Heart Month is well underway, and the medical experts at DHR Health in Edinburg are reminding Rio Grande Valley residents to be proactive about preventing heart disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S. according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Unfortunately, in the Valley we have an abundance of cardiovascular risk factors,” Fiorella Llanos, a general interventional cardiologist at DHR, said. “We have so much hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol and obesity. So we see a lot of coronary artery disease and a lot of peripheral vascular disease, which are two terms to describe the buildup of calcium, cholesterol, and fat in the arteries of the heart and the arteries of the leg, respectively.”
Llanos said the high rate of cardiovascular risk factors in the Valley is multifactorial. She said the high risk could be attributed to genetics and unhealthy diets as a result of the RGV’s mouthwatering cuisine.
“Here, the food is really, really good,” Llanos, a native of Lima, Peru, said. “Obviously, it’s high in carbohydrates and high in fats. It’s very processed. It’s a global pandemic — hypertension, diabetes and cholesterol — but the incidents of those risk factors in the Valley are greater.”
Heart disease can be more aggressive in the Hispanic and the Southeast Asian communities, she said, describing the issue at hand as very complex — and one that can also be traced to early patterns of obesity and diabetes.
“I would tell patients don’t wait until you have an issue to start taking care of yourself,” Llanos said. “Blockages in the arteries of any part of the heart or the body — they don’t build up overnight. They build up over decades of uncontrolled risk factors.
“I always tell my patients that how we live our lives today is not how we’re going to live in 20 or 30 years from now,” she said.
She doesn’t want her patients to avoid the food of their culture, but she recommends eating smaller portions with a healthy balance of leaner cuts of meat and more fruits and vegetables.
Aside from healthier diets, Llanos also stressed the importance of staying active
“Stay healthy and stay active,” Llanos said. “It’s easier said than done. Any type of activity is helpful. Let’s say you don’t have time to go exercise in a gym, try parking your car a little bit farther in the store. If you have to go upstairs, avoid using an elevator. If you have a desk job, make it a habit to stand up every hour or two and walk around the office or the parking lot so that you remain active.”
Individuals who do not take heed of Llanos’s advice run the risk of meeting Daniel Martinez, a cardiothoracic surgeon at DHR.
Martinez said the most common type of surgery he performs is open heart surgery, particularly bypass surgery.
“That’s the bread and butter for us,” Martinez said. “It’s the most common operation in the country, bypass surgery.”
Like Llanos, Martinez said local eating habits and sedentary lifestyles are part of the genetic makeup for Valley residents.
“Overall, we’re not the most healthiest people in the world,” Martinez said. “It’s a disease of the advanced world.”
