Love Your Heart: A Cleveland Clinic Podcast

Hypercholesterolemia is more commonly known as high cholesterol. FH is a type of high cholesterol that someone gets because of genetics. Dr. Leslie Cho and Dr. Ashish Sarraju talk about FH and how to treat it.

Making healthy choices during the holidays can be challenging. Julia Zumpano R.D. lists 4 tips to help you stick to your diet.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) causes thickening of the heart muscle, left ventricular stiffness, mitral valve changes and cellular changes. For many years, management of this condition was surgery or alcohol ablation. Mavacamten is the first FDA approved drug to help treat patients with HCM. Drs. Steven Nissen and Milind Desai talk about this novel treatment option and the benefits of being treated by a specialized center.

The aorta (the main artery that carries blood away from your heart) can become damaged and weak, causing it to become wider (aneurysm) or torn (dissection). Dr. Frank Caputo discusses, along with Drs. Eric Roselli and Milind Desai, the importance of screening not just for you, but your family too.

Changing the way you eat can be challenging not only because it is a lifestyle change, but the recommendations are always changing too. Julia Zumpano, a registered dietitian in the Department of Preventive Cardiology, explains how to find reliable information and find a solution that is right for you.

Congenital heart disease and pulmonic valve disease require a coordinated team approach that includes an initial evaluation, explanation of therapeutic options, innovative transcatheter and surgical therapies and consultative follow-up. Dr. Joanna Ghobrial discusses diagnosis and management for patients with a leaky or tight pulmonic valve.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the narrowing or blockage of the coronary arteries, which supply blood to the heart. Dr. Faisal Bakaeen and Dr. Aaron Weiss discuss one treatment option, coronary artery bypass grafting. Coronary artery bypass grafting (also called CABG) has expanded to include a variety of innovative procedures to meet the needs of all patients, from those who are low risk to the sickest with the highest risk of complications.

Many patients with congenital heart disease also have pulmonary hypertension. Pulmonary hypertension (PH) or pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is high blood pressure in the arteries that supply blood to the lungs. This is different from the blood pressure measured by a cuff on your arm. Dr. Joanna Ghobrial and Dr. Neal Chaisson discuss how different teams of doctors work together to care for patients with congenital heart disease and PH.

The tricuspid valve ensures that blood flows from the right atrium (top) to the right ventricle (bottom). It also prevents blood from flowing backward between those two chambers. Sometimes, the tricuspid valve does not close properly and blood leaks back into the right atrium instead of going to the lungs. This is called tricuspid regurgitation. Dr. Tom Wang talks about why this happens and how to fix it.

N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, also known as omega 3s or fish oil, claim to have a benefit for cardiovascular health. Dr. Steven Nissen and Dr. Luke Laffin discuss the results of recent trials focusing on the use of N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and if the effects live up to the marketed claims or if they have more undesirable effects.