Dispelling myths of the heart

Patients who believe myths about heart disease may be at increased risk, say cardiovascular medicine faculty at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

University cardiologists have provided a list of some of the most common myths they encounter in patient care.

•"Nobody in my family has heart disease, so I'm not going to get it."

Not true, said Dr. James Stein, director of the Preventive Cardiology Program at University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics. Only 47 percent of people with heart disease have a family history of the disease.

"Risk factors like unhealthy eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle predict heart disease. The presence of any risk factors increases your risk of developing heart disease," said Stein. "But not having a family history does not protect you."

•"I don't have high blood pressure. My bottom number has always been normal."

It's true that for a young person, the bottom number, also known as the diastolic blood pressure, is a marker of heart disease and stroke risk.

But after 35 or 40 years, the key number to pay attention to is the top number, also known as the systolic blood pressure.

"As you age, your arteries get stiffer, and as a result, the top number goes up and the bottom number goes down," said Stein.

Stein said that, contrary to popular belief, increased blood pressure is not a normal part of aging. Any increase in the top number is an indication of greater risk.

•"My angiography showed that I have an artery with a 50 percent blockage. We just have to take care of that one spot, right?"

Unfortunately, no. Atherosclerosis, sometimes called "hardening of the arteries," is a diffuse disease.

"Chances are, if you have one blockage that is easy to see, you almost assuredly have blockages elsewhere that are harder to see," said Dr. Jon Keevil, a preventive cardiologist. "Unfortunately, even those can be risky for heart attacks."

•"I'm thin and I'm in shape. I don't have to worry about bad cholesterol."

Wrong again. Dr. Mary Zasadil, a preventive cardiologist, said that obese patients may be more likely to suffer from cholesterol issues. But, like heart disease, cholesterol is largely genetic.

If a patient's parents or relatives have struggled with cholesterol, the patient and a physician need to pay close attention to the cholesterol numbers and have them tested frequently.

•"I stopped taking my cholesterol medication because my cholesterol improved. I didn't think I needed them anymore."

Cholesterol medications, including statins, aren't like antibiotics, which can be stopped once the infection has been resolved and the course is completed. The protective benefits of cholesterol medications disappear once a patient stops taking them, and what has gone down, a patient's cholesterol numbers, can quickly shoot back up again.

"When you stop taking your medications, your risk of a heart event increases right back to where it was before you started taking them," said Zasadil. "That's why it's important to discuss any change in your medications with your primary care physician." This article is provided by University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, Madison, Wis.