Talking heart month with U of M

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (02/08/2024) — February is American Heart Month, dedicated to understanding risk factors for heart disease and how to live a heart-healthy lifestyle. Caring for your heart can be challenging as you go about your daily life. Jeremy Van’t Hof, MD, MS, with the University of Minnesota Medical School and M Health Fairview, talks about how to show your heart the love it deserves every day. 

Q: What are the risk factors for heart disease?
Dr. Van’t Hof: The traditional risk factors that many people are aware of include high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol and smoking. Other risk factors include unhealthy weight, insufficient sleep, chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, and chronic stress. Genetics plays a role in heart disease, so family history is also important to consider.

Q: I would like to keep my heart healthy, but I would prefer not to take any medications. What diet changes can I make to benefit my heart?
Dr. Van’t Hof: It is important to have a conversation with your doctor about the need for medications to help you make the best decision for your health. That said, there is a wide variation in how people eat and what food they choose to maintain heart health. Most people can find ways to improve their diet, but the changes will differ for everyone. Healthy eating should be a long-term lifestyle change — setting goals and making sustainable changes is important. For example, adding foods with high fiber, like oatmeal, beans, peas, apples and pears, may help with a goal to lower cholesterol. Healthier choices include foods that are not processed, low in added sugars and sodium and limited in saturated fat — consider more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans or legumes in your daily meals. If you regularly eat fast food, this can be a good place to start cutting back. Drinks with added sugar, like soda or some fruit juices, should be eliminated if possible. 

Q: How does sleep affect the heart?
Dr. Van’t Hof: Sleep needs vary, but most people need seven to nine hours of sleep nightly. Too much and too little sleep are both associated with a higher risk of heart disease. Studies show that the quality of sleep is important, as well. People with low-quality sleep, determined by factors such as heavy snoring, episodes of insomnia and daytime sleepiness, may also have increased risk for heart disease. Poor sleep is linked with higher blood pressure, diabetes and increased weight and can lead to higher stress and lower motivation to be physically active. The American Heart Association recently acknowledged the important impact of sleep by making it one of the eight key factors to optimize heart health. 

Q: What is the best exercise plan for heart health?
Dr. Van’t Hof: Regular exercise has many health benefits — lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, better control of blood sugar and better ability to maintain a healthy weight. Regular exercise can also help reduce stress and improve sleep quality. The biggest benefit from exercise comes when someone with no physical activity outside their daily routine adds any amount of regular physical activity to their life. The risk of heart disease steadily decreases as you increase physical activity to about 7,500 steps or 30 minutes of moderate activity daily. Activity beyond this may continue to benefit the heart but to a lesser degree than the first 7,500 steps or 30 minutes. Adding muscle-strengthening exercises once per week will provide additional heart health benefits. If you have any chronic diseases that require medications or may limit your activity, it is important to ask your doctor what is safe for you. 

Q: What is the U of M doing to advance heart health research?
Dr. Van’t Hof: There is a large spectrum of University of Minnesota research regarding heart health. Scientists are evaluating the effects of inflammation on the body at a cellular level, trying to discover where damage occurs and how we might prevent it. Clinical researchers are evaluating ways to detect heart and vascular disease early, before any symptoms occur, so we might be able to make lifestyle changes or start medications to prevent progression of disease. Others are investigating how our social environment or place of residence impacts heart health, diagnosis of heart disease and effectiveness of treatment in an attempt to reduce disparities in heart disease outcomes. Still, others are working with people with the sickest hearts. U of M experts are helping people leave the hospital and live longer, happier lives by finding new ways to provide intensive care, using heart pumps to help weak hearts, and, in some cases, doing heart transplant surgery. 

Dr. Van’t Hof is a Minnesota native and cardiologist at the U of M Medical School and M Health Fairview. His clinical interests include early detection of cardiovascular disease to prevent or delay the onset of cardiovascular events, familial hypercholesterolemia, resistant hypertension and disparities in heart health. He believes in an integrative treatment approach combining lifestyle alterations with evidence-based medical therapy to maximize physical and mental health and quality of life.

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