Heart Disease

Heart disease causes about 20% of deaths in America, but you can reduce your risk factors and prevent it with help from the caring physicians at Prosperity Internal Medicine. Tarique Zahir, MD, and Taseen Mir, MD, treat you like family, providing support that can help you gain control of your health. Call the Reston, Virginia, office, or schedule an in-person or telehealth appointment using the online booking tool today.

What is heart disease?

Heart disease refers to conditions and structural abnormalities affecting the heart. The most common kind of heart disease is coronary artery disease (CAD). 

CAD happens when the arteries delivering blood (including oxygen and nutrients) to your heart narrow significantly. This problem develops due to atherosclerosis — cholesterol buildup in the arteries. 

There are many other types of heart disease, including those specifically affecting the heart valves, the heart muscle itself, or the heartbeat rhythm.

What symptoms does heart disease cause?

Heart disease is especially serious because it doesn’t cause symptoms in its most common form (CAD). People with heart disease often have a heart attack without knowing they had CAD. 

CAD can eventually weaken your heart muscle and potentially lead to difficulty pumping blood and heart failure. This commonly causes symptoms like shortness of breath, fluid retention, and tiredness. 

It’s important to take action to detect and prevent heart disease, so Prosperity Internal Medicine helps you do so through heart health screenings. Usually, these screenings include cholesterol, blood pressure, blood glucose, and other specialized tests, such as the high-sensitivity c-reactive protein (hs-CRP) test. 

If you have risk factors for heart disease, like high cholesterol, smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, or a family history of CAD, you may need specific heart testing like an electrocardiogram (EKG) or exercise stress test. 

How can I manage heart disease?

You can manage your heart disease and greatly reduce your risk of future heart attacks and strokes by working with Prosperity Internal Medicine to develop a heart health plan. Some of the key facets of heart health include:

• Aspirin use as recommended
• Blood pressure management
• Cholesterol management
• Smoking cessation

As you work on managing these aspects of your health, you might need to lose weight, change your diet, exercise more often, and take medication to help control your co-occurring conditions like diabetes. 

Prosperity Internal Medicine is an old-school medical office that spends time with patients. They get to know you as a person, not a number. This ensures that you get the most effective heart disease management plan and that you have the ongoing support you need to get healthy and enjoy a long life.   

Call Prosperity Internal Medicine or schedule a heart health screening appointment online today. Telehealth consultations are available.