“Heart Disease Roars Back,” was the front page headline of an extensive article in the June 22-23, 2019, “Wall Street Journal” on the increase in heart disease. The article by Betsy McKay states, “The death rate for cardiovascular disease – which includes heart disease and strokes – has fallen just 4% since 2011 after dropping more than 70% over six decades, according to mortality statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” The article goes on to state, “Particularly alarming is that the death rate that is actually rising for middle-aged Americans.”
In another article in the “Jerusalem Post” introducing a new innovative test for sleep apnea diagnosis, Giliad Glick the CEO of Itamar Medical, creators of a new test, strongly indicates that treating cardiovascular patients, “without considering the status of sleep apnea is malpractice.” Glick comments on the fact that access to sleep clinics is a month long wait in the United States because of the limited number of facilities and doctors focused on the routine test for apnea. He stresses the fact that there are 5,000 doctors treating sleep apnea presently in the United States and there are 35,000 cardiologists.
There are estimates that at least one-third of adults in the United States suffer from sleep apnea and it has been directly linked with coronary artery diseases. An article published in CHEST Journal, the official publication for the College of Chest Physicians, pinpoints the links between sleep apnea, obesity and cardiovascular issues and puts the number of Americans with obesity (defined as BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) at around 30% as well. Cardiologists should be focused on this causal factor. It is interesting to note the WSJ article points out the obesity epidemic and the related rise in the prevalence of type-II diabetes are key culprits in the new wave of cardiovascular disease mortality. However, there is no mention in this WSJ article of the fact that sleep apnea has a causal connection to heart diseases.
To further burden you with additional intriguing facts – a CNN blog article by Jacqueline Howard, “Changing Your Meat Eating Habits Could Mean a Longer Life” states, “A decrease in eating red meats and an increase in eating whole grains, vegetables or other protein sources was associated with a lower risk of death over eight years the researchers found.”
I assume by this point you’re probably thinking, “Okay, I get it. If I eat a healthier diet and got more sleep, especially the third stage of sleep referred to as deep NREM sleep that is the most restorative, I can extend the lease on my life.” The real question for us is – As we acquire all this knowledge how does it enhance our quality of life not just the length of our lives? If I told you to eat foods you do not like and wear a CPAP every night to improve your breathing and it would theoretically extend your life by 20%, would you do it? That is the moment when the reality of the things we enjoy comes face-to-face with the risk of enjoying those choices. Almost daily, I make that choice when I dip into my favorite ice creams to the consternation of my cardiologist. Still, he tells me all of my test results belie the fact that I enjoy ice cream.
As we march along the path of life, there are many forks in the road in respect to our health. Do we choose the path marked regular exercise or do we ignore that path in search of the route to our couch and television? Do we make the appropriate choices at the fork in the road where one sign indicates fast food and the other indicates healthy food? Based on the statistics of obesity in America, it seems we believe the road of healthy food is down to one lane with significant traffic tie-ups.
We experience the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to how we manage our choices that impact our overall health. Our health is one of those things we are often in the state of denial about. How many stories have we heard, particularly about men, who have walked around for four or five days with all of the classic symptoms of a heart attack? Today we are seeing this same cultural phenomenon exhibiting itself in women, especially those who have stressful careers. This is particularly true in our society as we marry later and balance careers and home life after that. These individuals need the concierge, advocacy and navigation services we provide. We attempt to balance our members’ needs with realistic expectations that preserve quality of life.
As we choose the health road we want to travel when we arrive at the forks in the road, we should pause and evaluate each of the choices available to us. The reality is that there is an absolute connection between sleep apnea and eating habits, as the majority of people with sleep apnea are also considered to be overweight. That percentage is equal to approximately 1/3 of all Americans according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Ultimately it comes down to the upside potential versus the downside risk. I think about this almost every time I take the ice cream scooper out of the drawer. If I have exercised and eaten mostly healthy food, the likelihood is I’m headed for the freezer; if not, I try and leave the scooper in the drawer. Hopefully, I am not alone and you too go through this same “guilt ridden” evaluation.
To your good health, during the summer months, enjoy the barbecues and the ice cream parlors.Chocolate on hands and face, funny cute boy
Soon enough the days will be shorter and the weather will be cooler.
