Keeping your heart healthy is not a difficult task – yet, its benefits are significant. This advice came through very clearly during a talk by local cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr Johan Koen, who recently spoke to an audience during a fundraising event organised by WIZO’s Gilah branch.
Dr Koen, a heart transplant surgeon and highly skilled specialist in the field of cardiac health, runs a practice at the Chris Barnard Memorial Hospital. Welcomed by Sharon Klugman, who found herself in his care last year, Sharon expressed her thanks for being cared for by such a skilled and knowledgeable specialist.
Dr Koen explained that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. There is a high prevalence of heart disease, and the medical world notes the increase in heart disease among young people. But, although this may appear to be a gloomy picture, there are many opportunities for people to take preventative action to reduce the risk of a heart attack or of death from one.
In addition to preventative medical interventions – things like regular monitoring of one’s blood pressure, testing one’s cholesterol and blood glucose readings; and using a smart watch as an early warning notification system – healthy living is core to staving off the risk of heart disease. Lifestyle choices are crucial in this regard: regular exercise, a healthy diet, losing weight, and stopping smoking. Dr Koen recommends the Mediterranean diet as a style of eating that’s beneficial to maintaining good heart health.
The Mediterranean diet is a heart-healthy, plant-based eating pattern inspired by traditional habits in Greece, Italy, and Spain. With an emphasis on consuming fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and olive oil daily, with moderate fish/poultry intake and low red meat consumption, this style of eating reduces chronic disease risk, and assists to lower blood pressure and cholesterol, while also reducing the risk of a stroke.
As regards exercise, walking for 30 minutes every day for at least five days a week will keep you much healthier. A further consideration is to work towards losing weight. The negative impact on one’s heart of being overweight is obvious: your body takes far more strain to keep you engaged in daily activities if there is a larger body mass involved.
As regards smoking, it won’t come as a surprise to note Dr Koen’s comment, “Smoking is a real, real killer.”
New drug therapies, such as Ozempic and Mounjaro are proving to be very effective in managing one’s heart health. However, Dr Koen stresses, these drugs should not be used in isolation of lifestyle changes. So, a person taking one of these drugs should also be exercising and eating correctly.
The lifestyle choices are not onerous – but they can make a significant difference in one’s heart health.
The future
New areas of research include the development of genetic therapies, geared to target a person’s genes that may carry an inherited cardiac condition.
Demographic issues
Jewish people have a higher rate of longevity than the general population in Western countries.
For women, the news is good:
- Women develop heart disease later than men
- Mortality from heart disease is lower among women than men
- Women gain greater benefit from regular exercise than men
- After a woman has experienced a heart health problem, she is likely to live longer than a man with the same condition
Symptoms to look out for
You may be affected by a cardiac disease incident if you have one or more of these symptoms:
- Heart palpitations
- Shortness of breath
- Struggling to lie flat
- Chest pain and/or jaw or left shoulder pain
- Dizziness
Should you experience any of these, get to a hospital immediately. Since heart muscle can die off during a heart attack, the quicker the medical intervention, the less damage may be caused.
For more information visit: http://www.capecardiac.com
This event was made possible through the generosity of Gavin Morris, Director of the SA Jewish Museum, and Shelley Trope-Friedman, President of WIZO South Africa.”
- For the current edition of the Cape Jewish Chronicle, click here.
- Subscribe to the Cape Jewish Chronicle: R450/year, or R38/month via debit order. Simply email us at subscriptions@ctjc.co.za and click here for payment info.
- The Cape Jewish Chronicle reaches over 6 000 readers monthly across print and digital platforms.
- To book advertising space or discuss a custom package contact Adéle Gradner Mobile: 083 321 5222 | Office: 021 464 6736 | Email advertising@ctjc.co.za
