Heart Health & Vascular Disease

February is Heart Month! ❤️

According to the Center for Disease Control, 647,000 Americans die from heart disease each year. That's 2% of the population! It is the leading cause of death in the United States. What's even scarier is heart disease is considered a silent killer; most people don't know they have heart disease until it is too late.

So, what is heart disease?

Heart disease is used to describe a range of conditions which effect the heart. The most common forms of heart disease fall under three main subcategories; diseases which effect the blood vessels, the heart's beating, or congenital heart defects.

The term heart disease is often used interchangeably with the term cardiovascular disease. However, cardiovascular disease more accurately refers to narrowed or blocked vessels. This form of heart disease is what most frequently leads to heart attack.

Cardiovascular disease is an atherosclerotic disease. Atherosclerosis can occur in any artery in the body. Typically, when a patient has been diagnosed with atherosclerosis in one area of the body, the disease will also be elsewhere, undiagnosed. This is why anti-platelet therapies and life style modifications are so important for people who have been diagnosed with vascular disease.

Watch this video below for Dr. Esposito's explanation of how intertwined heart and vascular health can be:

If you're interested in being screened for vascular disease, call us today to schedule an appointment: (203)882-VEIN(8346).

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cdc.gov, mayoclinic.org