You’ve heard about the importance of heart health, but are you up to date on the latest science? In this deep-dive episode of The Duration Wellness Show, Dr. Khadeeja Esmail, a board-certified cardiologist and associate professor, breaks down the current landscape of cardiovascular prevention. She reveals the most critical, often-missed risk factors, including the link between pregnancy conditions (like preeclampsia) and future heart disease, and the silent dangers of high blood pressure and obesity. Dr. Esmail details the components of your lipid panel you must know—like ApoB and the newly emphasized Lipoprotein(a)—and shares practical, non-medication strategies, from the Mediterranean diet to prioritizing 7-9 hours of sleep. Discover the simple but powerful changes you can make today to stabilize vulnerable plaque and drastically reduce your risk of a heart attack.
Study links/websites:
NIH: Healthy sleep pattern reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease: A 10-year prospective cohort study
BMJ: Insomnia symptom trajectories and incident cardiovascular disease in older adults: a longitudinal cohort study
Free Lp(a) testing: Familyheartfamilyheart.org/high-lipoprotein-a