President Clinton's Heart Problems and Your Stress

It’s ironic that while we’ve been talking about American Heart Month, former President Bill Clinton has been in the hospital undergoing heart surgery and Captain Phil Harris from Deadliest Catch has passed away from stroke complications. It’s no wonder that heart disease is the deadliest vascular disease in the nation.

You probably heard about President Clinton’s recent heart surgery, and The Discovery Channel’s recent lost crew member, but what didn’t make the mainstream is that February is American Heart Month. This is the time, now more than ever, when you should be educating yourself on the risks of this killer disease.

It’s been all over the news, former President Clinton in the hospital with heart problems. He was having heart pains, much like he did back in 2004, and needed two stints place into a clogged artery. In 2004, President Clinton underwent quadruple bypass surgery that no doubt prevented an impending heart attack.

But don’t be fooled, having a bypass surgery doesn’t end all of the problems. Having the surgery is only the first step, the next is relaxation, eating right, exercising, giving up that alcohol and tobacco, and changing your lifestyle. The struggle with heart disease doesn’t end with the surgery.

Not long after President Clinton’s bypass surgery in 2004, he also had to undergo surgery on one of his lungs, which had filled with fluid and scar tissue. The two stints that were just inserted will solve the problem of Clinton’s chest pain temporarily, but the pain will return with time and more surgeries will have to occur.

"Once you have coronary artery disease, it tends to recur," said Steven Nissen, chief of cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic.

As we’ve mentioned before, stress plays a big factor in vascular diseases, and during American Heart Month, we urge you to speak to your doctor or pain consultant about reducing your stress and changing your lifestyle. There are things that you can do to prevent these vascular diseases. Relieving chronic pain and managing your life is just the beginning.