What men can do to reduce their risk for heart disease
By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
Heart disease is the leading cause of death among men, according to the American Heart Association, and half of the time, no symptoms indicate a problem.
Fortunately, men have several strategies for reducing risk of heart disease.
It’s vital to recognize that age correlates with higher risk.
“As you reach 40, your risk jumps,” said physician Scott Feitell, director of heart failure at RGH Sands Constellation Heart Institute. “Patients as young as 20 need to recognize those risk will climb as you get older.”
Instead of reacting to a problem, he encourages patients to talk with their providers early to prevent heart trouble, especially if they have a family health history of heart attack.
Talk about family health history so you know if heart disease or other diseases run in your family.
Feitell said that in one’s 40s, it’s even more vital to talk with a primary care provider about lab work to monitor cholesterol, blood pressure and particularly for those who are obese, diabetes screening.
He also encourages patients to check out the 10-year risk calculator on the website of the American College of Cardiology (www.acc.org).
Physician Andrew Mathias, cardiologist with URMC, reminds patients that although not all heart disease is preventable, “in any one individual there’s a lot in your control to reduce your overall risk.”
He noted that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that 60% to 80% of risk is governed by factors within the patient’s control.
The top factor Mathias listed is smoking, as it raises risk of heart attack and stroke, among other effects deleterious to good health.
“Even someone smoking a few cigarettes a day increases the risk two to four times compared with someone who doesn’t smoke,” Mathias said.
He also advocates for regular exercise, a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate exercise five times a week. “Moderate exercise” could be a brisk walk. But Mathias said finding an activity you like is important to maintain consistency.
“A lot of people say they don’t have time or are too busy,” Mathias said. “You don’t have to do a two-times daily gym session for two hours. Take 10 minutes a few times a day to do something active. That’s something people can commit to: bite-sized pieces of exercise.”
For heart health, what you eat matters a lot.
“There are a lot of data on diet and its association with heart disease,” Mathias said. “Heart disease has to do with deposition of cholesterol plaque on the artery. When a plaque ruptures, it blocks blood flow to the heart. That’s a heart attack. That heart tissue not getting oxygen will die.”
Shifting to an eating plan such as DASH or the Mediterranean diet reduces intake of saturated fat, trans fat, processed carbohydrates, high-sugar foods and red meat.
“A balanced eating pattern rich in fiber, whole plant foods and lean proteins helps to prevent heart disease through a myriad of pathways,” said April Ho, registered dietician certified personal trainer at the Center for Community Health & Prevention at URMC. “This type of eating pattern helps to decrease inflammation, lower blood pressure and reduce cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood.”
She encourages clients to think of nutrition in terms of “complete meals” instead of “healthful foods.”
A balanced meal includes equal portions of fruit, vegetables, protein and starch. A meal commonly thought of as healthful, such as a salad with chicken strips or a breakfast omelet is not nutritionally complete.
“When we combine all of the food groups together in one meal, we create a synergy in which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” Ho said. “Fiber that we get from whole starches, fruits and vegetables bind with the cholesterol found in animal products and prevents its absorption into the bloodstream. That means that a meal of eggs, bacon and white toast (high in cholesterol, low in fiber) will raise your cholesterol to a far greater extent than a veggie omelet paired with whole wheat toast and an apple (high in cholesterol, high in fiber).”
She encourages patients to stock up on grab-and-go foods from each food group and start reading nutritional panels for fiber and added sugar.
“The good news is that when thinking about fiber and added sugar you only need to remember one number,” Ho said. “For women that number is 25, and for men that number is 38. Women should aim for at least 25 grams fiber daily and no more than 25 grams added sugar daily. Men should aim for at least 38 grams fiber daily and no more than 38 grams added sugar daily.”