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Participants
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Alfred A. Bove, MD, PhD, F
Robert S. Schwartz, MD, FACC
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Cardiovascular disease affects all aspects of heart function, from the arteries that supply it with blood, to the valves to the heart muscle itself.
RICHARD P. LEWIS, MD: Cardiovascular disease is the commonest chronic illness in our society, and I think in the world now. It causes about half of the deaths in our country today in one form or another, either as a heart attack or sudden death or dying of congestive heart failure.
Strokes are also a manifestation of cardiovascular disease, and a final one is called intermittent claudication, which is disease to the leg blood vessels that may lead to an amputation of the legs if it’s severe.
ANNOUNCER: There are factors that can add to a patient’s risk for the disease.
SUZANNE HUGHES, MSN, RN: There are only three risk factors for heart disease that we can’t change. We haven’t found the Fountain of Youth, so we can’t turn back the clock: Age is a huge risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Being a man early in life is a risk factor for heart disease, which certainly is not changeable. And then the third thing is that we can’t choose our parents. Family history is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
ANNOUNCER: Different medications can be prescribed to help prevent or control cardiovascular disease
ADOLPH M. HUTTER, Jr., MD: There are a number of medications that are actually very effective in preventing heart attacks and other forms of atherosclerosis. One is the simple drug aspirin. Aspirin has been shown to reduce strokes in women and heart attacks in men.
Another very important class of drugs are the drugs called statins. The statins are drugs that lower the bad cholesterol, the LDL. They lower it very effectively, and many studies have shown that these drugs can prevent the onset of heart disease and the progression of heart disease if you already have it.
A class of drugs called beta blockers can be very effective in protecting people who have already had a heart attack. They’re also helpful in controlling blood pressure and controlling angina, which is a symptom of chest discomfort due to a blockage in the artery.
ANNOUNCER: It is also crucial that a patient makes lifestyle modifications.
ADOLPH M. HUTTER, Jr., MD: Heart disease is very preventable. You must absolutely stop smoking. You must have a low cholesterol, particularly the low bad cholesterol, the LDL. You must have your blood pressure controlled. You should exercise regularly and keep a lean weight.
RICHARD P. LEWIS, MD: We have made enormous strides in treating cardiovascular disease in all types. We can prevent the progression of this disease or the occurrence of clinically significant disease with our modern treatments if people will but do them. And it’s not a disaster, even if you have the disease
Source Citation :
Can Cardiovascular Disease be Prevented? Alfred A. Bove, MD, PhD, F; Robert S. Schwartz, MD, FACC. Consumer Health Library Healthology Inc., 2012. COPYRIGHT 2012 Healthology Inc.
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