That Expert Show host Anna Canzano interviews Dr. John Osborne of State of the Heart Cardiology and the American Heart Association about about cardiovascular disease. They discuss:

• Heart attack symptoms
• Who's at risk
• How risk varies by race/age/gender
• High blood pressure
• Hypertension
• How to advocate for yourself
• What to ask your doctor
• Why heart disease is still the #1 killer of men and women in the U.S.
• Cardiovascular disease is still the #1 killer of men and women in America
• 40% of people in the U.S. die from cardiovascular disease
• These deaths are greater than the next seven causes of death combined including cancer and car crashes
• There has been a 30% reduction in cardiovascular disease over the last 20 years
• Still, one person every 38 seconds dies from a heart attack or stroke
• The first symptom of cardiovascular disease in half of men and 2/3 of women is death
• Commonly overlooked symptoms of heart attacks in women: nausea, fatigue, back pain, shortness of breath
• The "Hollywood Heart Attack" symptoms like pain on left side or pressure on the chest only occur in 1/3 of women who experience heart attacks
• Consider your risk factors: diabetes, smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and family history
• New guidelines released by the American Heart Association involved new tools used to diagnose cardiovascular disease
• One of these tools is the coronary artery calcium score. It's like a coronary colonoscopy.
• If you are asymptomatic, your doctor should do an ASCBD risk score that takes into account these factors and if your risk of an event over the next ten years is in the 7.5-20% range, you should obtain one of these scores with a CAT scanner. There's no prep and it can cost less than $100, though at this point most insurance companies don't cover it.
• If you're concerned you have a heart issue, don't take "no" for an answer as you're dealing with doctors and nurses especially since it's extremely common and up to 80% of cardiovascular events are preventable
• 10 times more women die from cardiovascular disease than breast cancer every year
• Of women diagnosed with breast cancer, those woman are more likely to die of heart disease than the actual breast cancer itself
• High blood pressure is the most common cardiovascular disease; it's the main reason people go to the doctor in the U.S. affecting roughly 80 million people in the U.S.
• Besides maintaining healthy height/weight proportions, exercising and not using tobacco, reduce your daily sodium intake to 2300 mg of sodium, below 1500mg for someone with high blood pressure. Most of us consume 6000 mg of sodium daily in the food we we eat.
• Heart disease is not an even killing field. Specific demographics are at higher risk.
• Non-Hispanic African Americans have a disproportionate number of heart disease
• Hispanics also have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease
• South Asians from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan are also at high risk
• South Asians have high rates of metabolic disease and diabetes especially when they adapt to a western diet and western lifestyle
• Student athletes (and parents of student athletes) should watch out for shortness of breath, passing out, or any other effects of exertion that are unusual for the athlete. Be aware of family history. There are tools to screen for issues that you can discuss with your family doctor.