Ignoring Common Cardiac Symptoms Leads to Critical Issues

T.E. Vallabhan, MD, FACC

John F. Kennedy once said, “The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.” This statement holds true when we focus on many of the issues in life, especially our health. Some of the most common cardiac risk symptoms are often overlooked. Ideally, individuals should start to be mindful of their heart health from a younger age, but it’s never too late to improve your cardiac function or to get the treatment you need to enhance your lifestyle and overall health.

People are living longer, and staying healthy is at the forefront of most our minds. The aging population is primarily concerned about keeping up with their grandchildren and having the capability to freely live an active lifestyle well into their eighties and nineties, but without being proactive about our cardiac health, we set ourselves up for critical heart disorders and issues.
Some of the things we can do are to follow a heart-healthy nutrition plan like the Mediterranean diet. We should also incorporate regular exercise and keep our stress levels down. If you smoke, you MUST quit now to help your body heal from the damage to the blood vessels and arteries that have already taken place. It’s never too late to stop smoking.

Cardiac Risk Factors & Indicators
• High Blood Pressure
• High Cholesterol
• Tightness in Chest
• Shortness of Breath
• Jaw pain
• Arm Pain
• Back Pain
• Fatigue

These symptoms are significant indicators of heart disease, but the most common warning sign that people have is —Ignoring their symptoms!
It’s the familiar adage of denial—If we ignore or avoid the symptoms, then we don’t have to deal with any of the accountability. However, just like most things, if you ignore them, they’ll go away, but not in a right way. If left untreated, they will go away through deterioration and damage, and eventually death. Being proactive about your heart’s health is imperative.

Unfortunately, many people are more sedentary than they’d like to believe. A limited or lack of physical activity is not going to do your body or your heart much good. In our modernized world, we have grown complacent. We don’t walk as much to get from A to B; instead, we drive a car to work, sit at a desk all day, drive home, sit down to eat dinner and then sit in front of the television until we go to bed. If this sounds even remotely familiar, you need to have a consultation with a cardiologist to test your cardiac condition.

Coupled with a sedentary lifestyle, the prevalence of individuals being diagnosed with diabetes is astronomical. Diabetes is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Very often obesity and diabetes work in conjunction to damage your heart and arteries, deplete your nutrient, oxygen-rich blood, and can cause venous insufficiency and blood clotting issues. If you have diabetes or suspect that you may, it’s critical to seek medical attention to get your blood sugar levels to a manageable state and to assist you with an overall healthy lifestyle plan.

Risk Factors For Heart Disease
• Age
• Family history
• Smoking
• High cholesterol
• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Overweight
• Chronic stress

What You Can Do
• See a cardiologist for important diagnostic testing
• Don’t ignore symptoms
• Eat a heart-healthy diet
• Avoid sugar and salt in excess
• Stop smoking
• Exercise daily (at least a 30-minute walk)

Dr. Vallabhan
352-750-2040
Rolling Oaks Professional Park
929 N. US Highway 441, Suite 201
Lady Lake, FL 32159
It’s your heart.
It should be
personal.
And that’s how I treat it.