Doctors Offer Heart Healthy Tips

CCB MEDIA PHOTO Cardiologists Dr. Mallory Hatfield and Dr. Elissa Thompson talk heart health.

CCB MEDIA PHOTO
Cardiologists Dr. Mallory Hatfield and Dr. Elissa Thompson talk heart health.

HYANNIS – Heart disease is a lifelong condition. Once you get it, you will always have it. The good news is, it is largely preventable.

That is the message from Dr. Mallory Hatfield, cardiologist in Hyannis, and Dr. Elissa Thompson, cardiology hospitalist at Cape Cod Hospital.

While heart disease is the number one killer of men and women in the United States, the two doctors paid special attention to the issues around women and heart disease.

“Many women will think their symptoms of indigestion or shortness of breath or fatigue are just that they’re too tired and it’s not their heart. Unfortunately, heart disease comes in many different flavors,” Thompson said.

Both doctors said women need to be educated about the risks, symptoms, and prevention, as well as treatment tactics.

“You may have a variety of different symptoms, from nausea to fatigue to shortness of breath. If you are feeling any of those symptoms and they are out of the usual for you, that’s what I tell my patients. If it’s unusual for you, get it checked out,” Thompson said.

The doctors stressed health choices. Studies show that healthy choices have resulted in 330 fewer women dying from heart disease per day.

The key lifestyle choices that can minimize risk of heart disease are the following: stay active, lose weight and eat healthfully.

Other important steps are managing blood sugar levels, particularly for diabetics; stopping smoking, and lowering blood pressure.

“They think I was healthy when I was 25. I was healthy when I had my kids. Now that I’m 50, I’m probably still healthy. Well, it’s better to have a physician check your blood sugar, check your cholesterol, make sure blood pressure is in a normal range,” Thompson said.

One thing people do not have control over that can affect heart health is family history. But both Hatfield and Thompson said that adopting healthy lifestyle habits can help mitigate a family history of heart disease.

As for treatment, procedures such as bypass surgery and percutaneous coronary intervention can help blood and oxygen flow to the heart, but arteries remain damaged, which means the patient is more likely to have a heart attack. The condition of blood vessels will steadily worsen without make changes in daily habits, according to the doctors.

To listen to Dr. Mallory Hatfield and Dr. Elissa Thompson discuss hearth health, click below.

 



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