When was the last time you stopped to think about the health of your heart?

I am sure, like most, you go about your day without even a single thought about your ticker.  And why would you? After all, you have bigger things occupying your mind.

Perhaps the only reminder of your beating heart is when you take note of a brief palpitation or notice its intense pounding after your child playfully jumps out from around the corner to scare you.  And then, all is quickly forgotten as you carry on with your day.

But the fact of the matter is – you need to be proactive about your heart health and not wait until you have a heart episode.

Last month, I had the opportunity to sit down and have a conversation with Diamond Fernandes, cardiac physiologist, author, and the founder of the Heart Fit Clinic.  It was evident during our meeting that Diamond is passionate about helping people prevent and reverse heart disease, a mission he set out on when his father had a heart attack in his late thirties.

With my mind focused on this crazy hamster wheel of life where we are under more stress than ever, I entered the meeting with several questions, but more specifically to learn if there is any one thing that we can do to take better care of our hearts.

To my surprise, I learned that there is not one simple answer.  In fact, if anything, it was evident that there are too many misconceptions about heart health, and my focus quickly shifted to providing clarity to get you thinking about your own heart.

Let’s jump in!

Myth #1 – Arteries are like a pipe.  False – the reality is that your arteries are muscles.

The inside of the artery wall is skin, and it is inside this wall that plaque causing particles collect.  And, using the analogy of a “pimple”, Diamond explained that whether a regular pimple or one of those deep painful pimples that can never seem to be squeezed for relief, when the pimple ruptures this is the equivalent of events in your artery wall. The outcome, however is more significant and presents itself as a heart attack.

It’s easy to grasp this analogy since the skin is the largest organ and it can tell a story about your health.  Admit it, you are familiar with those moments of high stress, restless nights or poor eating, when that dreaded enormous pimple emerges on your face, making you feel like a teenager.  And now, with this newly gained knowledge, you can understand how these factors also affect the lining, or skin, of your arteries but with a potentially life threatening outcome.

Myth #2 – I am healthy; my annual check-up and bloodwork confirm this.  There is more to your heart health than what 30 minutes in your doctor’s office and a basic blood test can show.  Diamond shared that, “the majority of people that have a heart attack have blockages that are less than 70%.” 

You need to understand that there are hundreds of factors that come into play with the health of your heart and arteries; stress, diet, high blood pressure, weight, environmental factors, and now Covid, are only a few. Your annual check-up and bloodwork provide only a snip-it of the health of your heart.

Myth 3 – I eat well and exercise regularly, so my heart is healthy.  When looking at heart health there is a bigger picture that comes into play, this being your heart history.  Considerations of your family history of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and various other conditions are needed to identify if you have an increased risk of a heart attack.  Genetics is a factor that is often overlooked which is why the Heart Fit Clinic offers a number of tests including cardiogenomics, a genetic test to predict your risk of heart disease.

Myth #4 – I am a female, so I am at less risk of a heart attack.  The reality is that heart disease does not discriminate against gender.  And, what used to predominantly be seen as a male-dominated ailment, Diamond stated that, “there is more equality of women and men with heart disease in similar age groups than ever before.”

Over the years, we have experienced a workplace shift with more women occupying what used to be male-dominated positions, and in this battle for equality and more power for women, the compromise has been our health.

While women have some added protection from their hormones, heart disease can still happen as hormones get affected by daily stresses associated with finding a bigger place in the world.

Myth #5 – I am too young to have a heart attack.  With your arteries being a muscle, then this statement would be like saying that you are too young to pull your hamstring muscle.  Yet we know there are thousands of young athletes who eat well, are very fit, and find themselves in the emergency room in excruciating pain.

As in the previous myth, heart ailments do not discriminate and this includes age.  Heart ailments affect the young and old, the healthy and unhealthy, and men and women alike. 

So, as you carry forward with your day of back-to-back meetings, skip lunch, maybe stop for a cigarette in the middle of your day, or shovel a quick burger into your mouth before taking the kids to their sports, stop for a moment to think about your heart and the damage that you may be causing it.

“It is important that people not be ignorant about their health risks before a problem starts,” says Diamond.  “Poor habits create heart disease, and good habits can reverse it.”

Heart health is not as simple as changing your diet, getting more exercise, and reducing stress.  Sure, these are the right things to be doing however your heart is more complex. And, to love your heart is to understand your heart. 

Visit heartfit.ca to learn more about the services of Diamond and his team at the Heart Fit Clinic. This includes corporate programs to keep your team healthy!  As for myself, I see a consultation with Diamond in the very near future.