Health Matters: Happy Heart, Happy Health

Heart disease kills more men and women than any other disease.

Unfortunately not all heart attacks come with clear signs and symptoms.

I spoke with a cardiologist at Essentia who tells me knowing those signs can ultimately save a life.
 
Doctors often say to listen to your body and in the case of a heart attack, listening to your body is more important than ever.
 
“It’s really important for the general public to be aware of in terms of symptoms is that a lot of the classic symptoms of heart attack are things that a lot of people already know but sometimes will ignore because they think it’s something else,” says Essentia Interventional Cardiologist, Dr. Sam Kapphahn.
 
Common symptoms include nausea, shortness of breath, sweating and pressure in your chest or arms, that may spread to your neck jaw or back. But that’s not all.
 
“There are people who present in a fashion that may seem atypical. A bad case of heart burn that’s just not going away,” says Kapphahn.
 
Many people don’t even realize they’re having one and the later you wait, the more dangerous it becomes.
 
“Those are always cases that sit in your mind because the longer you wait with a clogged artery the longer the more time that your heart muscle is being deprived from its blood supply and oxygen,” says Kapphahn.
 
And waiting is not uncommon.
 
“Many people wait too long they’ll be sitting with discomfort for a day or two earlier that came and went,” says Kapphahn.
 
And the longer you wait the more you run the risk of affecting your heart from not getting better.
 
“Try to be aware of listening to their body and pay attention to the sign of things are not right,” says Kapphahn.
 
Tune into next week’s health matters where we will share a local patient’s heart disease story.

His story will also be shared at the heart ball, which is being held on Saturday, January 30 at the Holiday Inn in Fargo.