Duncan Regional Hospital gives heart health awareness tips

DUNCAN, Oklahoma (KAUZ) - February is known as heart health month and is dedicated to spreading awareness about heart health.

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death world wide and according to Duncan regional hospital heart scans are the first step to awareness.

Doctor Kris Mullins said plaque build up in the heart can cause problems later on, and a heart scan tells you how much you have built up. Mullins said this helps your doctor decide on the best course of action to reduce any blockage they find.

“It’s something that your primary care physician is intuned to, and they can order this, and it will also give us an idea of number one, if your calcium score is high and it can also check to see what your cholesterol level is and your family history,” Mullins said.

According to Mullins said that you know your body better than anyone else, so if you feel something is wrong, especially with your heart, you should get it checked out.

“My cousin just had a heart attack, and it’s not like she doesn’t have my cell phone, but she put it off and didn’t even tell her family, and went to her grandson’s birthday party having terrible chest pain because she didn’t want to ruin the birthday party, and ended up having a big heart attack,” Mullins said.

Patients that had heart scans done talked about how easy it was to schedule, as well as how quickly the scan was done.

Vickie Strepp was happy to see a low score for her second test.

“It’s just a screening tool that if you have a high score your doctor, you know, your primary care physician would get that report and then they could take a plan of action at that point whether that’s medicine, whether it be further testing, all as a preventative type procedure after the screening,” Strepp said.

Mullins said anyone above the age of 40 should get a heart scan every 3 to 5 years.

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