MYTH

A lot of times heart attack victims will write off their symptoms as heartburn or fatigue.

Many women also experience different symptoms for a heart attack. Women may not feel chest pain, but rather pain in their stomach, back, jaw, or neck. Trouble breathing, nausea, and overwhelming fatigue are also symptoms.

So if you have a history (personal or family) of heart disease, don’t ignore these symptoms.

Next Heart Myth/Fact (Available 2/2 at 11 a.m.).

Information for this post was found at Discovery Fit & Health.

The authors, led by Professor Pilar Guallar-Castillón from Autonomous University of Madrid, surveyed the cooking methods of 40,757 adults aged 29 to 69 over an 11-year period. None of the participants had heart disease when the study began.

Trained interviewers asked participants about their diet and cooking methods. Fried food was defined as food for which frying was the only cooking method used. Questions were also asked about whether food was fried, battered, crumbed or sautéed.

The participants’ diet was divided into ranges of fried food consumption, the first quartile related to the lowest amount of fried food consumed and the fourth indicated the highest amount.

During the follow-up there were 606 events linked to heart disease and 1,134 deaths.

The authors conclude: “In a Mediterranean country where olive and sunflower oils are the most commonly used fats for frying, and where large amounts of fried foods are consumed both at and away from home, no association was observed between fried food consumption and the risk of coronary heart disease or death.”

Now, this absolutely does not mean you should eat fried food at all meals. Remember that this study was conducted in Spain, where nearly all restaurants use olive or sunflower oils to fry foods. That is not the case in the States.

If you’re going to eat fried food, try cooking it yourself, at home, away from fast food joints and restaurants. Use olive or sunflower oil to get the job done. If you make this a habit whenever you’re eating fried foods, your heart just may thank you for it.

This post is published by Sherman Health to provide general health information. It is not intended to provide personal medical advice, which should be obtained directly from your physician.

Heart health and diabetes information will be provided by representatives from the American Heart Association and a variety of Sherman Health departments, including Cardiac Rehabilitation, Radiology, Education and Community Wellness, Heart Failure Recovery Center, Cardiac Cath Lab, Non-Invasive Cardiology, Cardiac Arrhythmia Center, Diabetes Center and more.  The fair will also feature:

• A presentation on the link between heart disease, heart failure and diabetes at 9:30 a.m. by Dr. Azmey Matarieh, cardiologist
• Free blood pressure screenings
• Free cholesterol screenings for the first 100 attendees ($10 after). Fasting required.
• Free sweatshirt blanket for the first 100 attendees
• Nutritious snacks and other giveaway items

Dr. Maciej Malinski is on the medical staff at Sherman Hospital. He has been kind enough to answer some frequently asked questions related to maintaining a healthy heart in his Ask the Cardiologist series. To see all posts Dr. Malinski has written, just type “Ask the Cardiologist” into the search bar on the right.

Jeff Green of the Boston Celtics, a 25-year-old in peak physical condition, was recently sidelined for this NBA season after being diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm. Dr. Malinski knows more about the condition than we can even comprehend, so we asked him a few questions about what Green and others with AAs go through.

How common are aortic aneurysms?

Aortic abdominal aneurysm (AAA) is fairly common in the elderly, reaching a prevalence of 5.9% in men 80-85 years old. In general, prevalence ranges from 1.3% in men 50 years old up to 12.5% in men 75 to 84 years old. For women these percentages are 0% and 5.2%, respectively. Obviously, it’s quite rare for a person as young as Green to have the condition.

The prevalence of AAA varies with a number of demographic factors, including advancing age, family history, male gender, and tobacco use.

What is the typical recovery time for non-athletes who have surgery to repair it?

The recovery time after surgical repair of an aortic aneurysm varies depending on the patient’s condition before the surgery (age, kidney function, lung function, etc). Usually, the average patient should be able to resume all daily activities and be able to return to work after 6-8 weeks.

Is AAA as serious for athletes as this article makes them out to be?

AAA is a very serious condition for a professional athlete if he wants to continue his career, likewise for any other patients who have jobs that require regular heavy lifting. After surgery, patients usually have restrictions placed on the amount of weight they can lift. Lifting heavy objects increases stress tension on the wall of the artery (aorta) and potentially can cause recurrence of the aneurysm, even after the surgery.

Do you have a question for Dr. Malinski? To submit your question, post it in the comments section below, visit the Sherman Health Facebook page, or email luke@shermanhealth.com with the subject line “Question for Dr. Malinski.”

This post is published by Sherman Health to provide general health information. It is not intended to provide personal medical advice, which should be obtained directly from your physician.