This week, Bobbi Conner talks with Dr. Thomas Di Salvo about heart health and prevention, when you have a family history of heart disease. Dr. Di Salvo is a cardiologist and the Director of the Division of Cardiology at MUSC.
TRANSCRIPT:
Conner: I'm Bobbi Conner for South Carolina Public Radio with Health Focus here at the radio studio for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. Knowing your family history of heart disease allows you and your healthcare providers to detect risks early and take preventative measures to protect your heart health. Doctor Thomas Di Salvo is here to talk about the details. Doctor Di Salvo is a cardiologist and he's the Director of the Division of Cardiology at MUSC. Doctor Di Salvo, when do adults in general typically need to have a heart disease risk assessment done and what's really involved?
Dr. Di Salvo: The American Heart Association recommends screening to start at age 18 to 19, with an assessment of LDL cholesterol, a blood pressure determination and calculation, even at that early age, of the lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease.
Conner: And who is going to do this assessment typically?
Dr. Di Salvo: Typically, primary care providers and then referring patients to cardiologists who have active issues to manage.
Conner: Knowing about family history of heart disease is important. So, what information or details do individuals need related to possible heart conditions in family members.
Dr. Di Salvo: Ideally, patients would know the heart histories of all their first-degree relatives: their parents, siblings, aunts and uncles. A heart attack in a male relative under 55 confers risk or in a female relative under 65 confers risk. In addition, knowing which family members may have had congestive heart failure and or sudden or unexpected death, particularly if before the age of 55 to 60, is important. In addition, it's important to ensure that there is not a family history of adult-onset diabetes or an inherited disorder of cholesterol.
Conner: If someone does have family history of heart conditions, what heart health screening or monitoring in general might be needed for that individual?
Dr. Di Salvo: First, take the family history very seriously. Most cardiac diseases and conditions are preventable and are much better treated early in their course. Make certain that you're controlling your blood pressure, you're monitoring your diet. You know what your lipids are. You're doing everything within your power to reduce the risks of adult-onset diabetes. And if there's a family history of non-coronary related heart disease, ensure that your providers are checking your heart for its structure and function. The American Heart Association has recommended Life's Essential Eight for ongoing maintenance and prevention. That includes eating better, being more active, quitting all tobacco products, including vaping, getting on average 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night, managing the weight, knowing and managing the cholesterol. It's important that folks have a detection of long-term blood sugar control and finally maintaining lifelong, a blood pressure of less than 120/80 is critically important.
Conner: So prevention really is the big focus?
Dr. Di Salvo: In my professional lifetime, the field of cardiology has really evolved to focus much more on prevention. Although we have very sophisticated invasive strategies for patients with heart attacks, our real business should be preventing them from occurring in the first place. And it's estimated that if we put all of these preventative measures in place at the appropriate early point in a patient's lifetime, we can prevent their subsequent heart disease risk by at least 75%.
Conner: Doctor Di Salvo, thanks for talking with us about heart health.
Dr. Di Salvo: Thank you.
Conner: From the radio studio for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, I'm Bobbi Conner for South Carolina Public Radio.
Health Focus transcripts are intended to accurately represent the original audio version of the program; however, some discrepancies or inaccuracies may exist. The audio format serves as the official record of Health Focus programming.
