Protecting your heart

By 2050, more than half of American adults are projected to have heart disease. Read on to know what you do now to lower your risk

Heart disease remains the number one cause of death in the U.S. Even though cardiovascular disease has been the leading cause of death in this country for 100 years, more than half of the people who responded to a Harris poll on the topic were not aware of this fact. And the risk of being diagnosed with some form of heart disease is projected to continue rising, with 61% of American adults living with heart disease by 2050.

Several factors underline the continued growth of heart disease and deaths related to cardiovascular conditions. The U.S. population is aging, with more than 22% of the population projected to be over 65 in 25 years. A more diverse population also plays a role in the increase. Black and Hispanic adults have disproportionately higher rates of heart disease and heart disease risk factors. In addition, the number of people who are overweight or obese and those who have diabetes continues to grow, both powerful risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

What conditions fall into the category of heart disease?

The most well-known cardiovascular conditions are heart attack and stroke, but there are a range of conditions that fall into the category of heart disease and can have a significant impact on your health and longevity if not well managed. Those include:

• Coronary artery disease or atherosclerosis: The arteries that supply blood, oxygen, and nutrients to the heart become narrowed by the buildup of plaque.
• Vascular disease: Problems with the blood vessels reduce blood flow throughout the body, leading to conditions such as peripheral artery disease, carotid artery disease, and others.
• Heart failure: The heart no longer pumps blood efficiently.
• Arrhythmia or rhythm disorders: The heart beats too fast (tachycardia), too slowly (bradycardia), or irregularly (atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, and other rhythm disorders that affect the electrical activity in the chambers of the heart).
• Heart valve problems: One or more valves don’t open enough for adequate blood flow (stenosis); valves don’t close correctly, allowing blood to leak past the valve (regurgitation); and mitral valve prolapse (valves become loose and bulge back into the heart’s upper left chamber when the heart contracts).
• Congenital heart disease: Structural heart problems develop before you are born, such as septal defects, Tetralogy of Fallot, and patent ductus arteriosus (a hole in the aorta).
• Infections: Bacteria and viruses cause infections, including endocarditis (infection affecting the lining of heart valves), pericarditis (infection affecting the sac that covers the heart’s surface), and myocarditis (infection of the heart muscle), that can damage the heart.

Know the symptoms of heart disease

While some of the early symptoms of heart disease are “silent,” there are changes in your health that could be related to heart disease and that you should discuss with your healthcare provider, including:

• Ongoing fatigue: Fatigue can be caused by something as simple as not getting enough good quality sleep, but extreme, ongoing fatigue can be caused by heart disease. Because fatigue is a symptom of a wide range of health issues, it’s important to talk with your healthcare provider, who can refer you for tests to determine the underlying cause of your fatigue.
• Shortness of breath: When caused by heart disease, this can occur during activity, at rest, and even while you’re lying down or sleeping.
• Cough or wheezing: You might not think of these symptoms as being related to heart disease, but when the heart is not pumping efficiently, fluid can build up in your lungs and cause you to cough or wheeze.
• Chest pain or discomfort: Both poor blood flow to the heart and heart attack can cause pain in the chest, neck, and upper abdomen, which is also called angina.
• Swelling in the feet and/or legs: Another symptom of the heart pumping inefficiently. Swelling in the feet and/or legs, also called edema, occurs when poor blood flow causes fluid buildup. Edema can also occur in the stomach area and can cause unexplained weight gain.
• Dizziness: Problems with the heart valves and blockages in your arteries that cause blood pressure to drop can result in feeling dizzy or lightheaded.
• Pain while walking: If you experience hip or leg cramps while moving that stop when you rest or your extremities feel cold without an obvious cause, you could have plaque buildup in the leg arteries (peripheral artery disease).
• Discolored skin: Blocked arteries or veins or heart infections can cause your skin, especially on your extremities, to look purplish or gray due to reduced blood flow. Brown or red spots on the palms or soles of the feet are another symptom.
• Palpitations: While excitement, anxiety, and even too much caffeine or alcohol can cause your heart to beat too fast or irregularly, palpitations can also be a symptom of a heart rhythm disorder.

Strategies to lower your heart disease risk

The first step to building a personalized strategy to lower your risk of cardiovascular disease is knowing your personal and family medical history and sharing it with your healthcare team. Your Pinnaclecare Health Advisor can help you gather this information and include it in your comprehensive medical records.

If a family member was diagnosed with any type of heart disease, your risk for developing cardiovascular disease is higher than average. In addition, if your biological mother, father, sister, or brother had a heart attack before the age of 50, your risk of cardiovascular disease, heart attack, and stroke increases. If you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and/or prediabetes or diabetes, you are also at an increased risk of developing heart disease.

Changes to your lifestyle can help you lower your risk:

• Eliminate smoking, vaping, or use of any other tobacco products.
• Be active on a regular basis, aiming for 150 minutes of aerobic exercise a week. If you’re not currently active, talk with your healthcare provider about a safe approach to exercise and start with shorter, less taxing activities like walking.
• Choose healthy foods and work to reach and maintain a healthy weight.
• Limit your alcohol consumption.
• Get an adequate amount of good quality sleep.
• Manage stress.
• Get recommended health screenings, including blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar tests.

Connect with PinnacleCare for support

Being knowledgeable about your risk of heart disease and having the right team of medical providers to help you manage your health is imperative to your longevity to coordinate and manage your medical care to get you to the right care at the right time.  Contact our member relationship team to inquire how PinnacleCare can assist you and your family.

PinnacleCare is a member of the Sun Life Financial Inc. (“Sun Life”) family of companies. PinnacleCare and its employees do not diagnose medical conditions, recommend treatment options or provide medical care, and any information or services provided should not be considered medical advice. Any medical decisions should be made only after consultation with and at the direction of your medical provider. Any person or entity who provides health care services following a referral or other service provided does so independently and not as an agent or representative of PinnacleCare.

© 2025 PinnacleCare International, LLC, Baltimore, MD. All rights reserved.

PCWC-10116-10  #1597563988 02/25 (exp. 02/27)