Listening to your Heart, with Patrick Dunn

Patrick Dunn: 00:00:00

And you can think about the job that your heart does, your

Patrick Dunn: 00:00:04

heart literally beats every moment of your life, whether you're having a

Patrick Dunn: 00:00:10

good day or a bad day whether you've treated your heart well or not, whether

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you feel great or not feel great.

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Your heart is beating all the time So it's incredibly important to give

Patrick Dunn: 00:00:25

your heart some love, literally.

Patrick Dunn: 00:00:28

So recognize your heart, support your heart and do things that your heart likes.

Serena: 00:00:37

Hello.

Serena: 00:00:37

And welcome to I'm back.

Serena: 00:00:40

Today, I'm really happy to interview Patrick Dunn patrick Dunn is working

Serena: 00:00:46

at the American heart association.

Serena: 00:00:49

And we are going to discuss the importance of cardiac rehabilitation.

Serena: 00:00:54

How to come back after a heart surgery.

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Why is it so important to take care of our heart?

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And what can we do to take care of our self.

Serena: 00:01:07

So a warm welcome to Dr.

Serena: 00:01:10

Patrick Dunn.

Serena: 00:01:12

I'm really happy to have you here.

Patrick Dunn: 00:01:15

Yeah, thanks.

Patrick Dunn: 00:01:16

So my name is Patrick Dunn and I work for the American heart

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association in the center for health technology and innovation.

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I also teach statistics at a online university Walden university.

Patrick Dunn: 00:01:30

I teach doctoral students but my area of interest in my field

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is cardiac rehabilitation.

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So I have worked in the field of cardiac rehab as both a clinical

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exercise physiologist and a program director for now 36 years.

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And I've seen, the field of rehab really change and evolve over time, but

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it's still faced with many challenges.

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The biggest challenge is not enough people who would benefit from cardiac

Patrick Dunn: 00:02:02

rehab ever even hear about a program or don't have access to a program.

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So part of my job and part of my training also is in software engineering.

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And so what I'm also interested in is how can technology be used not to replace

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cardiac rehab, but how can it be used to enhance and support and maybe reach.

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People who wouldn't normally have access to a program they might live

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in rural areas, or even in an urban desert where just even get into a rehab

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program is not possible, or they have challenges because they don't have that.

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Don't have the right insurance.

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And so they can't go to a center and get reimbursed and it becomes cost prohibited.

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That's like the choice between going to rehab or eating and nobody should ever

Patrick Dunn: 00:02:55

have to be faced with that kind of choice.

Patrick Dunn: 00:02:57

So when I talk about technology, I'm not talking about expensive gadgets

Patrick Dunn: 00:03:02

that only wealthy people can afford.

Patrick Dunn: 00:03:04

I'm talking about using technology in a way that can be used by as many

Patrick Dunn: 00:03:09

people as possible all over the world.

Patrick Dunn: 00:03:12

And there are ways to do that.

Patrick Dunn: 00:03:13

It just has to be a much more thoughtfully thought out.

Serena: 00:03:18

And you have a holistic approach to rehab.

Serena: 00:03:22

Would you like to explain why a holistic approach.

Serena: 00:03:25

? Patrick Dunn: Absolutely.

Serena: 00:03:26

Yeah.

Serena: 00:03:26

So while my background is in exercise physiology and the roots of cardiac rehab

Serena: 00:03:32

are in exercise your heart as a muscle.

Serena: 00:03:36

So if you exercise it, it'll get stronger.

Serena: 00:03:39

A stronger heart can survive damage.

Serena: 00:03:42

You can do more work with with less effort.

Serena: 00:03:45

So there's really good reasons why exercise is important,

Serena: 00:03:48

but it's not the only reason.

Serena: 00:03:51

So to truly be in going beyond cardiac rehab, into what's called

Serena: 00:03:57

secondary prevention, really trying to prevent another heart

Serena: 00:04:02

attack or a need for another.

Serena: 00:04:05

Open-heart surgery.

Serena: 00:04:06

There's other key factors.

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Nutrition is extremely important and it's very multifaceted from, avoiding

Serena: 00:04:15

foods that are rich in fats and oils consuming and frankly avoiding

Serena: 00:04:20

overly sugar, sugary, sweetie foods.

Serena: 00:04:23

Emphasizing fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean meats also be in

Serena: 00:04:30

adequately hydrated is very important.

Serena: 00:04:33

So nutrition is extremely important.

Serena: 00:04:36

Your mental health is also extremely important as well.

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And again, that can be a broad category.

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It can evolve things like depression and anxiety, which are

Serena: 00:04:46

linked to cardiovascular disease.

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So if you're depressed, your chances of a successful recovery are much smaller.

Serena: 00:04:55

If you're anxious again, it makes it harder, but it's

Serena: 00:04:59

even beyond that, it's stress.

Serena: 00:05:01

How do you manage stress?

Serena: 00:05:03

You don't necessarily need to eliminate stress because we

Serena: 00:05:05

still want to enjoy life, but you want to get the stress right.

Serena: 00:05:10

For your situation and not stress that's causing harm by making your

Serena: 00:05:15

heart rate and blood pressure go up.

Serena: 00:05:18

Another part of mental health is just being motivated

Serena: 00:05:22

and engaged in your health.

Serena: 00:05:23

A lot of times we get motivated by other things and we forget about her.

