Matters of the Heart

Heart disease is the broad term used to describe many conditions — problems that affect the structure and function of the heart or the blood vessels that supply it. Heart disease remains one of the leading causes of illness and death in Canada, affecting millions of people and placing enormous demand on our health-care system. But it’s also one of the areas of medicine where prevention, early detection, and rehabilitation can dramatically change outcomes. Understanding how the heart works — and what happens when something goes wrong — can help people recognize risks earlier, recover more effectively, and in many cases avoid serious cardiac events altogether. Which is why today on the (w)healthy podcast we are joined by Dr. Kevin and Anne Pistawka, they are the Medical and Executive Directors of the Central Okanagan Association for Cardiac Health (COACH) — a community program that helps people living with heart disease recover, rebuild confidence, and adopt heart-healthy lifestyles. Together, they can provide comprehensive insight on the subject of cardiac care: treatment and recovery, medicine and lifestyle, hospital and community.