What Are Americans Doing About Their Heart Health?

The Cleveland Clinic’s recent survey of American dietary choices related to heart health shows that a family history of heart disease tends to prompt people to make better nutrition choices, but many people still struggle to maintain healthy eating habits.

The telephone survey of over 1,000 adults performed in November, 2014, found that about a third of those surveyed have a hard time giving up carbohydrates, a quarter can’t give up red meat and about 15 percent don’t want to break up with chocolate. But modifying these items or eliminating them completely has a significant impact on someone’s heart health, says Robert Kalimi, MD, vice chairman of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery at Southside Hospital in Bay Shore.

Dr. Kalimi has noticed with some of his patients that when they cut red meat and fried foods from their diets, it shows in the levels of fats and cholesterol in their blood.

“I think Americans are not as aware of heart disease as we’d like them to be,” Dr. Kalimi says. “Unfortunately, heart disease still kills about a half a million people in America every year… We can’t change our genetics, but clearly with exercise and the proper nutrition we can certainly help lower the amount of heart disease in the country.”

The American Heart Association encourages people to maintain their weight by burning as many calories through exercise as they ingest. The group also suggests that people’s diets should focus on low-fat dairy, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, poultry, nuts and fish.

North Shore-LIJ and the Cleveland Clinic Heart and Vascular Institute have formed an alliance for superior cardiac care. North Shore University Hospital met the strenuous criteria to become a member of its regional alliance and care coordination network.

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