is the largest medical specialty organization in Minnesota and is a
state chapter of the American Academy of Family Physicians, the
largest medical specialty organization in the United States with
more than 93,000 members.
