Mason DMC Interview
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00:00Dr. Al-Khatib, who is a heart specialist at the DMC, we're going to talk about all the things
00:07that can keep us healthy and try to keep us from going in the operating room with you.
00:15Heart disease and stroke are, with the stress of COVID-19, it seems to, well, it has increased
00:24some, huh, would you say? Well, that's definitely true. With the stress of the current pandemic
00:31situation, people's lifestyles have changed, and it is, you know, we are seeing an uptick in problems
00:39related to heart disease. Yeah. When we think of heart disease, what would be some of the signs
00:48that we would see that we know we need to get to the DMC right away? Yeah. Very important question.
00:56So the signs and symptoms that we often encounter, number one, any sort of chest discomfort, and I
01:05particularly describe it as a discomfort because oftentimes patients don't say they have a pain,
01:12but they'll describe a tightness or a heaviness in the chest, sometimes a burning or squeezing
01:20sensation. And this can often occur with any sort of exertion or emotional stress. So that's kind of
01:27one of the warning signs. Also shortness of breath. So when you're carrying in the groceries from the car
01:36and climbing up a few steps and you get really out of breath where you have to stop and
01:42huff and puff to catch your breath, also a warning sign, and that's something you should pay attention
01:46to. Heart pounding or thumping, especially if it's accompanied with dizziness or lightheadedness,
01:55it can be a sign of an arrhythmia. Also a warning sign to perhaps see your doctor.
02:03How would you, and doctor, if you can explain the difference between feeling those symptoms
02:09for a heart attack and feeling those symptoms for a stroke, is there a difference or is it the same?
02:17No, there certainly is a difference. So a heart attack type symptoms, typically what I described
02:23with chest discomfort, getting out of breath, stroke will usually present with neurologic signs
02:31or symptoms. So for example, paralysis or weakness in the face or the extremities, not being able to
02:40speak right or get words out, having a weakness in the arms or legs, things like that indicate perhaps
02:50a stroke. Also concerning symptoms. All right, so now we've got an idea what the symptoms should be.
02:56Of course we want you to get to the DMC right away if you feel any of that discomfort that you described
03:03for us. How do we avoid it? Let's talk prevention a little bit. What should we be doing on a daily basis?
03:14Yeah, very important topic there. The good news, the silver lining is that much of heart disease is
03:21actually preventable. It's estimated that 80% of heart disease is preventable if we take the right
03:26steps. Yep. That's a big number, 80%. That's right, that's right. So there are definitely steps we can
03:34take on a daily basis to reduce our risk. It all starts with knowing the risk factors and tackling those
03:42risk factors. They include smoking, okay, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes,
03:53and, you know, lack of exercise and sedentary lifestyle and poor nutrition. A lot of it revolves
03:58around that. And of course, family history. And so we need to tackle those risk factors and making sure
04:05everything from the diet to controlling the blood pressure to all these things to help reduce the risk.
04:10We talk about diet. How much exercise should we get in? A lot of us or a lot of people aren't
04:18athletically inclined to do that type of exercising. But what would you require to just give some
04:26prevention for heart failure? Right. Good question. When we talk about exercise, you know, you don't have
04:33to be an elite athlete. You don't have to be in the gym pumping iron. You know, you don't have to do
04:39sprinting or 5Ks. We just want you to be physically active. And that can be simply walking. Okay. We
04:48just want you to get up and move. Okay. If walking isn't an option, you know, I tell patients to put on
04:57a, put on music, put on a record and just dance. You know, if you can't get out of the house,
05:02there you go, that, that absolutely counts. And you want to work your way up to doing 20 minutes
05:08of physical activity on most days of the week. So, so shoot for five, five days a week of physical
05:15activity for at least 20 minutes. And if you're just starting out, maybe you can only do five or 10
05:20minutes and that's, that's totally fine. If something is better than nothing. Right. And so you want to just
05:26gradually start and work your way up. If you're thinking about starting an exercise program and
05:33you're, you're concerned about heart disease, um, I would encourage to consult with a cardiologist
05:40before starting an exercise program. Can we also, uh, consult with the DMC for a proper diet? A lot of
05:49people are just not really sure what is proper and what isn't. I know leafy, uh, green vegetables,
05:56vegetables is, is at the top of the list, but there's all kinds of things like mushroom and
06:01onions and people don't quite know what is best. Yeah, no, you're, you're absolutely right. And
06:08there, you know, there are resources, uh, we can help you, uh, you know, guide you through a good
06:13diet and good nutrition. We have lots of good advice. If you go to dmc.org slash heart, you can take a
06:21health quiz to determine your heart health. Oh, beautiful. Yep. And there's good advice there
06:26on everything from diet to exercise and, um, you know, pathways to get you seen by a cardiologist
06:33should you need that. So you look like you're about 18 years old. That's very kind of you. I don't feel
06:4118. That's for sure. What, how did you choose this type of medicine? Well, you know, for, for me,
06:50it's, I find it personally very rewarding, um, to, you know, talk to patients, especially in this
06:59community who have, uh, these problems and there's a great, you know, unmet need, uh, out there for,
07:08uh, heart health and it's the number one killer in the United States and 600,000 Americans die each
07:14year from heart disease. And again, our, our community in particular is, is hit hard with
07:19these, um, ailments because of the risk factors we see a lot of high blood pressure. There's a lot
07:25of diabetes. There's a lot of kidney disease. Um, and there's a lot of obesity and poor nutrition
07:31that goes along with that. And so I, I find it rewarding to, uh, you know, tackle this problem.
07:37It's a huge problem. And for me, it just, it keeps me going. If you come in and get a blood test,
07:42would that also help, uh, let you know if, if you've got some, some deeper issues?
07:49Sure. So in terms of detection, there are ways to, you know, detect early, detect a problem before it
07:58becomes a problem, so to speak. And so again, if, if you're concerned, if you have risk factors,
08:04if you're wondering about symptoms, I would encourage you to come see us because just to
08:10give you an example, there's a scan that we can do that can detect calcium deposits in the arteries
08:17of the heart. And that can, you know, that's one way to determine if there's a problem. And so, um,
08:26yes, including blood tests and other diagnostic tests that we, we often do,
08:30we can identify a problem before, you know, become serious.
08:34Very good. Well, Dr. Al-Khati, thank you so much for passing that information along.
08:42Uh, I'm sure from today's session, we're going to save some lives and at least get some people
08:48into the clinic to make sure that they're, they check out. Okay. And again, tell them how to go to
08:54the site to get more information. Absolutely. It's dmc.org slash hearts. Uh, alternatively,
09:03there's a phone number. If you don't have access to the internet, you can call 888-DMC-2500.
09:13Dr. Al-Khati, thank you so much. Appreciate you taking time with us today and thank you. We'll see
09:18you again. Thanks DMC. Thank you. Thanks.