February is American Heart Health Month. How to protect heart health, recognize early signs of disease
HEALTH MONTH, AND THIS MORNING WE WELCOME DOCTOR MEHBOOB JAMEEL, A CARDIOTHORACIC SURGEON WITH THE DIGNITY HEALTH MEDICAL GROUP IN STOCKTON. THANKS FOR JOINING US TODAY. HI. GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY. SO, DOCTOR JAMEEL, YOU ALWAYS CAUTION YOUR PATIENTS TO TO NOT FREAK OUT HAVE LIKE JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF CONCERN FOR YOUR HEALTH. RIGHT, RIGHT. SO IT’S A GOOD BALANCE BETWEEN BEING FEARFUL ABOUT YOUR HEART HEALTH AND BEING CAVALIER ABOUT YOUR HEART HEALTH. LIKE WHEN WE ARE YOUNG IN OUR 30S, WE THINK THAT NOTHING WILL. NOTHING WILL KILL US. AND WE ARE WE’RE WE’RE DOING GREAT. AND ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU GO TO THE DOCTOR. THE DOCTOR PRESCRIBES YOUR FIRST HEART MEDICINE. AND NOW ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU’RE FEARFUL AND YOU DON’T WANT TO TAKE IT. YOU HOLD OFF FOR A LONG TIME, AND THEN YOUR CHOLESTEROL REMAINS HIGH, OR DIABETES REMAINS HIGH FOR AGES. SO I THINK TRYING TO GET THAT HEALTHY BALANCE BETWEEN NOT BEING CAVALIER ABOUT YOUR HEART HEALTH AND NOT BEING SO AFRAID THAT YOU DON’T GO SEE DOCTORS OR TAKE THE HEALTHY STEPS, IS THE TRICK. WHAT ARE THE LIFESTYLE HABITS THAT WE CAN AGREE ARE JUST NOT GOOD FOR HEART HEALTH, PERIOD. SO THE BIGGEST ONE IS PROBABLY SMOKING, UNCONTROLLED DIABETES, STRESS AND BEING OVERWEIGHT. AND OF COURSE, YOU DIET. BUT YOU KNOW, A LOT OF IT COMES FROM GENETIC PREDISPOSITION. WE START HAVING PROBLEMS WITH OUR ARTERIES LIKE AS EARLY AS 20S 30S, BUT THEY DON’T BECOME A PROBLEM UNTIL MUCH LATER. BUT THESE RISK FACTORS LIKE SMOKING, DIABETES AND STRESS AND BEING OVERWEIGHT CAN REALLY AGGRAVATE THE PROCESS. WHAT ARE THE SIGNS OF A HEART ISSUE THAT PEOPLE ARE MOST LIKELY TO IGNORE AND NOT EVEN REALIZE? COULD BE CONCERNING? THE FIRST ONE IS THAT YOU JUST THINK THAT YOU’RE GETTING OLD AND YOU KNOW YOU’RE GETTING MORE TIRED AND YOU CAN’T DO SO MUCH AS ANYMORE. I MEAN, CLEAR SIGNS LIKE CHEST PAIN OR SHORTNESS OF BREATH WILL GET YOU TO THE DOCTOR. BUT THESE SUBTLE SIGNS THAT, HEY, I FEEL LIKE I’M SLOWING DOWN, I’M NOT DOING AS MUCH ANYMORE. I MUST BE GETTING OLD. THAT COULD BE HEART DISEASE. SO IT’S SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT TO YOUR PRIMARY CARE OR YOUR CARDIOLOGIST. EARLY. IS THERE IS THERE A MYTH ABOUT HEART DISEASE THAT WHEN YOU HEAR IT, IT DRIVES YOU CRAZY THAT YOU WANT TO DEBUNK? IT’S IT’S THERE ARE LOTS OF MYTHS LIKE, YOU KNOW, EVERY 34 SECONDS SOMEBODY DIES OF HEART ATTACK IN THE US, AND THERE’S A LOT OF FEAR ASSOCIATED WITH IT. BUT, YOU KNOW, IT’S HARD TO DEBUNK ANY PARTICULAR ONE. BUT WHAT I WANT TO SAY TO PEOPLE IS THAT YOU HAVE PLENTY OF OPTIONS, STARTING FROM MEDICATIONS FROM LESS INVASIVE MEASURES LIKE STENTS TO HEART SURGERY. THERE ARE SO MANY OPTIONS AND PEOPLE DO FAIRLY WELL AFTER ANY ONE OF THOSE. ALL RIGHT, DOCTOR JAMIL, THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINI
February is American Heart Health Month. How to protect heart health, recognize early signs of disease
Updated: 2:28 PM PST Feb 7, 2025
February is American Heart Health Month, a time to both raise awareness about heart disease and to encourage people to take steps to prevent it.KCRA 3’s Deirdre Fitzpatrick spoke with Dr. Mahbub Jamil, a cardiothoracic surgeon with the Dignity Health Medical Group of Stockton. The Friday interview also falls on National Wear Red Day, an annual campaign that focuses specifically on heart disease in women.The interview covered topics such as what lifestyle changes could be made to protect heart health or how to recognize early signs of heart disease.Watch the interview above to see the full interview.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
February is American Heart Health Month, a time to both raise awareness about heart disease and to encourage people to take steps to prevent it.
KCRA 3’s Deirdre Fitzpatrick spoke with Dr. Mahbub Jamil, a cardiothoracic surgeon with the Dignity Health Medical Group of Stockton. The Friday interview also falls on National Wear Red Day, an annual campaign that focuses specifically on heart disease in women.
The interview covered topics such as what lifestyle changes could be made to protect heart health or how to recognize early signs of heart disease.
Watch the interview above to see the full interview.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel