Talking to a cardiologist about disease that caused Jacoby Jones' death

Published: Aug 06, 2024 Duration: 00:03:35 Category: News & Politics

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Intro Yesterday, an autopsy revealed former Houston Texans player. Jacoby Jones died from hypertensive cardiovascular disease. He was just 40 years old. Doctor John Higgins, a sports cardiologist from UT health in Houston is joining us now, first question doctor, what is hypertensive cardiovascular disease and what causes it? Hypertensive cardiovascular disease is where you have high blood pressure over a period of time and that has effects on the heart. It can make the muscle thicker and stiffer and this can lead to heart failure. It can also lead to someone having coronary artery disease which can result in a heart attack and also uh a stroke. Jacoby Jones Doctor Jacoby Jones was just 40 years old and a former professional athlete. Is it rare to see a condition like this in someone like him in general athletes? Because they are healthier, they are exercising more and they have a healthier diet generally have a lower risk of hypertension than the general population. So for example, in adults in the United States, up to about 50% of individuals have hypertension by the latest definition, which is a blood pressure, greater than 1 30/80 chronically. So athletes are going to be lower than that. Um For example, NFL players, a a study recently showed that about 14% of them have hypertension. So while it is at a lower number and percentage, it still does exist. And the other thing Trason that we have to remember is that these athletes may be also doing other things that may not be good for the heart and the blood pressure. For example, high salt intake, you know, uh binge drinking, illicit drugs, anabolic steroids, stimulants. And of course, the stress of the game, those things can potentially add on and give a greater blood pressure effect to them. So that could also uh spike their risks. Wow, very important notes there, doctor, Symptoms since this is caused by high blood pressure, what are the symptoms? And when should someone reach out to their doctor? So, um most people these days when they go to the doctor or when they even go to a dentist, you know, the first thing they'll do is they'll check their blood pressure. So I think checking blood pressure is really important. Um But some of the things that they may notice, they may notice they are having headaches more frequently or they're having, getting a little bit more out of breath, they could even be uh experiencing um out uh getting out of breath easier or, uh, than, than they used to, you know, uh at with a less exertion or they may even develop chest pain or palpitations or just, um, getting fluid build up. So, if you have any of those symptoms, certainly get checked out. Um, normally, you know, the good news is oftentimes we can get control of this by, um, using things other than medications. So getting them to be a little bit more active, cutting back on the salt in their diet, you know, that can reduce their blood pressure about 10 points and just kind of lifestyle changes in general. But if that doesn't work after a number of months, we then may consider using medications. Very important information that so many of us needed to hear. Doctor John Higgins. Thank you so much for joining us.

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