Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

There are tons of myths and misconceptions about heart disease floating around. Many of these falsehoods have been adopted to the point where we have trouble separating them from our understanding of what heart disease really looks like. Unfortunately, heart disease is a silent killer and it can affect anyone at any time. Don’t let yourself be fooled into thinking that the conventional rules about heart disease don’t apply to you.

Heart disease myths range from who is most vulnerable, what you can and can’t do in terms of exercise and eating, and what a heart attack looks and feels like. To keep ourselves healthy and in the best possible position to prevent heart disease, we need to know what’s true and what’s false.

Below are five enduring myths about cardiovascular disease which need to be put to rest:

Myth: I don’t have to worry about heart disease until I’m older.

While the risk of heart disease does increase with age, younger people are still affected too. Blockages in our heart arteries develop over many years until symptoms or heart attacks develop in middle age. The time to make an impact is when we are young before too much of that blockage has developed.

Rising obesity rates in younger people mean that we’re developing heart disease earlier than ever before. Obese women develop heart disease about four years earlier on average than their male, normal-weight counterparts. Leading an unhealthy lifestyle, having diabetes, or being born with a heart condition also puts you at risk.

Myth: Heart disease affects more men than women.

This old myth has no merit, yet many people still mistakenly think of heart disease as a man’s disease. Heart disease kills more women than men, albeit at later ages. Women receive some protection against heart disease from estrogen in their pre-menopausal years. Still, after that, their risk is about the same as a man’s.

Myth: If I had heart disease, I’d know.

You can’t feel it when your blood pressure or cholesterol levels are elevated. Often, the first sign of a heart problem is heart failure or a heart attack. Approximately every 30 seconds, an American has a heart attack. Heart disease must be diagnosed by a physician, which is why it’s so important to get your levels checked regularly.

Myth: It’s not a heart attack if I’m not having chest pain.

Chest pain may be the most common symptom of a heart attack, but it’s far from the only one. Traditionally, many women, in particular, have heart attacks without having chest pain at all. Be on the lookout for:

• Shortness of breath
• Nausea or vomiting
• Back or jaw pain
• Dizziness or fainting
• Pain in the upper abdomen
• Extreme fatigue

One study showed that only a little more than a quarter of people knew the symptoms of heart disease. Discuss signs and symptoms with your physician for a proper diagnosis.

Myth: If I’m on heart medication, I can eat what I want.

As with any other medical condition, healthy eating habits and regular exercise are the foundations of prevention and treatment of heart disease. Medications are supplements to a healthy lifestyle and can only do so much. Taking cholesterol medicine does not give you a free pass to eat foods high in saturated and trans fats. Doing so can render the medication ineffective. The same goes for taking medication to treat hypertension and diabetes. You’ll need to change your diet and exercise regularly to have an actual effect on your numbers.

 

Dr. Jonathan Bonilla earned a medical degree from Universidad Central del Caribe School of Medicine in Puerto Rico. He then completed an Internal Medicine internship and residency at Ochsner Medical Center. Dr. Bonilla went on to complete an Interventional Cardiology fellowship at Ochsner Medical Center. He is bilingual in English and Spanish and is board certified in Cardiovascular Diseases (Cardiology). To schedule an appointment with him at Ochsner Health Center-River Parishes (502 Rue de Sante, LaPlace) or at Ochsner Health Center-Kenner (200 W. Esplanade, Kenner), call 504-842-7434, or visit ochsner.org.