Austin doctors raise awareness about heart disease

Austin, Texas – Heart disease is the number one murderer of men and women in the United States, and in most cases it is preventable.

Tonight's Health Beat focuses on American Heart Mance and efforts to raise awareness.

Dr. Vivek Goswami, a cardiologist at Austin's Heart Hospital and Austin Hart, joined Rebecca Thomas of Fox7 Austin for discussion.

What they are saying:

Rebecca: Dr. Goswami, what are the biggest risk factors for heart disease?

Dr. Goswami: As you know, the biggest risk factor here is being human. right. So you're talking about what is most likely to take us from this planet. We're not talking about rare things. Unfortunately for most people, the day before they have a fatal or massive heart attack, they are fine. So, you have a very reactive mindset and wait until you have symptoms to deal with. This is a really poor strategy. We really had to go further than that. And we really work to prevent heart disease. And it starts with what we do every day. So no one is going to take care of us more than we do. And depending on what we eat every day and what exercise we exercise every day, like you said, we have no new research, no new funds It has been able to prevent most of my heart disease. We should actually look at exercise and other things like this as a prescription, not just a recommendation. So now, many people feel that movement is kind of selective. If it's convenient, it's a good idea to do it. We should watch the day without exercise, just like on days without taking medication. And that applies to what we eat. Our kitchen is killing us, and when we have meal options, we always get a calculated and healthy food choices about what we put our bodies in. You should do it. These days we've heard from a young age are truly, really, really, huge differences in many ways, in terms of heart disease, cancer, stroke and other major causes of death. US.

Rebecca: Healthy eating, moving. If you know, you have history, a family history of heart disease, it is not necessarily a transaction made. right. Again, there are some simple things people can do to reduce that risk.

Dr. Goswami: That's right. For example, you cannot choose your parents. This is a risk factor that cannot be changed. But if you're increasing some inherent risks, there are more reasons to be more vigilant about diet and exercise, and why to be more aggressive in your screening. How many people are getting early screenings for colon cancer on a daily basis or mammograms for breast cancer screening early. But despite the greater likelihood of taking us out of this planet than breast and colon cancer, many people are unable to get any type of heart screening. Therefore, we recommend screening CT calcium scores as a very low risk. There is no contrast. It is a CAT scan that takes a few seconds to tell if there are calcified plaques in the arteries of the heart. If so, you can do something like ultrasound in the artery to find soft plaque. Therefore, these are very simple non-invasive methods of screening for early heart disease. And remember, when people have heart attacks in the 50s, 60s, 70s, it's not for things that start in the 50s, 60s, 70s. The process begins and appears much earlier in the second half of life. Therefore, in addition to diet and exercise and positive risk factors, we recommend actively working on heart screening.

Rebecca: So, for example, just cholesterol checks, blood checks, blood pressure checks. But check the screening you talked about, calcium, when should it start?

Dr. Goswami: Yeah. So I think it depends on the individual. If someone has an inherent aggressive family history, or if they have very high cholesterol, I think they can always screen early. But certainly, if there are unique factors, unique risk factors, you would want to consult your doctor about the possibility of potentially obtaining it. Again, I want to screen when the disease begins now when it appears.

Rebecca: Okay. We are outside of hours, but Dr. Vivek Goswami, Cardiologist at Austin Heart Hospital and Austin Hart, thank you for sharing your time and expertise tonight.