AUSTIN (KXAN) — Heart disease remains the number one killer of men in the U.S., and an Austin cardiologist explained there are certain situations where younger patients may want to get checked out.
In 2022, the disease killed nearly a million people, according to the latest numbers available from American Heart Association. That’s more than all forms of cancer and chronic lower respiratory disease combined.
The average age at the first heart attack for men was 65, seven years before women’s average of 72.
Doctors point to a long list of risk factors, including smoking, physical inactivity, poor diet, obesity, high cholesterol, trouble sleeping, diabetes and high blood pressure.
Dr. Kevin Kurian, a Cardiologist at Heart Hospital of Austin, spoke with KXAN’s Tom Miller about heart health as part of Male Health Month.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
Tom: What are some of the risk factors that men should be looking out for and should know about when it comes to potentially needing a heart screening early?
Dr. Kurian: High blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes, but also things like smoking and a family history of cardiovascular disease increase your risk of developing heart attacks or heart disease overall. That would likely increase your need for getting screened a lot sooner than the average person.
Tom: Can you walk me through what that process actually looks like as a patient?
Dr. Kurian: We’re able to do things like go through a detailed history and physical examination, and then after that, depending on your certain risk factors, or especially if you have any symptoms — commonly, we order testing, like a cardiac scan, specifically looking at heart artery disease. That can better determine for us: have you already developed heart artery disease? Is this something that we’re still in a preventative phase for? Where do we stand?
Tom: How deadly is heart disease, especially when you compare it to some other major diseases?
Dr. Kurian: Cardiovascular disease is still considered the number one cause of death for men, especially in the Western world. So even though cancer is certainly increasing in frequency and incidence, cardiovascular disease is still the number one cause of death. So it’s definitely important to stay ahead of and proceed with things like these screenings for cardiovascular disease.
Tom: What are some simple tips that people can start today to potentially live longer lives?
Dr. Kurian: Look at your diet. The Mediterranean diet is what’s commonly recommended by cardiologists, and that primarily focuses on things like whole foods. So vegetables and lean proteins like chicken and fish. We typically recommend that people avoid things like packaged and processed foods. Another important thing is starting an exercise program. So doing a combination of things like cardiovascular exercise and strength training. If you’re a nicotine or tobacco user, finding way to stop smoking. It’s really challenging, but that’s a great way to help reduce your long term risk of cardiovascular disease. If you think that you might have risk factors, or certainly if you have symptoms of heart disease, it’s really important that you talk to your physician and potentially see a cardiologist.