#420: Heart Disease Statistics

Dr. Cooper and Todd Whitthorne discuss recent data coming from the National Center for Health Statistics as it relates to heart disease. Researchers believe medical advancements (early detection and treatment) and lifestyle changes (not smoking, blood pressure control, exercise, and stress control) have all helped to reduce the incidence of and deaths from heart disease. There's a bill pending before Congress that Medicare will not cover CT scans. Dr. Cooper discusses why he believes passing of this bill would be a tragedy. Dr. Cooper discusses the EPIC Study (and how four healthy habits extended life by an average of 14 years), and the Framingham Heart Study is discussed. National Center for Health Statistics EPIC Study and see PODCAST titled EPIC Study Framingham Study Medicare Showdown