HEART MYTHS: “Nobody in my family has heart disease, so I’m not
going to get it.”

Believe that? If so, you bought into one of several heart
“myths” which cardiologists frequently hear from their
patients.

A reality check today from the University of Wisconsin School of
Medicine and Public Health.

Let’s start with that first myth. Dr. James Stein, director of
the Preventive Cardiology Program, reports that only 47 percent of
people with heart disease have a family history of the disease –
which means the other 53 percent develop it in the absence of an
obvious genetic component.

“Risk factors like unhealthy eating habits and a sedentary
lifestyle predict heart disease. The presence of any risk factors
increases your risk of developing heart disease. But not having a
family history does not protect you.”

Myth 2: “I don’t have high blood pressure. My bottom number has
always been normal.”

It’s true that, when you’re young, the bottom number is a marker
of heart disease and stroke risk. But after the age of 35 or 40
years, the key number to pay attention to is the top number. “As
you age, your arteries get stiffer, and as a result, the top number
goes up and the bottom number goes down. Actually, a low bottom
number is very dangerous.”

Myth 3: “My angiography showed that I have an artery with a 50
percent blockage. We just have to take care of that one spot,
right?” Unfortunately, no. Atherosclerosis – sometimes called
“hardening of the arteries” – is a diffuse disease. Chances are, if
you have one blockage that is easy to see, you almost assuredly
have blockages elsewhere that are harder to see.

Myth 4: “I’m thin and I’m in shape. I don’t have to worry about
bad cholesterol.” Obese patients may be more likely to suffer from
cholesterol issues but cholesterol is largely genetic.

Myth 5: “I stopped taking my cholesterol medication because my
cholesterol improved. I didn’t think I needed them any more.”
Cholesterol medications, including statins, aren’t like
antibiotics, which can be stopped once the infection has been
resolved. The protective benefits of cholesterol medications
disappear once a patient stops taking them.