FEBRUARY 2021 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 25
Heart disease and other heart conditions are here to stay, despite a shift in focus to the Covid-19 pandemic.
COVID HEART CHECK
KEEPING UP WITH HEART HEALTH MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER
BY BRIANA BONFIGLIO
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States — a fact that health
professionals say should not be overlooked in the pandemic.
Doctors on Long Island have been seeing exacerbated heart problems both in Covid-19
patients and those without the virus who have either delayed care in fear of going to the
hospital or have increased their risk due to staying at home.
“The pandemic has lasted longer than any of us have anticipated,” says Dr. Pilar Stevens-
Haynes, director of echocardiography at Mount Sinai South Nassau in Oceanside. “But the
other diseases are out there, they’re still real.”
Eighty percent of heart disease is preventable, yet an estimated 655,000 Americans die of
it each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Heart
problems can stem from poor nutrition, lack of physical activity, heightened stress, smoking
or vaping, or family history.
PRESS HEALTH
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COVID-19
ROUNDUP
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