Diet and Lifestyle
BDO: If you could think back, what was your diet and lifestyle like during that time?
MN: My diet wasn’t good. I moved from California to East Tennessee where there is a lot of fast food and high sodium foods that I was eating. The problem was that I wasn’t exercising. I really wasn’t paying attention to myself. I was just masking things off as something else other than what I thought it could be. If I were to go back, I would do things differently.
BDO: How do you manage your cardiovascular failure today?
MN: With a low to no sodium diet. I increased my activity. I sit in front of a computer all day so I manage to get up every hour and move around. Then, I walk around the building, walk around the office, go home walk the puppies more in the evening. I am also on a medication that my doctor introduced me to, Entresto, and I just take it according to the instructions that he has given me.
What is Heart Failure?
BDO: Beth, as a medical professional, can you give us the definition of heart failure? What are its most common symptoms, and why are Blacks at an increased risk?
Beth Towery Davidson (BTD): Heart failure is a chronic, progressive condition. It’s where the heart cannot pump enough blood and oxygen to meet the demands of the body.
Because of this ineffective pumping, the most common signs are 1. shortness of breath, 2. fatigue, and 3. swelling in the feet, the legs, and the abdomen.
Blacks are definitely at an increased risk because they have other comorbid conditions that could pre-expose them to heart failure. In the Black community, we know that there is a lot of uncontrolled high blood pressure. That often leads to chronic kidney disease. There’s a lot of obesity. Not having an ideal body weight can be a risk factor for heart failure.
BDO: Why is the need for hospitalization a sign of danger for people dealing with heart failure?