Fayetteville doctor says cardiovascular disease can kill you despite broken heart
Dying from a broken heart is unlikely, but cardiovascular disease kills hundreds of thousands of Americans each year.
Dr. Amol Bahekar, a cardiovascular doctor from the Fayetteville Heart Center, said yes, it’s possible to die from a broken heart. Broken heart syndrome weakens the heart muscles, which then causes the heart to lose strength, he said.
The Mayo Clinic defines broken heart syndrome as "a temporary heart condition that's often brought on by stressful situations and extreme emotions." A serious physical illness or surgery also can trigger the condition, according to the clinic's website.
"People with broken heart syndrome may have sudden chest pain or think they're having a heart attack," the site said. "Broken heart syndrome affects just part of the heart, temporarily disrupting the heart's usual pumping function. The rest of the heart continues to work properly or may even squeeze (contract) more forcefully."
The symptoms are treatable, and the syndrome usually reverses itself in days or weeks, the site said.
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Bahekar, who’s worked in the medical field for over a decade, said cardiovasular disease is much more serious and has killed more people than COVID-19 over the past two years.
The disease is responsible for killing 659,000 people in the U.S. a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“As far as the cardiovascular disease is concerned, it is the No.1 killer in the U.S.,” Bahekar said.
According to the CDC, one person dies from a heart attack every 36 seconds in the U.S., he said.
“It’s a very deadly disease,” Bahekar said.
One in four deaths that happen in the U.S. are related to cardiovascular disease, he added.
“It is important to talk about this disease because it is the number one killer,” he said. “I feel that (February) should not be the only month that we talk about cardiovascular disease.”
February is American Heart Month.
A lot of different factors contribute to cardiovascular disease, and some of these factors are modifiable and some are not, Bahekar said. Things that cannot be modified are age or sex, but things that we can be modified are high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol and obesity through lifestyle choices, he said
Warning signs of a heart attack can vary between men and women, he said, but common symptoms are difficulty breathing, heartburn, and back pain.
“Having a heart attack and having a stroke are two different things, although the disease process is similar,” he said.
A heart attack happens when blood isn’t being supplied to the heart correctly, and a stroke happens when blood isn’t being supplied to the brain correctly, Bahekar said.
Primary prevention is when a person avoids getting a disease. Secondary prevention is when a person has a disease and is now trying to keep it from getting worse, he said.
“Primary prevention involves making good lifestyle choices” Bahekar said.
Healthy lifestyles choices include a balanced diet, exercising regularly, not smoking and limiting alcohol consumption, he said.
For example, men shouldn’t have more than two alcoholic drinks a day, and women shouldn’t have more than one, Bahekar said. Smoking should be excluded altogether, he said.
What you put in your body is a reflection of your health, he said.
“We as a community need to do … better at spreading the awareness,” he said.
Health and education writer Ariana-Jasmine Castrellon can be reached at acastrellon@gannett.com or 910-486-3561.
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This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: February is American heart month cardiovascular disease
