Heart Disease Prevention

There are many types of heart disease, each with its own set of symptoms and long‑term risks. Without proper treatment, heart disease can result in a stroke, heart attack or heart failure.

Some of the most common types of heart disease are:

• Aortic disease: The aorta (the valve between the lower left heart chamber and your body) becomes damaged or bursts, affecting how blood circulates to your heart.
• Cardiomyopathy: This makes it difficult for your heart to pump and deliver blood throughout your body.
• Congenital heart disease: An abnormality or defect in the structure of your heart develops before birth.
• Coronary heart disease: Plaque buildup narrows coronary arteries and restricts blood flow to your heart.
• Valvular heart disease: The valves of your heart can’t effectively pump blood in or out of your heart.

Symptoms of heart disease may include:

• Chest pain
• Fatigue or weakness
• Feeling dizzy or faint
• Irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia or palpitations)
• Shortness of breath, even when at rest 

Half of all people who experience a heart attack have neither symptoms nor any knowledge that they are at risk until the catastrophic event occurs. Yet with current treatments and preventive measures, about 80% of heart attacks could be prevented. 

The best way to prevent heart disease is to manage lifestyle risk factors. You may:

• Eat heart‑healthy foods: A healthy meal plan includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains and fish. If you’re at high risk for heart disease, you may need to watch your salt intake. Nutrition Counseling Services at Cedars‑Sinai can customize nutrition therapy to address your needs.
• Exercise five days a week: The American Heart Association recommends 30 minutes of moderate‑intensity activity five days a week.
• Get enough sleep: Aim for six to eight hours a night to lower your risk of high blood pressure, stroke and heart attack.
• Know your numbers: Understanding your blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels will help you keep them in a healthy range.
• Limit alcohol consumption: For men, the limit is two drinks per day. For women, the limit is one per day.
• Quit smoking: At Cedars‑Sinai, we offer Smoking Cessation Support to help you stop smoking for good.
• Take your prescription medications: Your doctor may prescribe medications to control conditions contributing to heart disease like diabetes and high blood pressure. Make sure to take them as directed.

If you’re not sure if you need a cardiac evaluation, consult with one of our cardiologists. Be proactive about preventing heart disease to protect your heart health.

You may need a cardiac risk assessment, diagnosis or treatment due to your age or sex or because you had:

• Abnormal electrocardiogram
• Chest pain
• Dizziness or fatigue
• Heart murmur
• History of a heart attack
• History of rheumatic fever
• Hypertension
• Irregular heart rhythms or palpitations
• Previous cardiac surgery or procedure
• Shortness of breath

The experts at the Smidt Heart Institute will consider your risk factors, lifestyle and health history to determine your next steps. Diagnosing risk factors early and treating conditions before they become serious can help you prevent heart disease.

Utilizing guidelines from the Society for Heart Attack Prevention and Eradication (SHAPE), our program provides early screening for the detection of the earliest signs of heart disease.

We recommend noninvasive atherosclerosis imaging tests for at‑risk men over age 45 and at-risk women over age 55. You may have:

• Coronary calcium scanning (CCS)
• Carotid artery intima‑media thickness (CIMT)

Both tests have been shown to assess heart attack risk far more effectively than measuring risk factors, even when you don’t have any symptoms of heart disease. Research has now found these two noninvasive, painless and quick scans can detect the first signs of heart attack risk, allowing you to change your lifestyle to reduce your risk.

Coronary Calcium Scan

A coronary calcium scan is a noninvasive exam which looks for specks of calcium (calcifications) in the walls of the coronary arteries. The coronary arteries are the vessels that supply oxygen‑containing blood to the heart wall. Calcium is an early sign of coronary artery disease. The calcium score gives an idea of whether coronary artery disease is present or likely to develop despite a lack of symptoms.

A coronary calcium scan is simple and easy. During the test:

1. You lie in a scanner machine. There is no injection. 
2. The CT scanner takes images that measure how much calcium has accumulated in your coronary arteries. We use a state‑of-the-art, 128-slice, dual-source CT scanner which is many times faster than a conventional CT scanner.
3. You hold your breath for two brief periods while the scanner takes images. The test only takes about five minutes.

Carotid Intima‑Media Thickness Test

The carotid intima‑media thickness test helps diagnose the extent of carotid atherosclerotic vascular disease. The test measures the thickness of the inner two layers of the carotid artery—the intima and media—and alerts doctors to any thickening before you have any symptoms.

Doctors use CIMT testing to determine the “age” of the carotid arteries. During the test:

1. We apply a thick gel, similar to the consistency of hairstyling gel, to the skin of your neck.
2. A diagnostic medical sonographer or doctor moves a transducer, a small microphone‑like device, over your neck and sends sound waves into your body.
3. Sound waves bounce off the carotid arteries. This creates “echoes” that are reflected back to the transducer, which converts them to electronic signals. 
4. A computer then processes the signals into pictures and shows them on a computer monitor.

At the Preventive Heart Center, you have access to the newest approaches for preventing and treating heart attacks. Our team offers the highest quality of care at one of the most recognized institutes for heart disease in the world.

More than 70 healthcare professionals are members of the Preventive Heart Center team. These interdisciplinary experts:

• Apply new and innovative treatment options
• Develop quality care initiatives to improve patient outcomes
• Learn practice‑changing results of recent clinical trials
• Participate in clinical research projects

To keep its members engaged, the Preventive Heart Center hosts about 15 to 20 lectures a year in which top doctors from across the nation discuss the latest detection, prevention and treatment options in cardiology. In addition, the center holds quarterly meetings among its experts to examine new research findings and recent clinical guidelines, and to discuss methods for delivering optimal patient care.