BY ASHLEY TRUJILLO
Daily Press Staff Writer
Denver-based heart specialist Jeffrey L. Boone spoke to Artesia business professionals and area physicians on Thursday at the Chamber of Commerce to encourage an approach to heart health that he believes could someday eliminate the disease.
Traditional medical advice, in reference to preventative care, lends itself primarily to lifestyle issues – encouraging patients to eat a healthy fruit- and vegetable-rich diet, live smoke-free and exercise. Although Boone does not discredit healthy lifestyle advice as a means of reducing one’s risk factors for the disease, he said the country’s current tactics in cardiovascular care “are failing.”
The heart specialist, who is also the Co-Director of the NFL Player Care Foundation Cardiovascular Program and was named by Men’s Health Magazine as one of the Top Doctors for Men in 2007, cited recent American Heart Association findings, which predict the number of people with heart disease to skyrocket by the year 2030.
Currently around 80 million people are affected by some form of cardiovascular disease. Within the next twenty years, the AHA expects that number to run into the 100 millions. Costs, which are presently in the 300 billion dollar range, are predicted to reach around 900 billion dollars. According to the AHA, the hike is mostly due to an aging population. … For the rest of the story, subscribe in print and on the web.
