Welcome to my podcast. I am Doctor Warrick Bishop, and I want to help you to live as well as possible for as long as possible. I’m a practising cardiologist, best-selling author, keynote speaker, and the creator of The Healthy Heart Network. I have over 20 years as a specialist cardiologist and a private practice of over 10,000 patients.
In this podcast, Dr. Warrick Bishop discusses the importance of understanding family history and cholesterol levels in assessing cardiovascular disease risk. He emphasizes that a significant family history involves first-degree relatives who experienced cardiac events at a young age—males under 55 and females under 60—without other major risk factors. Dr. Bishop clarifies that having a distant relative with a cardiovascular event at an older age does not necessarily increase one's risk. He outlines cholesterol categories, indicating that for those with a previous cardiac event, an LDL cholesterol level above 1.4 millimoles per liter is considered high. For primary prevention, individuals with familial hypercholesterolemia may have total cholesterol levels exceeding 7.8 and LDL levels over 4.9. He highlights the continuum of cholesterol levels and the need for proactive treatment for individuals with very high cholesterol and a family history of heart disease. Dr. Bishop uses an analogy of parking a car by the sea to explain how LDL cholesterol can lead to plaque formation over time. He encourages listeners to engage with the podcast by asking questions and suggesting future topics. Overall, the podcast aims to enhance medical literacy regarding cardiovascular risks and cholesterol management.
Takeaways:
- Family Risk Definition: Family history of cardiovascular disease is significant when it involves first-degree relatives (parents, siblings, or children) who had cardiac events at younger ages: males under 55 and females under 60.
- Age Consideration: A family history involving distant relatives or events occurring at older ages does not necessarily increase an individual’s cardiovascular risk.
- Cholesterol Context: Understanding what constitutes high cholesterol requires context, particularly distinguishing between primary and secondary prevention based on prior cardiovascular events.
- LDL Cholesterol Levels: For secondary prevention (individuals with prior events), an LDL cholesterol level over 1.4 millimoles per liter is considered high, necessitating treatment.
- Familial Hypercholesterolemia: Individuals with familial hypercholesterolemia may have significantly elevated cholesterol levels, with total cholesterol over 7.8 and LDL over 4.9 millimoles per liter.
- Cholesterol Guidelines: Current guidelines suggest that total cholesterol above 7.5 millimoles per liter should prompt immediate consideration for cholesterol-lowering therapy.
- Desirable Cholesterol Levels: Desirable cholesterol levels are defined as total cholesterol below 5.2 and LDL below 3.4 millimoles per liter.
- Continuum of Risk: Cholesterol levels exist on a continuum, and even individuals with low cholesterol can develop arterial plaque, highlighting the complexity of cardiovascular risk assessment.
- Environmental Analogy: The analogy of parking a car near the sea illustrates how prolonged exposure to high LDL cholesterol can lead to plaque formation, similar to rust on a car.
- Patient Engagement: The podcast encourages listener engagement through questions and suggestions for future topics, emphasizing the importance of shared knowledge in improving medical literacy.
Australia, like the rest of the western world, has a heart problem.
Over 9 million people around the world die from heart disease every year.
Every 10 minutes, someone in Australia suffers a heart attack. And 21 lives are lost daily because of it.
The devastating fact in all of this is…
Almost every one of those cases could have been prevented.
This podcast is for anyone who wants to improve their health literacy and gain information to help them make the best decisions about their risk of heart attack, their cholesterol, blood pressure, risk of diabetes, weight loss and general health. Join me on my personal mission journey to prevent Heart Attack on a global scale. If you like this podcast, I would be honoured by a 5-star review and appreciate if you let your friends and family know about this podcast; you may even save the life of someone you love!
Are You at Risk of a Sudden Heart Attack? How Healthy is Your Heart? Really?
Heart disease is the #1 killer in the Western World. In Australia, someone dies every 28 minutes from heart disease. That’s 51 people a day. In the US, someone has a heart attack every 40 SECONDS! Fortunately, many heart attacks are preventable. However, regular exercise and eating healthy are no guarantee you won’t succumb to this silent killer.
- 94% of Australians have at least One Risk Factor for heart disease.
- 59% of Australians have been Touched by heart disease.
- Yet only 3% of Australians have had a Full Heart-Health Assessment in the past 12 months.
Do the free heart check today at www.virtualheartcheck.com.au
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The Healthy Heart Network is designed to help members:
- understand the present state of their heart’s health
- recognise their current level of risk of suffering a heart attack
- Learn the positive steps they can take to improve their situation
Visit https://healthyheartnetwork.com/ and click on the JOIN THE FAMILY BUTTON
