Taylor Swift may have us thinking “I can do it with a broken heart,” but the truth is, cardiovascular issues are a far bigger problem than many of us realize until the damage is done. Heart disease, the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States, claims the life of one person every 33 seconds—accounting for one out of every five deaths. But a major cardiac event doesn’t have to be inevitable. Yes, genetics can play a significant role in your risk, but according to the CDC, 80 percent of premature heart disease and strokes are preventable. “The earlier in life you start with prevention, the better your longterm outcome is likely to be,” says Dr. Joshua Melcer, cardiologist and clinical lead of the Cardiovascular Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Program at Westchester Medical Center. Here’s what you need to know and do to make your heart health a priority at any age.

What is heart disease?
It’s an umbrella term for a variety of conditions that impact the heart’s function. Heart disease can include anything from a congenital defect that someone has had since birth to conditions like arrhythmia, high blood pressure, and deep vein thrombosis, and even the events that get all the headlines like stroke, heart attack, and heart failure.

While instances of heart disease and the range of conditions it includes increase with age, they are most prevalent among older adults (75+). But there has been a significant uptick in cases among younger adults in recent years. While doctors are still narrowing in on the exact reasons, it’s likely such chronic conditions as obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure are contributing, along with poor lifestyle choices.

What you can’t control
Age, gender, height, the environment you live in, and other uncontrollable factors can contribute to your overall risk for heart disease. For some, genetics can also play a large role.
“Even if you are doing all the right things, you still may get heart disease due to underlying genetic or inherited conditions,” warns Dr. Marc Waase, a cardiac electrophysiologist and Director of Cardiogenetics at White Plains Hospital.
Leaving things up to chance isn’t ideal, which is why his specific area of expertise is so exciting. Cardiogenetics, a rapidly evolving subspecialty of cardiovascular medicine that is accelerating due to advances in genetic testing and genome sequencing, is quickly becoming an important tool that health care providers can use to guide and treat patients who may be predisposed to cardiac issues.
By appropriately testing the right patient early, Dr. Waase says he can identify the cause of cardiac conditions, direct them to early treatment options, and provide risk analysis for other family members.
Those with increased risk factors or existing heart conditions may be referred by their primary care physician for genetic testing, which is usually done with a simple blood sample or cheek swab.

What you can control
By now, most of us are well aware how important diet and exercise are to leading a healthful—and hopefully long—life. This is especially true when it comes to matters of the heart.
According to Dr. Melcer, the most common risk factors for heart disease are high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, and diabetes—things that many of us have at least a chance of preventing or managing.

Metabolic syndrome, also called insulin resistance syndrome, is a group of conditions that together can significantly raise your risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, and other serious health problems. Typically, those with three or more conditions such as a large waistline, low HDL cholesterol, high blood triglycerides, high blood-sugar levels, and high blood pressure are considered to have metabolic syndrome. Losing weight, increasing physical activity, and eating a heart-healthy diet can help reverse or minimize metabolic syndrome.

Prevention through healthy lifestyle choices is far more effective than trying to reverse damage after it occurs.
Designing a proactive plan for your cardiovascular health
“Prevention through healthy lifestyle choices is far more effective than trying to reverse damage after it occurs,” says Dr. Melcer, adding that cardiovascular diseases such as high blood pressure develop gradually over many years and can cause havoc without you knowing. Here’s how you can offset your risk for heart health complications.

Eat Right
The Mediterranean, DASH, and plant-based diets are tops for heart-healthy eating. Both doctors we spoke with also said it was essential to limit saturated fats, trans fats, and salt in your diet, which also means limiting ultra-processed foods.

Limit Vices
Drinking alcohol can raise triglycerides, a fatty substance in the blood, and blood pressure, which can increase the risk for heart disease. Dr. Melcer suggests saving any drinking for special occasions. Likewise, tobacco should be avoided since it can significantly damage the heart and blood vessels.

Schedule a Wellness Visit
Regular checkups are essential for monitoring your baseline health. Ideally, everyone would see a primary care physician annually for a well check starting in their 20s, said Dr. Melcer. For those who are behind on visits, Dr. Waase advised having your weight, cholesterol, and glucose levels checked every few years at a minimum. Usually, cardiovascular health is something that your primary care doctor can monitor, though those with a family history of heart issues or other increased risk factors may be referred to a cardiologist for more advanced testing.

Get Active
Maintaining a healthy weight is one of the most significant ways you can impact your heart disease risk. Across the board, experts recommend adults get 150 minutes (2.5 hours) of exercise each week. But research has shown that any amount of movement can improve health outcomes and significantly boost cardiovascular endurance.

Prioritize Rest
Getting consistent, quality sleep (at least seven hours a night) is crucial for your heart health. In addition to raising your risk for conditions that can lead to an increased risk of heart disease, sleep deficiencies can lead to stress, a lack of motivation to be active, and unhealthy food choices, which can all strain the heart.

Analyze This
Wearables like an Apple Watch or Oura Ring can measure physical activity levels, heart rate, recovery, and heart rate variability, which can help in assessing a person’s risk of heart disease and may be helpful in diagnosing arrhythmias, such as atrial fibrillation, admits Dr. Melcer. But he notes that they do have their limitations. “Unfortunately, wearable devices don’t fall under any regulatory policies, so some may report inaccurate data through ineffective sensors and software algorithms.” He urges wearers to take the data with a grain of salt, and to follow up with a health care provider if you have questions about the data you’re seeing.

Get Heart Smart
Four research-backed things you can do RIGHT NOW to improve your heart health
1. Move More: Adding just one extra hour of physical activity every week may lower the chance of developing atrial fibrillation, the most common type of irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia), by 11 percent, according to researchers at NYU Langone Health in New York City.
2. Find Your Zen: When combined with medication, practicing yoga has been shown to improve outcomes for patients with heart failure, researchers from Kasturba Medical College and Hospital Manipal Academy of Higher Education in Manipal, India found.
3. Supplement Your Diet: A study published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society revealed that taking 250mg of calcium citrate and 600 IU of vitamin D supplements daily may help lower blood pressure in older (65+), overweight adults.
4. Ditch the THC: Imbibing in cannabis—through smoking, vaping, or edibles—is associated with a higher risk of heart attack and stroke for all users, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. With more frequent use, the odds of an adverse outcome increase, with daily users having a 25 percent higher likelihood of having a heart attack than non-users.
Related: The Fight Against Cardiovascular Disease Is Strong in Westchester