Mason DMC Interview

Beasley Digital

4/17/2025

Mason DMC Interview

Transcript

00:00Dr. Al-Khatib, who is a heart specialist at the DMC, we're going to talk about all the things

00:07that can keep us healthy and try to keep us from going in the operating room with you.

00:15Heart disease and stroke are, with the stress of COVID-19, it seems to, well, it has increased

00:24some, huh, would you say? Well, that's definitely true. With the stress of the current pandemic

00:31situation, people's lifestyles have changed, and it is, you know, we are seeing an uptick in problems

00:39related to heart disease. Yeah. When we think of heart disease, what would be some of the signs

00:48that we would see that we know we need to get to the DMC right away? Yeah. Very important question.

00:56So the signs and symptoms that we often encounter, number one, any sort of chest discomfort, and I

01:05particularly describe it as a discomfort because oftentimes patients don't say they have a pain,

01:12but they'll describe a tightness or a heaviness in the chest, sometimes a burning or squeezing

01:20sensation. And this can often occur with any sort of exertion or emotional stress. So that's kind of

01:27one of the warning signs. Also shortness of breath. So when you're carrying in the groceries from the car

01:36and climbing up a few steps and you get really out of breath where you have to stop and

01:42huff and puff to catch your breath, also a warning sign, and that's something you should pay attention

01:46to. Heart pounding or thumping, especially if it's accompanied with dizziness or lightheadedness,

01:55it can be a sign of an arrhythmia. Also a warning sign to perhaps see your doctor.

02:03How would you, and doctor, if you can explain the difference between feeling those symptoms

02:09for a heart attack and feeling those symptoms for a stroke, is there a difference or is it the same?

02:17No, there certainly is a difference. So a heart attack type symptoms, typically what I described

02:23with chest discomfort, getting out of breath, stroke will usually present with neurologic signs

02:31or symptoms. So for example, paralysis or weakness in the face or the extremities, not being able to

02:40speak right or get words out, having a weakness in the arms or legs, things like that indicate perhaps

02:50a stroke. Also concerning symptoms. All right, so now we've got an idea what the symptoms should be.

02:56Of course we want you to get to the DMC right away if you feel any of that discomfort that you described

03:03for us. How do we avoid it? Let's talk prevention a little bit. What should we be doing on a daily basis?

03:14Yeah, very important topic there. The good news, the silver lining is that much of heart disease is

03:21actually preventable. It's estimated that 80% of heart disease is preventable if we take the right

03:26steps. Yep. That's a big number, 80%. That's right, that's right. So there are definitely steps we can

03:34take on a daily basis to reduce our risk. It all starts with knowing the risk factors and tackling those

03:42risk factors. They include smoking, okay, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes,

03:53and, you know, lack of exercise and sedentary lifestyle and poor nutrition. A lot of it revolves

03:58around that. And of course, family history. And so we need to tackle those risk factors and making sure

04:05everything from the diet to controlling the blood pressure to all these things to help reduce the risk.

04:10We talk about diet. How much exercise should we get in? A lot of us or a lot of people aren't

04:18athletically inclined to do that type of exercising. But what would you require to just give some

04:26prevention for heart failure? Right. Good question. When we talk about exercise, you know, you don't have

04:33to be an elite athlete. You don't have to be in the gym pumping iron. You know, you don't have to do

04:39sprinting or 5Ks. We just want you to be physically active. And that can be simply walking. Okay. We

04:48just want you to get up and move. Okay. If walking isn't an option, you know, I tell patients to put on

04:57a, put on music, put on a record and just dance. You know, if you can't get out of the house,

05:02there you go, that, that absolutely counts. And you want to work your way up to doing 20 minutes

05:08of physical activity on most days of the week. So, so shoot for five, five days a week of physical

05:15activity for at least 20 minutes. And if you're just starting out, maybe you can only do five or 10

05:20minutes and that's, that's totally fine. If something is better than nothing. Right. And so you want to just

05:26gradually start and work your way up. If you're thinking about starting an exercise program and

05:33you're, you're concerned about heart disease, um, I would encourage to consult with a cardiologist

05:40before starting an exercise program. Can we also, uh, consult with the DMC for a proper diet? A lot of

05:49people are just not really sure what is proper and what isn't. I know leafy, uh, green vegetables,

05:56vegetables is, is at the top of the list, but there's all kinds of things like mushroom and

06:01onions and people don't quite know what is best. Yeah, no, you're, you're absolutely right. And

06:08there, you know, there are resources, uh, we can help you, uh, you know, guide you through a good

06:13diet and good nutrition. We have lots of good advice. If you go to dmc.org slash heart, you can take a

06:21health quiz to determine your heart health. Oh, beautiful. Yep. And there's good advice there

06:26on everything from diet to exercise and, um, you know, pathways to get you seen by a cardiologist

06:33should you need that. So you look like you're about 18 years old. That's very kind of you. I don't feel

06:4118. That's for sure. What, how did you choose this type of medicine? Well, you know, for, for me,

06:50it's, I find it personally very rewarding, um, to, you know, talk to patients, especially in this

06:59community who have, uh, these problems and there's a great, you know, unmet need, uh, out there for,

07:08uh, heart health and it's the number one killer in the United States and 600,000 Americans die each

07:14year from heart disease. And again, our, our community in particular is, is hit hard with

07:19these, um, ailments because of the risk factors we see a lot of high blood pressure. There's a lot

07:25of diabetes. There's a lot of kidney disease. Um, and there's a lot of obesity and poor nutrition

07:31that goes along with that. And so I, I find it rewarding to, uh, you know, tackle this problem.

07:37It's a huge problem. And for me, it just, it keeps me going. If you come in and get a blood test,

07:42would that also help, uh, let you know if, if you've got some, some deeper issues?

07:49Sure. So in terms of detection, there are ways to, you know, detect early, detect a problem before it

07:58becomes a problem, so to speak. And so again, if, if you're concerned, if you have risk factors,

08:04if you're wondering about symptoms, I would encourage you to come see us because just to

08:10give you an example, there's a scan that we can do that can detect calcium deposits in the arteries

08:17of the heart. And that can, you know, that's one way to determine if there's a problem. And so, um,

08:26yes, including blood tests and other diagnostic tests that we, we often do,

08:30we can identify a problem before, you know, become serious.

08:34Very good. Well, Dr. Al-Khati, thank you so much for passing that information along.

08:42Uh, I'm sure from today's session, we're going to save some lives and at least get some people

08:48into the clinic to make sure that they're, they check out. Okay. And again, tell them how to go to

08:54the site to get more information. Absolutely. It's dmc.org slash hearts. Uh, alternatively,

09:03there's a phone number. If you don't have access to the internet, you can call 888-DMC-2500.

09:13Dr. Al-Khati, thank you so much. Appreciate you taking time with us today and thank you. We'll see

09:18you again. Thanks DMC. Thank you. Thanks.

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