The Importance of Cardiac Health: A Family’s Life-Changing Experience
Kevin Murray, a 72-year-old Tampa dad, knows the importance of cardiac health firsthand. In 2003, he nearly died from an undiagnosed heart condition and had to undergo emergency bypass surgery. This experience shaped the rest of his life, and he makes it a point to prioritize his cardiac health. Every year, Murray goes for a cardiology check-up, and in 2021, he changed doctors. His new cardiologist gave him an advanced scan called a cardiac CT, which produces a 3-D image of the heart and arteries, allowing doctors and patients to see any problems clearly.
Murray’s test came back clear, but it made him think about his family. His parents and grandfather had all been diagnosed with heart disease, and his brother Patrick, then 67, had recently begun experiencing fatigue and breathing problems. After several conversations, Murray convinced his younger brother to get the scan in late 2022. Patrick’s scan showed “significant blockages” in his arteries, and he was at high risk for a dangerous cardiac event, requiring immediate open-heart surgery.
The operation resolved Patrick’s symptoms, and encouraged Murray’s three other brothers to get the same test. Each member of the Murray family was found to have advanced heart disease and needed surgery. “My brothers and I are very grateful that we could avoid a real catastrophe, which is what we were on the brink of,” Murray told CBS News. The family’s experience highlights the importance of prioritizing cardiac health, especially for those with a family history of heart disease.
A “Look Inside the Heart”
Family history of heart disease is the largest warning sign for a cardiac event, according to Dr. Mark Russo, professor and chief of cardiac surgery at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey. Anyone with multiple instances of heart disease in their family tree should talk to their doctor about how to best monitor their cardiac health. The Murrays all saw the same cardiologist, Dr. Alberto Morales, who used Arineta’s SpotLight cardiovascular CT scanner on about 10,000 patients, including the Murrays.
The device can image the entire heart and cardiac system in seconds, Morales said, and is noninvasive, using less radiation than a full-body CT scanner. Russo compared the test to a mammogram for the heart, allowing doctors to look inside the heart and see disease developing. “It actually allows you to look inside the heart and see disease developing. We use blood pressure and cholesterol as markers, but those are risk factors. So you can have high blood pressure, you can have high cholesterol, but that doesn’t necessarily define the presence or absence of disease,” Russo said.
Morales said that about 80% of the patients he sees have no symptoms but are diagnosed with heart disease after receiving the cardiac CT scan. Patients can have blockages that occlude 80 or 90% of their artery without having symptoms, he said. When heart disease is identified, Morales helps patients incorporate medication, lifestyle changes, and other treatment options into their lives to avert a major cardiac event like a heart attack.
“You Can’t Fight Genetics”
For the Murrays, receiving cardiac CTs was life-changing and potentially life-saving. Like their older brothers, Larry and Michael each had open-heart surgery. Tim was on the edge of a widowmaker heart attack, despite years of healthy living, and needed three stents, Murray said. Each brother came through their operation successfully and now sees Morales regularly.
Murray recommends cardiac CTs to anybody he talks to “if they even mention cardiovascular health.” He’s also made sure his son and nephews know about their risk of heart disease. Russo said that anyone wondering about their family health history should take advantage of holiday gatherings to check in with relatives. “You can’t fight genetics,” Murray said. “You can change your diet, you can maintain your exercise regimen, but the genetics are a problem. I was very grateful that the technology existed so they could determine that my brothers did indeed have problems. Now, they’re doing fantastically well.”
Read more about the importance of cardiac health and the role of cardiac CT scans in detecting heart disease Here
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