This content is sponsored by MedStar Health.
Heart disease is the leading cause of the death in the United States. Half of all men and one-third of women will experience some form of cardiovascular disease in their lifetime. But there are many ways to reduce your risks for heart disease, and new technologies and medicines can help.
When it comes to a patient’s blood pressure and cholesterol, “you should know what your risk factor levels are,” said Dr. Allen Taylor, chairman of cardiology at MedStar Heart & Vascular Institute.
Know and track heart health risk factors
Watching the numbers over the years is important because they can fluctuate, Taylor pointed out. For example, it is not uncommon for women in menopause to see blood pressure numbers spike and cholesterol numbers change.
The latest medical guidance shows “optimal blood pressure is below 120 over 80,” he said. There could be greater risk if LDL, so-called “bad cholesterol,” is above 55, or if there is known heart disease.
Stress can double the risk of heart disease, he noted. Ordinary day-to-day stress, “such as a bad day at work,” is not the troubling kind, Taylor said. More problematic for heart health is intense stress that typically is sustained over a long period of time.
Excess weight can lead to high blood pressure and high cholesterol. It can also damage blood vessels, increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Many people also inherit a genetic predisposition to high blood pressure and high cholesterol, so knowing about family history is helpful as well, Taylor said.
Particulate matter in the environment — from car exhaust fumes that float in the air, for instance — means that where someone lives can impact heart health. People in areas with higher concentrations of pollutants can be more exposed to small, particulate matter that invades the bloodstream and causes inflammation, reduces oxidation and harms blood vessels, he said.
Alcohol consumption can also play a role in heart health. Current recommendations state that one or fewer drinks per day is compatible with heart health, across all spirits. More can have negative effects, Taylor said.
What type of exercise is optimal for heart health?
When it comes to exercise, Taylor recommended aerobic activity that increases the heart rate while allowing for light conversation. Age should determine the number of steps taken each day. Not everyone needs to get to the threshold of 10,000.
“Optimal steps as you get over the age of 60 or so is probably more in the 6,000 to 7,000 range,” Taylor said.
Weight-training is also important, with a focus on toning not heavy lifting. “Individuals who combine aerobic and weight training actually have the best cardiovascular profile,” he added.
Latest developments in cardiac care
New tools for managing heart disease are emerging at a rapid pace, Taylor said.
Cholesterol medications have advanced from the more traditional statins and aspirin that many patients receive.
“We have a whole new armamentarium of very potent, very safe medications that lower cholesterol dramatically and lower risk,” he said.
Many doctors believe that someone almost can’t have an LDL that’s too low, if you already have heart and blood vessel disease. “This idea that a statin alone is good enough is probably not correct anymore,” he added.
So-called metabolic drugs, such as GLP-1 medications, widely known as weight-loss drugs — Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro, for example — are also having a positive impact on heart health.
“Not only do they improve diabetes, but now we’re learning they prevent cardiovascular disease. They lower blood pressure. They lower cholesterol,” Taylor said. “You’re seeing this whole host of health benefits attached to metabolic optimization.”
Imaging also is gaining traction as a valuable method of testing at-risk patients to give doctors important visual information about whether there is blood vessel disease or not.
“We’re taking all these risk factors and measuring and treating them, but now we’re also actually looking at blood vessels themselves and taking pictures of them and asking, ‘Do you have blood vessel disease?’ ” he said.
Doctors also continue to look for simpler, safer and better options for treating all forms of heart disease, and less invasive procedures are a big part of that.
“For instance, we can now replace every heart valve in the in the heart without surgery — with just a procedure that inserts the valve,” Taylor said. This allows doctors to approach heart valve disease earlier in its development to avoid problems later in life.
Artificial Intelligence is also playing an increasing role in cardiovascular medicine, Taylor said. Doctors are using AI for scheduling appointments and for better diagnosis, especially in cases with greater degrees of variability.
“It’s a tool that can be helpful in the simple reading of an electrocardiogram, for example. AI can make that standardized and detect diagnoses that the eye doesn’t typically see,” he said.
Heart health at every age
Caring for an older parent or loved one? The approach to keeping your heart healthy is the same across the age spectrum, Taylor said.
“If someone’s in good condition and something can benefit them, we can go for it,” he said. “We’ve done heart valve replacements in 100-year-olds.” That gives older patients more quality time with grandchildren and great grandchildren, and it helps support functional, independent living, Taylor added.
Although heart disease mortality has been declining, “it’s important that we all lean in on this because it’s so common and preventable.”
Learn more about heart health services at the MedStar Heart & Vascular Institute. And discover additional tips and tactics to get on top of your health on WTOP.
