Heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death for adults.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 659,000 people die from heart disease in the United States every year. That is one in every four deaths.

The most common type of heart disease is coronary artery disease. In the U.S., about 18.2 million adults age 20 years old and older have it. Statistically, someone has a heart attack every 40 seconds.

About one in five heart attacks is actually silent, which means that damage is being done to the heart muscle and the person doesn’t know it.

The good news is that the mortality rate of heart disease has improved over the last 30 years, said Dr. Jeffrey Snyder, a cardiologist with Lehigh Valley Health Network with an office in Allentown and one opening up this summer near the new Lehigh Valley Hospital - Carbon.

Snyder said the best way to avoid coronary artery disease is to prevent it. This can be done by taking care of the body through exercise and the DASH diet. DASH stands for dietary approaches to stop hypertension. It is similar to the Mediterranean diet and includes lots of fruits and vegetables, rich fiber, and low saturated fats. No high cholesterol or fats are allowed.

“Exercise is good for virtually everything, but especially the heart,” Snyder said. “Walking at a brisk pace is probably the best thing you can do.”

Snyder said it is important to have a primary care physician and have blood pressure assessed, and to get a baseline EKG and cholesterol level starting at age 40. If there is a family history of heart attack in the 40s, then get checked at 30.

The main risk factors for heart disease are high blood pressure, high cholesterol and smoking. Snyder says he always encourages people to stop smoking.

Other risk factors include diabetes, lack of exercise, overweight and obese, an unhealthy diet, and too much alcohol.

Snyder said that devices that monitor the rhythm of the heart and provide other health information do work and can be helpful when trying to get healthier.

Heart attacks

Women and men often experience heart attacks differently.

“Women tend to get it later in life than men, but they have more symptoms,” he said.

In men, they tend to have pressure in the chest, Snyder said. Women have arm pain, shortness of breath, upper back pain or pain in the upper central area of the abdomen.

The pain of heartburn can also be confused with being a heart attack.

“Sometimes you can’t tell the difference,” Snyder said about the sensation.

Heartburn often comes after eating, especially spicy foods. Heart attacks do not.

Snyder said that if a person feels chest pain during or after exercising, or at a random time, then it could be a heart attack. About 40% of the symptoms are atypical, which means they are not commonly experienced by people having a heart attack.

“When in doubt, seek medical attention,” he said.

As far as heart disease running in the family, it comes through the mother’s side of the family.

“Women transfer their heart disease genes to their children,” he said.

Snyder reiterated that the best way to prevent a heart attack is to keep the body healthy.