American Heart Month / flu epidemic / new how-to book for talking with the elderly: Mayo Clinic Radio

Cardiovascular

American Heart Month / flu epidemic / new how-to book for talking with the elderly: Mayo Clinic Radio

By
Joel Streed

February 11, 2018

Heart disease is the No. 1 killer in America, accounting for 1 in every 4 deaths each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Heart disease describes a range of conditions that affect your heart. Diseases under the heart disease umbrella include blood vessel diseases, such as coronary artery disease; heart rhythm problems (arrhythmias); and heart defects you're born with (congenital heart defects). The term "cardiovascular disease" often is used interchangeably with the term "heart disease." Cardiovascular disease generally refers to conditions that involve narrowed or blocked blood vessels that can lead to a heart attack, chest pain (angina) or stroke. To raise awareness and prevent heart disease, the American Heart Association has declared February American Heart Month.

On the next Mayo Clinic Radio program, Dr. Stephen Kopecky, a cardiologist at Mayo Clinic, will discuss heart disease treatment and prevention. Also on the program, Dr. Gregory Poland, an infectious diseases specialist at Mayo Clinic, will have an update on flu season. And the mother-daughter duo, Eileen Opatz Berger and Joan Berger Bachman, will share their new how-to book for talking with the elderly, If Only You Would Ask.

Here's your Mayo Clinic Radio podcast.