February is the month for love and a great time to show some affection to your heart. Simple changes in your lifestyle can help keep your heart pumping strong for many, many years.   On Thursday night's Smart Talk at 8, several local physicians will share the latest treatments to ensure healthy hearts and help ward off strokes.  Be sure to join the conversation by calling in live with your heart- or stroke-related question to 1-800-729-7532, or email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . You can also post a comment at www.facebook.com/witf.org.

We know the heart is our emotional core, but it's also the hardest-working muscle in the human body. Every minute, on average, the heart beats 72 times and pumps 1.3 gallons of blood. Blockages in the arteries, leaky valves, and arrhythmia can damage the heart and affect its optimal performance. Smoking, obesity, diabetes, lack of exercise, age and heredity all play a factor in whether we are at risk for cardiovascular disease and stroke.  Women are at particular risk for fatal heart attacks and strokes because they often ignore or misunderstand the symptoms and warning signs.

Dr. Mubashir Mumtaz is chief of cardiothoracic surgery at PinnacleHealth. He specializes in minimally invasive surgery for valvular heart disease, including robotic surgery; total thoracoscopic maze; and coronary and aortic surgery. Before coming to Central PA, Dr. Mumtaz was a pioneering fellow at the prestigious Cleveland Clinic. He received its 2005 Innovator Award.

 I asked Dr. Mumtaz earlier this week what trends are emerging in heart care in Central PA. What he said should worry all of us. "We are seeing more and more people who do not want to go to the doctor. At the time they finally present, they are too sick and the risks are too high to perform surgery," he noted. "Chest pain, indigestion, shortness of breath, these all need to be recognized and taken care of sooner rather than later. Don't wait until you are in dire shape."

Hospitals throughout the region offer the latest technologies to enhance heart performance. Our doctors and medical institutions have the technology and skill to save and enhance lives, but they can only perform those heroic acts if we, as patients, monitor our own health and report quickly to the doctor when things "just don't feel right." The economy plays a part, as well. "There is a fear of bad news. That's always been one reason people stay clear of the doctor's office. But, the patients we see have been more reluctant to go to the office now because of co-pays. The economy does have a role to play in that," Dr. Mumtaz noted.

Also joining us will be Dr. Steven Steinhubl, director of cardiovascular wellness for the Geisinger Health System. He oversees Geisinger's cardiovascular risk prevention program. His mission at Geisinger's Heart Institute is to apply research discoveries from the lab to clinical practice and improve patient care and health outcomes.

"We know that almost 70% of our risk of coronary disease we can alter by altering our lifestyles," Dr. Steinbuhl points out. "And, yes, there is a genetic component of it that we're kind of stuck with, but that's really a minority of the problem. And, the genetic component is still something we're working on at Geisinger to identify people at risk gene-wise. But, all those other factors we can have a dramatic impact on."

This month's Body & Mind magazine, published by The Patriot-News, offers some great advice on how to keep your arteries young. It highlights the point that, "The blood vessels that carry oxygen throughout your body get stiffer over time, which can put you at risk for heart attack, stroke, dementia and a wide range of other health problems."  The article offers some ways to slow down the aging process for your arteries: Eat less salt, consume more fruits and veggies, exercise aerobically, lose weight, especially that belly fat, manage your high blood pressure and diabetes, and, best of all, quit smoking.

"High cholesterol, hypertension, they are nothing compared to smoking. Smoking trumps everything," when it comes to assessing risk factors for heart disease, Dr. Steinbul claims. " ... if in 1960, we had stopped all medical progress, had changed nothing – no bypass surgeries, no angioplasties, no CT scans, no MRIs, none of that -- and just got people to stop smoking, on average, we would all be living a lot longer."

What is it about smoking that so significantly increases one's risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke? "It gets into our bloodstream, whether it's the nicotine itself or the other byproducts and chemicals that come with it, and it irritates the lining of our blood vessels so they respond in inflammatory and irritated ways," the doctor explains. "That allows cholesterol to build up in there, and when that cholesterol builds up and gets to a point where it ruptures, then a blood clot forms and that causes a heart attack or is a common cause of a stroke."

A friend of mine (thanks, Pam!) recently sent me a tip sheet on how to detect stroke and seek quick medical treatment. I asked Dr. Steinbuhl if the S.T.R. approach it advocated – ask the person to Smile, direct her to Talk in a complete sentence, and make her Raise both arms – was a good indicator of a person's risk for stroke.  His short answer was YES.   "When we're in a social setting, we try to convince ourselves that we've fallen or dropped something because we're just clumsy. What you're looking for is a more objective point of view to see whether they can perform some basic tasks. When a stroke occurs, a blood vessel to some part of the brain is not getting enough blood. If that part of the brain is on our left side, then we can't move the right side of our body, and if it's the right side of the brain, we can't move the left side.  So what you look for are differences in the two sides of the body," Dr. Steinbuhl noted.

Knowledge is power.  Please, arm yourself with good cardiovascular knowledge by watching Smart Talk, Thursday night at 8. And be sure to join the conversation!