Heart Disease

FORMER ATHLETE-turned-restaurant manager Stephanie Varela, 29, attributed her sweating, shortness of breath and slight chest pains to the stress of hard work and rushing around. Neither she nor the paramedics would realize she was having a heart attack. It happened on a Saturday evening last September, the Philadelphia resident recalled recently. "I was on the phone trying to calm down an irate guest, and the minute I hung up, it felt like someone was sitting on my chest. I felt this stabbing pain in my shoulder that traveled down to my arm, elbow and finally to my fingers, which went numb.

It seems as though someone is always pushing a new wonder supplement to restore health the natural way. Is there good evidence that any actually work for people with heart disease or those at risk for it? We asked four area cardiologists what they thought. They are: Daniel Rader, director of the University of Pennsylvania's Preventive Cardiovascular Program; David Shipon, who has a special focus on prevention and integrative medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital; Sara Sirna, who directs Temple University Hospital's lipid clinic, and David Becker, who practices in Flourtown.

Heart disease in women Does a heart attack really feel like an elephant on your chest? Not always, particularly if you are a woman. A study last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that women, especially those under 45, were less likely than men to have chest pain before a heart attack. Symptoms can be more subtle: nausea, fatigue, shortness of breath, and discomfort in the neck or back. Subtlety can be dangerous: For both sexes, the absence of the classic chest ache was linked to delayed hospital trips, slower care and a higher death rate.

AS WE celebrate Valentine's Day on Thursday, this is an opportune time to talk heart health with the ones we love. Just in case you need a little reminder, the No. 1 silent killer of all Americans, regardless of education, race or social-economic status, is coronary heart disease, the result of plaque blockages in the arteries that supply oxygen to the heart. Approximately every 30 seconds, an American is stricken with some kind of coronary event, according to the American Heart Association.

To cut salt, lose the cold cuts Americans can dramatically reduce their daily salt intake by cutting bread, cold cuts, and cured meats in their diet, according to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Limiting condiments and reading nutrition labels are other ways to kick a high-sodium habit, the experts noted. They also said people can change their palate and enjoy foods with less salt in just 21 days. The heart and stroke experts are launching a three-week Sodium Swap Challenge Monday.

There's no diet, it seems, without sacrifice, and a roundup of the year's diet books shows that most of the trending approaches to weight loss eschew at least one or more category of food altogether. Paleo, wheat-/gluten-free, and plant-based-diet books are the hottest categories now, promising well-being in addition to roomier pants, if you are willing to limit yourself to either hunks of meat and coconut oil or millet salads. In a totally different camp are the whole-foods proponents, whose reasoned pleas for variety are starting to sound like a cultural consensus.

WHILE IT MAY seem obvious, too many Americans still resist accepting the simple truth that daily exercise would likely do more to improve their health than a cadre of specialists or the latest pharmacological miracle drug. That's right, and this activity can be something as simple as a 30-minute walk. And I don't mean power walking with weights in your hands - just walking at a rate that you can still talk comfortably. Besides, you already know exercise can make you look younger and more fit, and improve your mood, too. So what's stopping you?

1QUIT SMOKING. The verdict has been in on this one since 1960, when the Surgeon General announced that smoking was harmful to your health. Besides that, it stains your teeth and hands, and gives you halitosis (bad breath). 2WEAR A SEAT BELT. Statistics show that seat belts add to longevity and help alleviate potential injuries in car crashes. Buckle down and buckle up. 3FLOSS YOUR TEETH. Recent studies make a direct connection between longevity and flossing. It's simple - brush and floss every day. 4DON'T DRINK TOO MUCH.

AS AMERICANS, we tend to believe that if a little is good, more must be better. This belief is deeply entrenched in our national psyche, and it's especially true when it comes to cardiovascular exercises like running. In America, running is considered the King of Exercise. After all, running is good for your cardiovascular health, aiding in the prevention of diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and obesity, right? Doesn't running increase bone density and help you live longer, too?

LOS ANGELES - Want a clue to your risk of heart disease? Look in the mirror. People who look old - with receding hairlines, bald heads, creases near their earlobes, or bumpy deposits on their eyelids - have a greater chance of developing heart disease than younger-looking people the same age do, new research suggests. Doctors say the study highlights the difference between biological and chronological age. "Looking old for your age marks poor cardiovascular health," said Anne Tybjaerg-Hansen of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.