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As more young adults report high blood pressure, high cholesterol and an inactive lifestyle, cardiologists are seeing increased rates of heart disease among those who are under the age of 40.
During American Heart Month, ETSU Health Cardiology urges young adults to take action to change that trend by getting their friends, family, spouses or significant others involved.
“When we’re young, it’s easy to believe that we have little to no risk of chronic health conditions – that our youth protects us from serious disease, and that there is time to make more health-conscious decisions later in life,” said Dr. Vijay Ramu. “When we see young adults below 40 years of age facing heart disease, heart attacks and stroke, the message we want to share with our community is that it is never too early to care for your heart and your loved ones.”
Family walks through the neighborhood, cooking a heart-healthy meal with your significant other, or setting a fun health challenge with a friend are great, simple steps to improve heart health.
It is also important to monitor your health from an early age, according to Dr. Manar Jbara.
“Life has a fast pace with a lot of stress when we are in our 20s and 30s, and often times we fail to make regular visits to our primary care provider or specialists because we are so busy,” Dr. Jbara said. “However, those visits are an important opportunity to catch early indicators that have a big impact on heart health, including high cholesterol or high blood pressure. Don’t sacrifice the opportunity to improve your health before heart disease can become an issue.”
For those who face heart disease or other heart health problems at any age, ETSU Health Cardiology is available to help. The clinic offers inpatient and outpatient care, imaging, noninvasive testing, and many other services to provide patients with the highest level of care with the least amount of risk.
ETSU Health Cardiology is located at 329 N. State of Franklin Road in Johnson City. For more information, call (423) 979-4100 or visit ETSUHealth.org.
With 30 clinical sites and more than 250 health care providers, ETSU Health is on the front lines of efforts to improve the health of Northeast Tennessee by offering leading-edge health care in dozens of specialties.