Transcription:
Keeping Your Heart Healthy as You Age

Bill Klaproth (Host): It’s possible to lower your chances of a heart attack and heart disease by paying attention to heart healthy habits. Here to talk with us about keeping your heart healthy is Dr. Ryan Hoefen, Director of Non-Invasive Cardiology at Rochester Regional Health. Dr. Hoefen, thank you for your time today. Well, the science is pretty clear. With the proper diet and exercise, you can lower your chances of heart disease, right?

Dr. Ryan Hoefen (Guest): That’s right. Yes. Thank you for having me. Unfortunately, cardiac disease is the number one cause of death in the U.S. About 1 in 3 people die due to heart disease and the latest numbers from the Center for Disease Control suggest that about a little over half of those deaths are preventable by changing to more healthy lifestyle habits.

Bill: Over half. Again, the research is very clear on this. We do have a lot of research and information. So, why is it so hard, then, for many people to follow heart healthy habits?

Dr. Hoefen: Well, I think it’s a few things. Number one, I think some people are either not aware or perhaps in denial that they are at risk. To hear the numbers is one thing but to connect that to themselves personally can be more difficult for people. So, I think that by getting the word out and by having people actually take a look at their own numbers and realizing what their risk factors are and knowing what their risk of heart disease really is, it maybe they’ll have a more personal connection and begin to take some initiative. So, it’s very difficult. Many of these things we’re talking about, they’re admittedly not easy. For example, tobacco use is probably the biggest risk factor and is a major contributor to the frequency of heart disease and we have to admit it’s not easy to quit smoking but it is certainly worthwhile.

Bill: So, realize that it can happen to you and I think you’re right. We always think, “Well, it’s not going to happen to me. I’m in good shape. I don’t have to worry about heart disease. So, you’re saying be proactive in your heart health and understand your risk factors, right? And then, certainly, if you’re as smoker, I mean, please do everything you can to quit smoking.

Dr. Hoefen: Yes. Absolutely. I think there are a lot of misconceptions about perhaps one risk factor being more important than others. A lot of people will have a heart attack and then they’ll look at me and say, “How could this have happened to me? My cholesterol is excellent.” Unfortunately, the cholesterol is not the whole story which is unfortunate for people with good cholesterol, I suppose. Cholesterol is part of it but you can have good cholesterol and if you smoke; if you’re not getting exercise; if you’re not eating healthy; if you’re overweight and a lot of it, admittedly, is luck. So, if you’re one of those unlucky people who does everything right, your risk of a heart attack is not zero. The risk is still there. So, we just need to do everything we can to work the odds in our favor.

Bill: So, Dr. Hoefen, let me ask you this. You talked about cholesterol and, “Hey, listen. I’ve got good cholesterol. I’ve lowered my risk for heart disease and a heart attack”, which is true but you said in some cases people with good cholesterol can have heart disease. So, when we go to the doctor, what tests should we be asking to find out? Because, like you say, if you have good cholesterol, you still may be at risk. So, what should we be asking when we go to the doctor?

Dr. Hoefen: I think what people should ask their doctor is, “What is my risk of heart disease?” That’s the key question. The things that we check to know what that risk is, to best assess that risk, are the very simple things that we generally do with every patient office visit: height, weight, blood pressure and then there are a few basic blood tests: cholesterol and blood sugar, that are the basic things that we need to be able to tell people what their risk is of having a heart attack or a stroke within the next 10 years. We get a very good estimate just based on those simple things.

Bill: So, height, weight, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar. So, if your physician is doing those tests, you get a pretty good assessment of the heart disease risk for that individual.

Dr. Hoefen: That’s right. There are studies that have looked at large numbers of people and have given us, basically, a formula or a calculator we can use to estimate someone’s risk of a heart attack or stroke within 10 years base on those numbers. In fact, people can go on line and plug in their own numbers and find out what that risk would be if they have those numbers themselves. If you search for “heart risk calculator” on Google, there’s a great one—I believe the first one that will come up, usually, is the Mayo Clinic and it’s a great way to find that number and get a real sense of what your risk really is.

Bill: Okay. Very good tip and thank you for sharing that with us. Okay. So, let’s talk about lifestyle now. You mentioned diet and exercise before. So, what do we need to do or what are our heart healthy habit tips from you. What should we be paying attention to as far as our diet and exercise.

