Love Your Heart: A Cleveland Clinic Podcast

Problems with sleep can affect your heart. Cardiologist Dr. Michael Faulx and Dr. Reena Mehra, Director of Director of Sleep Disorders Research, have worked together to investigate this relationship. It is important to know what to look for to see if you have a sleep problem or at risk for sleep problems – such as obstructive sleep apnea. Testing for sleep apnea can be done at home – or in lab. Treating sleep apnea can improve cardiovascular disease, especially atrial fibrillation and high blood pressure.

Hiatal hernia is a common condition where the upper part of the stomach pushes through an opening in the diaphragm and into the chest. Thoracic surgeons Dr. Siva Raja and Dr. Monisha Sudarshan answer common questions about hiatal hernia.

It’s important to take your medications the right way to avoid problems and to get the biggest benefit. What keeps patients from taking medications correctly? Mike Militello, cardiac pharmacist, provides the answer to this question and gives tips on how to make sure you take your medications correctly: from questions to ask your doctor; ways to remember to take your pills (from simple “old school” methods to high tech apps); and what to do if your pills are too costly.

The Cardio-OB Clinic takes care of women who either were born with heart disease or acquire heart disease – before pregnancy – during pregnancy and – after pregnancy. Dr. Joanna Ghobrial, Director of the Adult Congenital Heart Disease Center, and Dr. Katherine Singh, Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist, talk about the types of patients who they see in the clinic and the multidisciplinary team available to patients who come to the clinic. The changes a woman’s body goes through during pregnancy and the postpartum period can cause extra stress on the body – especially when they have underlying heart disease. Drs. Singh and Ghobrial discuss preconception counselling to understand the risks of pregnancy- and if pregnancy is the option they choose - how their team cares for complex patients to get them through their pregnancy.

Dr. Grant Reed, Interventional Cardiologist, talk about how we place stents and what we do when there is calcium in the coronary artery to allow the stent to be deployed safely.

Research has shown that women have low participation in clinical trials – especially when it comes to cardiovascular care. Dr. Leslie Cho, Director of the Women’s Cardiovascular Center gives us some reasons this occurs, why it is important for women to increase their participation in trials, and where you can find information about clinical trials.

Aortic dissection is a scary diagnosis. Dr. Scott Cameron, Dr. Milind Desai, Dr. Sean Lyden and Dr. Eric Roselli answer questions patients have about aortic aneurysm and aortic dissection.

What are varicose veins and spider veins? Dr. George Anton a vascular surgeon and Director of Cleveland Clinic’s Vein Center answers common questions patients have about these vein problems:• Why do they occur?• How do you prevent them?• How to choose and wear compression socks?• Are varicose veins and spider veins dangerous?• Treatment options for spider veins and varicose veins?• Recovery after vein treatments• How to choose a treatment center for vein careLearn more about Cleveland Clinic’s Vein Centers - https://my.clevelandclinic.org/departments/heart/depts/vein-center

Patients who are born with a congenital heart condition have many questions about heart care over the years.

Patients have many questions about cardiac devices. Electrophysiology and device experts Drs. Thomas Callahan, Oussama Wazni and Bruce Wilkoff talk about indications for getting a pacemaker and/or ICD and when patients need lead or device extraction. The doctors discuss how extraction is performed, outcomes of this procedure, what happens if complications occur, and how new innovations are lessening the risk of complications – such as infection.