Prioritize Your Heart Health
Heart patients benefit from healthy living and comprehensive care
Heart patients benefit from healthy living and comprehensive care
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. It is so prevalent that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, someone dies from cardiovascular disease every 33 seconds.
“The number one killer in the United States is heart disease and the most common type is coronary heart disease, which is the buildup of cholesterol and plaque in your arteries leading to heart attacks,” says Paul Teirstein, MD, chief of cardiology at Scripps Clinic, and medical director at Prebys Cardiovascular Institute.
Preventing heart disease
Prevention through healthy lifestyle changes is the first line of defense. For Dr. Teirstein, weight management is at the top of the list.
“That’s the thing I see that’s most often not cared for by patients,” he says.
Excessive weight, especially around the midsection, raises the risk of developing heart disease. Being overweight can also contribute to other conditions linked to heart disease, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes.
Dr. Teirstein recommends his patients eat a sensible diet that’s high in fruits and vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins, be calorie conscious, manage stress and get regular exercise.
Heart tests
Dr. Teirstein also recommends talking to your primary care doctor or cardiologist about ordering blood tests for cholesterol.
“Know what your cholesterol is,” says Dr. Teirstein. “The LDL is the bad cholesterol. The HDL is the good cholesterol. You want the LDL to be as low as possible and the HDL to be as high as possible.”
Imaging exams
Computed tomography, also known as a CT or CAT scan, is a painless, noninvasive way that uses X-ray imaging to see inside the body. It is often used to help identify and diagnose cardiovascular disease.
There are several types of CT scan procedures. A CT angiogram, for example, uses CT technology to visualize blood vessels in the heart. A special dye is injected intravenously during a scan to identify blocked or narrowed arteries. The whole process takes less than an hour.
“The technology and the computer analysis have become so good these days that we can see whether or not you are developing blockages in your coronary arteries with a very high degree of accuracy, without having to go through an invasive test,” says Dr Teirstein. “It hasn’t really become the standard of care in this country yet, but it’s super valuable.”
Heart care at Scripps
Maintaining heart health all year is vital. At Scripps, patients have a wide range of treatment options for heart care. Scripps has been a leader in heart care for many decades.
Scripps has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of America’s Best Hospitals for cardiology and heart surgery.
Scripps is also recognized as a leader in innovative heart care. Scripps cardiologists diagnose and treat a range of cardiovascular conditions using the most advanced technology, including some pioneered at Scripps.
Scripps physicians have played significant roles in the development of several new devices and treatments, participating in numerous clinical trials, including for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), a minimally invasive surgery to replace a narrowed heart valve.
In addition to the TAVR procedure, Scripps offers several other minimally invasive, interventional cardiology procedures to treat heart disease without open-heart surgery.
Scripps cardiologists were also the first in San Diego to use EVOQUE and TriClip devices to repair or replace damaged tricuspid valves and to use pulsed field ablation to treat atrial fibrillation.
This content appeared in San Diego Health, a publication in partnership between Scripps and San Diego Magazine that celebrates the healthy spirit of San Diego.