It seems that every New Year, one of the top New Year’s resolutions is to exercise more, eat better, and become more healthy in general. Unfortunately, many of these resolutions slip away over the next few months and don’t become a permanent lifestyle. However, maybe we should be paying more attention to our good intentions and really turning them into the way we live. Preventative medicine can only go so far and if you’re not doing your part, you could be increasing your risk for heart disease, among other things. (Heart disease can be an expensive thing to have — it unfortunately doesn’t fall under the easier outpatient surgery category.) If you don’t have a doctor, you’ll definitely want to find a doctor and look into finding a hospital that you can trust.
Well How Prevalent is Heart Disease Anyway?
In 2013, same as 2012, the number one leading cause of death was heart disease (followed by cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases, accidental injuries, strokes, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, the flu/pneumonia, kidney disease and suicide). That alone should tell you something. Sadly, around 600,000 people die because of heart disease annually — it accounts for about one in four deaths. And it’s the main cause of death for men and women — so don’t think you’re any less at risk being one gender or another.
The most common kind of heart disease is coronary heart disease and it claims almost 400,000 people every year. Even scarier, more people are dead because of heart disease than because of AIDS or any kind of cancer, combined! Around 80 million Americans are currently living with one (or more) kinds of heart disease and ever 33 seconds, someone else will die because of cardiovascular disease.
Clearly, this is a huge problem that can be fixed with simple measures, if people would only take the time to put them into effect. Heart disease is not something that can be fixed with simple outpatient surgery — it requires much more.
Why You Should Make Your List of Questions to Ask a Cardiologist
If you’ve already been the victim of a heart attack, you’ll probably already have a list of questions that you want to ask your cardiologist. It’s important to be prepared for these visits, in order to maximize your time with him or her and to focus on next steps you need to be taking. You’ll of course want to ask how to prevent another heart attack — and how loved ones around you can ward off the risk of having one to begin with — and what medications you should avoid or be taking. (Certain surgeries may also need a more careful eye –something to consider if you have an outpatient surgery coming up, for example.)
Being prepared can help you get started on living a healthier lifestyle. It helps facilitate a productive and informative session with your doctor. It’ll also help you cover all your bases — you don’t want to get home and think of five more questions you should have asked during your appointment.
More information like this.