Dr. Hoefen: In terms of exercise, the big thing is just to start doing it. Most people don’t get enough exercise and it’s hard to get started. It’s hard for people to find motivation and just get out there and do it. But, getting some form of exercise for 30 minutes a day for most days of the week, at least 5 days a week, is really crucial. So, I recommend that people find something they enjoy doing. It doesn’t have to be joining a gym; it doesn’t have to be real strenuous. It can be getting out for a brisk walk in the neighborhood. It can be walking around the mall when the weather is not so great. It can be anything that you enjoy that’s just going to get your heart rate up and keep it there for about half an hour. Sometimes finding a friend to do it with you or, for some people these days, some people find motivation using a smart watch. It’s going to tell them how active they are and maybe make some social connections so they can see how they’re doing. I’ve got a friend who’s doing the same thing and it’s important to keep doing it. A lot of times, people will tell me, “I’m exercising. I’m doing all of this stuff but my weight’s not going down.” I try to encourage them to keep it up anyway. Staying active is the best goal in itself. Doing it to lose weight is a little bit different and a lot of times if you’re not doing other things to lose weight, doing it with exercise alone is going to fail and someone who is exercising is going to be a lot healthier than someone who is not exercising at the same weight. So, just find something you like doing and get started and keep it up.

Bill: I like how you put that. Exercise—just start doing it. Just start. Right. Just start doing it and, as you say, staying active is the best goal itself.

Dr. Hoefen: Yes. Absolutely. And, the other thing is, for people who are exercising, once you start that, you’ve got to realize that you exercise for a half an hour in the morning and then to sit at a desk, sit on the couch, to be sitting for the rest of the day is not good either. There’s been a lot of research written recently about the detrimental effects of sitting. When we are sitting for the rest of the day, we really undo the benefit we’ve just gotten from that exercise. So, we usually recommend that people find ways to be active throughout the day. At least every 30-60 minutes, we should be getting up and walking around. There are a lot of people these days who are using standing desks instead of sitting at a desk all day. We need to , rather than pick up the phone to talk to someone who is down the hall, we should stand up and walk down there and talk to them in person. Use time at lunch to take a walk around. So, staying active throughout the day as well is really important.

Bill: That’s a good tip. So, you can set that timer so that every 50 minutes or so, you’re up and moving around the office just so you’re up and not sitting all day. So, that’s another very good tip. What about diet? Can you quickly share with us diet tips?

Dr. Hoefen: Yes. Diet is another hard one for people to change because we develop tastes early in life that tend to stick with us and a lot of people find it very difficult to make changes but it is very important. What I usually start off by telling people is that I really believe the healthiest thing is the vegan diet. That seems to be very healthy. We’ve seen time and again how peoples’ numbers improve when they can stick to that kind of a diet. People tend to be healthier. They feel well. But, it’s a difficult diet to stick with but I tend to think that the more we can move our diet to that kind of a direction, the better off we’re going to be.

Bill: So, looking toward a vegan diet. Kind of more of that plant based diet.

Dr. Hoefen: Yes, I think that would really be beneficial for a lot of people but a lot of people tell me, “You know, I like to eat. I like to eat these particular things. That’s a treat for me. I’m going to keep doing that. That’s part of life for me.” But, I tell them, “You don’t necessarily have to go to a real strict diet to get the benefit. If you can move in that direction and a lot of the less healthy foods, make them a rare treat rather than an every day thing and you’re going to do yourself a lot of good.”

Bill: Right. So, the bad foods in moderation, then.

Dr. Hoefen: Yes. Absolutely. I try to encourage people to eat a lot of vegetables as well as fruits and really put that center of the plate, get a lot of helpings of that. Try to fill up on that and the less healthy things like, especially read meats, in particular, put those at the side. Think of that as the side dish. If you’re going to eat meat, staying away from the red meats is important. Fish and poultry we tend to think of as healthier. So, when you’re eating meats, usually it should be those things. Other things about diet and the key things about diet would be trying to keep the sodium intake low. Sodium is really important to minimize in order to keep a low blood pressure. Sugary beverages is the other big no-no in my mind. Drinking a lot of sugary beverages just brings a lot of empty calories.

Bill: That’s right. We drink on a lot of pounds every year. Well, Dr. Hoefen, thank you for your time today and if you could wrap it up for us, why should someone choose Rochester Regional for their heart health needs?

Dr. Hoefen: At Rochester Regional Health, we’re very fortunate to have some great programs to help prevent heart disease. We’ve got great centers such as the weight management clinic that can help people to move their lifestyle in a positive direction. We’ve got great technologies for detecting heart disease for people who develop problems or believe that they’re having symptoms of heart disease. We’ve got really advanced technologies in order to be able to treat those things with the most up to date technologies.

Bill: Well, that’s great information. Thank you for sharing that and thank you again for your time today, Dr. Hoefen. You’re listening to Rock Your Health Radio with Rochester Regional Health. For more information, you can go to www.rochesterregional.org. That’s www.rochesterregional.org. I’m Bill Klaproth. Thanks for listening.