Heart disease is manageable

“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection,” said Buddha. But it can be difficult to take care of yourself, even when you’ve been told you have a serious medical condition. Evidence of that comes, once again, from a study in JAMA Network Open that looks at how folks who are diagnosed with premature heart disease take their medications.

Although most instances of cardiovascular disease happen to folks ages 65 and older, it’s more and more common for those problems to show up in folks in their 40s, 50s and early 60s. Almost 5% of Americans ages 18 to 44 have heart disease and nearly 12% of those 45 to 64 do.

The JAMA study shows that those people with premature heart disease (men younger than 55; women younger than 65) and those with very premature heart disease (younger than 40) are skipping their meds. Although they’re more likely to be prescribed a high-intensity statin than older folks with heart disease, only around 58% of the folks with premature heart disease take those drugs conscientiously. And younger patients with extremely premature disease are even less compliant:

Only around 52% stick with their regular or high-intensity statin therapy.

One major study found statins can reduce the risk of death from coronary heart disease by 28% over a 20-year span. So, if you have early heart disease, take your statin, upgrade your nutrition, increase your exercise and listen to Buddha.

Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. To live your healthiest, tune into “The Dr. Oz Show” or visit www.sharecare. com.