'Sex is bad for the heart'

On the contrary, sex is good for the heart. The morphine-like opiates and other feel-good hormones our own body secretes during sex or during any happy activity or thought process we have, the physical exercise during sex, and the healthy outlet it provides both partners, actually benefit the heart. Only those with untreated coronary artery disease or heart failure could get into trouble during sex. With proper treatment and medical guidance, these patients can indulge in sex safely. Heart attack is a treacherous enemy. It must be detected and treated before it strikes. This is why medical consultation is important among men or women over 40 years old, or among the younger ones who have symptoms or concerns about their health.

'Heart disease is inherited'

Rarely, certain congenital (inborn) structural defects of the heart may be genetic, but in general, we cannot blame our ancestry for the heart diseases that are very common today, like coronary artery disease (cause of heart attacks), or heart valve diseases (due to rheumatic fever). Although some families seem to be more prone to heart attacks, and the traits could be a part of the genes, the important causative factors in this situation are mostly not heredity but environmental - the lifestyle of the family members. These significant etiologic factors include smoking, eating red meat, eggs and other high cholesterol foods, lack of exercise, obesity, unmanaged stress, hypercholesterolemia (elevated cholesterol blood level), untreated hypertension, diabetes mellitus (especially the poorly controlled ones).

'Children of heart attack

victims will have the same fate'

This is not true. Even if both parents had heart attacks or coronary artery disease, their children are not necessarily condemned to the same fate, provided the children live a healthier lifestyle, unlike their parents. If these children stay on low cholesterol diet, eat fish (instead of red meat), a lot of vegetables, fruits, and high fiber foods, do not smoke, exercise at least 5 times a week, maintain a normal weight, know how to relax and manage stress, they can escape significant coronary artery disease.

'Women rarely have heart disease'

Wrong. As one of the old cigarette commercials stated "You've come a long way, Baby." Since today's modern women have entered the "men's world," working, smoking, drinking, competing, hustling like men, they have indeed "come a long way," approximating men in most respects, even in the incidence of coronary artery disease and heart attacks among them. Young women as a rule have greater resistance to coronary artery disease because of the protective effects of the female sex hormone called estrogen. However, women with an unhealthy lifestyle negate the benefits of estrogen and suffer heart disease like men. The 2 to 1 (male to female) vulnerability has been narrowing the past 3 decades.

'Executives are prime victims of heart attacks'

Not so. We used to believe that top job responsibility and stressful executive positions led to higher incidence of heart attacks. Recent studies have proven this to be a fallacy. In a study, bartenders were found to be more vulnerable to heart attacks than barbers, and barbers more prone than physicians. In another series, blue collar workers were found to be more susceptible to heart attacks than supervisory personnel and executives. It is obvious that lifestyle, and not the line of work, position or rank, is more of the determinant factor in heart attacks.

'Persons younger than 40 do not get heart disease'

Another myth. The youngest patient we did coronary bypass surgery on in Indiana, USA, was a 28-year-old diabetic Caucasian female, who had very high cholesterol level, high blood pressure, and was a cigarette smoker. At Cebu Cardiovascular Center in Cebu City, the youngest heart bypass patient we had was a 34-year-old man. Coronary artery disease does not respect any age, gender, or any person who abuses himself/herself with an unhealthy lifestyle.

'Exercise damages the heart'

Definitely not. The heart can take a lot more challenges than one can imagine. It is one of the strongest muscular organs in the human body. Exercise has beneficial effects on the heart. Even heart attack patients who have recovered from the acute phase are prescribed an exercise regimen. Exercise dilates (opens wider) coronary arteries that supply the heart muscles with oxygen and nutrition. The benefits conferred by regular moderate exercise are "cumulative and lasting." If in doubt about your fitness to do exercises, consult your physician.

'High blood pressure is due to heart disease'

This is another misinformation. The reverse is true: untreated or poorly controlled hypertension (high blood pressure) can lead to coronary artery disease, or even heart failure. High blood pressure is, in most cases, essential or idiopathic (cause unknown), but definitely not due to heart disease. High blood pressure taxes the heart and makes the cardiac muscles work harder, and in many cases, this causes cardiac hypertrophy (enlarged heart). Early effective treatment for hypertension reduces morbidity and prolongs life.

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