AIR DATE FEBRUARY 17, 2022

Title: Heart Health

Ensuring a healthy heart requires attention to multiple facets of your lifestyle. Emily learns about what we can do to keep our hearts happy.

Guests and Locations

American Heart Association, Executive Director – LaSonia Landry

Orlando Health Heart & Vascular Institute, Cardiologist/President – Farhan J. Khawaja, MD

Advice for Living a Heart-Healthy Lifestyle

Ensuring a healthy heart requires attention to multiple facets of your lifestyle. There is no singular miracle cure to better heart health. Let us learn about the local Orlando programs that support heart health, as well as what we can do to keep our hearts happy.

Join me as I speak with LaSonia Landry, executive director of the American Heart Association in Orlando, and Dr. Farhan Khawaja, a cardiologist and president of the Orlando Health Heart and Vascular Institute.

American Heart Association in Orlando

The AHA supports individuals who have had a cardiac event via their support network. It’s a wonderful platform for individuals to connect over their experience, receive guidance, and talk about their recovery. Aside from their support network, research is at the heart of what they do- from CPR to improving pacemakers.

There are many ways you can get involved with the American Heart Association in Orlando. LaSonia explains, “We have three signature events. We have a heart walk, which is held annually at UCF. And then we have a heart ball, which is our gala event, and then a luncheon that is geared towards women and heart health.”

Anyone can participate in those events, so get moving, Orlando. With the right lifestyle changes, you can help prevent heart disease through activities like walking 30 minutes a day, cutting out unnecessary sugar, and getting your heart pumping.

Orlando Health Heart and Vascular Institute

Orlando’s Heart and Vascular Institute hosts 60 cardiologists, 8 vascular surgeons, and 5 cardiac surgeons. They serve the Orlando community at the Orlando Health Hospital for any heart condition 24/7 each day of the year.

Dr. Farhan Khawaja explains, “We also have 24 different clinic locations across the community where we take care of usual chronic conditions that can be seen in the office. And we see those Monday through Friday.”

He suggests the best ways to live a heart-healthy lifestyle are not smoking, exercising 15-30 minutes a day several times per week, and following a Mediterranean diet. The Mediterranean diet uses olive oil for cooking, fresh fruits and veggies, lean meats, and minimal bread.

The DASH diet, which is low sodium, high potassium, and high in vitamins, is also excellent for individuals with high blood pressure.

Aside from diet, monitoring one’s blood pressure is essential. Frequently get your blood pressure checked- at home, a local pharmacy, or your doctor- to be aware of your number.

The biggest takeaway is that 90% of heart conditions are preventable, so a large part of our health really comes down to the choices we make daily.

You can find a wealth of resources at the Orlando Heart Institute website or at the American Diabetes Association website for dietary information.