77. Heart Health for Athletes | Corey Feldman, MMS, PA-C

2023-07-18

Key Takeaways: • Get blood work done regularly (every 3, 6, 12 months) • Even if you have perfect cholesterol, you should still get your arteries checked for plaque • The first symptom of a heart attack is usually death. So don’t wait until you actually have symptoms to check your heart health Cardiovascular health is extremely important to keep on top of for all people, but especially for athletes. Often, because athletes look healthy on the outside and are performing well, problems can end up...

Key Takeaways:

• Get blood work done regularly (every 3, 6, 12 months)

• Even if you have perfect cholesterol, you should still get your arteries checked for plaque

• The first symptom of a heart attack is usually death. So don’t wait until you actually have symptoms to check your heart health

Cardiovascular health is extremely important to keep on top of for all people, but especially for athletes. Often, because athletes look healthy on the outside and are performing well, problems can end up being missed until it is too late. Not staying on top of heart health is what leads to athletes collapsing on the field or having a heart attack while driving home from a fitness class. In this episode, Corey Feldman, co-owner and primary provider at Tri Vida Functional Medicine, shares his tips for athletes looking to be proactive about their cardiovascular health.

Growing up, athletes are tested in yearly physicals in order to play sports at their schools. Unfortunately, adult athletes are less likely to keep up with these check ups, especially when they appear to be in good shape and are feeling healthy. Even people who have a healthy lifestyle and appear fit may still have genetic predispositions to certain diseases. This is why regardless of current health and fitness level, all people can benefit from regular blood work. By combining frequent testing with lifestyle changes like increased cardiovascular exercise, eating a healthier, more nutritious diet, and getting adequate sleep, athletes can better protect their heart health.

Instead of waiting for symptoms to occur, be proactive about your health and seek out testing from your physician. Look beyond the basics and encourage your physician to test additional things like hormone levels, inflammatory markers, gastrointestinal health, and cholesterol. Don’t wait until something goes wrong to start testing, because most often, the first symptom of a heart attack is simply dropping dead.

Quotes

• “Getting some blood work done every three, six, twelve months would benefit anybody.” (12:43 | Corey)

• “There's so many different inflammatory markers that need to be tested as well to try to find root causes of why your body is inflamed.” (18:05 | Corey)

• “What you need to look at when you're really looking at cholesterol is size, shape, production and transportation of cholesterol.” (20:38 | Corey)

• “The bottom line is you can ask for any test you want. And, if your doctor is not willing to give you the tests you want within reason, go get a new doctor.” (24:00 | Corey)

• “Healthy, unhealthy, whatever you got going on, I'd recommend people do these types of tests… I have seen people with perfect cholesterol, still plaquing in their arteries.” (25:48 | Corey)

• “The first symptom of heart attack is usually death.” (30:52 | Corey)

• “Medication is not the devil and medication is not a failure. Medication is a tool.” (33:47 | Corey)

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