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Contact: Marni GoldsteinMount Sinai Press Office(212) 241-9200[email protected]

Mount Sinai Cardiologists Offer Tips for Preventing Heart Disease for American Heart Month

Newswise — NEW YORK (January 27, 2016) – Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the U.S. About 610,000 people die of heart disease in the United States every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). February is American Heart Month and Mount Sinai experts are sharing tips on prevention.

Experts Available for Interview:Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, Director of Mount Sinai Heart and Physician-in-Chief of The Mount Sinai Hospital• Mary Ann McLaughlin, MD, Medical Director of the Cardiac Health Program and Co-Director of the Women's Cardiac Assessment and Risk Evaluation Program at The Mount Sinai Hospital

New AHA Scientific Statement on Heart Attacks in Women:• Heart disease is the number one killer of women, causing one in three deaths each year—approximately one woman every minute. • Dr. Mary Ann McLaughlin can discuss the scientific statement regarding gender differences in heart attack causes, symptoms and outcomes, published by the American Heart Association on January 25.

New Heart Health App:• Dr. Valentin Fuster has taken his 40 years of experience treating and preventing heart disease around the globe, and placed this knowledge into a new heart health app—The Circle of Health. • This free and easy-to-use app features interactive tools and multimedia information written/recorded by Dr. Fuster himself (in both English and Spanish) to teach patients important heart health information to empower them to proactively manage their health.• Available for Apple and Android

*Patients available for interview*

Tips for Preventing Heart Disease:• Eat a healthy diet• Exercise 30 minutes per day• Maintain a healthy BMI• Keep your waist below 35 inches (women) or 40 inches (men)• Don’t smoke• Limit alcohol consumption to no more than 1 drinks per day (women), or 2 drinks per day (men)• Know your numbers (blood pressure, cholesterol, triglyceride level, glucose level)• Know your family history and risk factors

Warning Signs for Heart Attack:• Pain in the arm, back, neck, or jaw• Shortness of breath at rest• Uncomfortable pressure• Squeezing or pain in your chest • Dizziness/lightheadedness• Nausea/vomiting• Cold sweat or flu-like feeling• Extreme fatigue

Risk Factors for Heart Disease:• High blood pressure• High cholesterol• Diabetes• Unhealthy diet• Physical inactivity• Obesity• Too much alcohol• Tobacco use• Family history of heart disease• Age (risk increases as you get older)• Race or ethnicity (African-Americans and Hispanics are at higher risk)

About the Mount Sinai Health SystemThe Mount Sinai Health System is an integrated health system committed to providing distinguished care, conducting transformative research, and advancing biomedical education. Structured around seven hospital campuses and a single medical school, the Health System has an extensive ambulatory network and a range of inpatient and outpatient services—from community-based facilities to tertiary and quaternary care. The System includes approximately 6,100 primary and specialty care physicians; 12 joint-venture ambulatory surgery centers; more than 140 ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and 31 affiliated community health centers. Physicians are affiliated with the renowned Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, which is ranked among the highest in the nation in National Institutes of Health funding per investigator. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked as one of the nation’s top 10 hospitals in Geriatrics, Cardiology/Heart Surgery, and Gastroenterology, and is in the top 25 in five other specialties in the 2015-2016 “Best Hospitals” issue of U.S. News & World Report. Mount Sinai’s Kravis Children’s Hospital also is ranked in seven out of ten pediatric specialties by U.S. News & World Report. The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked 11th nationally for Ophthalmology, while Mount Sinai Beth Israel is ranked regionally.For more information, visit http://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.