 | Joseph P. Galichia, MD is the founder and Medical Director of the Galichia Medical Group, PA. He is an internationally recognized pioneer in the field of interventional cardiology. In the 70's, Dr. Galichia studied in Zurich, Switzerland with the inventors of the balloon angioplasty technique for treating heart disease. As a result of his experience, he was able to bring this historic technique back to the United States where he was one of the first physicians to perform coronary angioplasty here. A noted medical spokesman, he appears on a weekly Newstalk segment on KWCH Channel 12 and has a weekly syndicated radio talk show on KNSS 1330 AM every Saturday live from 11:00 am to noon. Dr. Galichia may be contacted by sending an e-mail to service@galichia.com |
Health & Medicine
2002-03-01 16:32:00
New heart risk factors?
Question: Are there any new risk factors for heart disease? I am not a smoker, my blood pressure is OK, my cholesterol is pretty good, and I am not diabetic. I am, however, about 60 lbs. overweight. Does this mean I am relatively safe from developing heart disease or is my being overweight enough to put me in the same 'high risk' class?
Answer: There are definite known risk factors of heart disease and weight is one of them. It has been shown that people who are mildly overweight have some increased risk of heart disease, but patients who are more than 20% above their normal body weight have an unusual risk for heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, joint problems, and particularly diabetes. Thus, the need to make some lifestyle changes to get your weight back within a normal range becomes extremely great. One of my major concerns always is that patients who are overweight at this level will eventually become diabetic. About twenty million Americans have diabetes today and it is felt that a lack of exercise and being overweight are the main risk factors for diabetes, which, itself, is a precursor to heart disease and stroke. There are genetic factors that relate to diabetes, but certainly being sedentary and overweight are the main risks for developing this problem. The other risks for heart disease include high blood pressure, smoking, high cholesterol, diabetes, a sedentary lifestyle, and having a lot of stress in your life. These are problems that do not seem to plague you at the moment, but your perception that being overweight puts you in a high-risk class is absolutely correct. Recognizing this problem is the first step, but I would recommend getting some counseling regarding your diet, and also that you have an exercise test before going on an exercise program which will be necessary in your long term management as well. Good luck in these endeavors.