Serena: 00:05:29

So mental health is extremely important.

Serena: 00:05:31

So I would say, the key factors are exercise and physical activity

Serena: 00:05:36

eating the right foods and also adopting the right eating habits

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so you might be eating the right foods, but maybe too much

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of them or at the wrong time.

Serena: 00:05:46

And it can still cause some problems taking care of your mental health

Serena: 00:05:51

by reducing stress and anxiety.

Serena: 00:05:53

But also developing a really a good support system.

Serena: 00:05:57

So that's also part of your mental health, but it also helps you manage other things.

Serena: 00:06:03

And your support system can come from a variety of ways.

Serena: 00:06:07

Cardiac rehab itself can be a support system.

Serena: 00:06:09

So go into a center, interacting with, professionals, but other patients

Serena: 00:06:14

that have gone through a similar experience your family and friends.

Serena: 00:06:19

Can be part of that support system, certainly your doctor and other

Serena: 00:06:23

parts of your healthcare system.

Serena: 00:06:25

And if you're going back to work your peer um, your coworkers and colleagues,

Serena: 00:06:30

all of those represent a potential support system everybody has a different

Serena: 00:06:36

version of that, but you have to have a good support system or it's very

Serena: 00:06:41

difficult to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Serena: 00:06:45

And why do you think it's so difficult to have a proper rehab outside

Serena: 00:06:50

when maybe you have done the surgery?

Serena: 00:06:53

The surgery was successful.

Serena: 00:06:55

But then you are going home and you are alone and it's really easy

Serena: 00:07:01

to not follow let's say the rules.

Patrick Dunn: 00:07:05

Yeah.

Patrick Dunn: 00:07:05

So cardiac rehab is very important how it's delivered and where it's

Patrick Dunn: 00:07:11

delivered can vary a little bit.

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So traditional cardiac rehab is done in a cardiac rehab center.

Patrick Dunn: 00:07:18

So typically at the hospital where you may have had your heart attack or your bypass

Patrick Dunn: 00:07:23

surgery, you come back to that center and you typically go through an exercise

Patrick Dunn: 00:07:29

training program three times a week for usually up to about a 12 week period.

Patrick Dunn: 00:07:36

Now the problem with that is only about 25% of people that are eligible

Patrick Dunn: 00:07:43

for rehab ever go to a program.

Patrick Dunn: 00:07:45

So there's clearly a lot of people that are going home and they're

Patrick Dunn: 00:07:49

either trying to do it on their own, or they're not doing anything.

Patrick Dunn: 00:07:53

That's why the technology can give us some additional opportunities.

Patrick Dunn: 00:07:57

So there are wearables, the contract.

Patrick Dunn: 00:08:01

Physical activity.

Patrick Dunn: 00:08:02

For example, there are connected devices that she can take home

Patrick Dunn: 00:08:08

and monitor your blood pressure.

Patrick Dunn: 00:08:11

There are video conferencing, like what we're doing here that you could

Patrick Dunn: 00:08:16

do to stay connected with your doctor.

Patrick Dunn: 00:08:19

There are social.

Patrick Dunn: 00:08:21

Things that can be, and it needs to be done in a safe and mindful way, but

Patrick Dunn: 00:08:26

you know, ways to you even social media to stay connected to two other people.

Patrick Dunn: 00:08:31

So then the question is is that really cardiac rehab?

Patrick Dunn: 00:08:34

Do you get the same benefits?

Patrick Dunn: 00:08:37

So what you have to first, you have to determine, is it safe?

Patrick Dunn: 00:08:42

So is it safe for somebody who's just had a heart attack?

Patrick Dunn: 00:08:46

To be exercising at home without direct medical supervision.

Patrick Dunn: 00:08:52

And the reality is for most people, it is safe.

Patrick Dunn: 00:08:55

There are some people who have really weak hearts or especially somebody

Patrick Dunn: 00:08:59

who's experienced cardiac arrest, or is it a very high risk of cardiac arrest.

Patrick Dunn: 00:09:06

Maybe they have some very serious cardiac arrhythmias, irregular

Patrick Dunn: 00:09:10

heartbeats, but for the majority of people with some direction.

Patrick Dunn: 00:09:15

So it doesn't necessarily mean you're completely on your own, but with some

Patrick Dunn: 00:09:19

direction you can exercise safely at home.

Patrick Dunn: 00:09:24

You can certainly the other components, the mental health and

Patrick Dunn: 00:09:28

the nutrition can be done easily outside of the hospital setting.

Patrick Dunn: 00:09:34

The other question is it effective?

Patrick Dunn: 00:09:37

So do you get the same benefits?

Patrick Dunn: 00:09:38

And again you get very similar benefits.

Patrick Dunn: 00:09:41

So the American heart association came out with a scientific

Patrick Dunn: 00:09:44

statement a couple of years ago.

Patrick Dunn: 00:09:46

Stating that cardiac rehab that's done in the home is as safe and as effective as

Patrick Dunn: 00:09:55

going to the center now with the pandemic, the the ability to go to a center-based

Patrick Dunn: 00:10:02

cardiac rehab program was reduced.

Patrick Dunn: 00:10:04

There was some staffing shortages, but also just the concept of taking people who

Patrick Dunn: 00:10:09

are already high risk and putting them.

Patrick Dunn: 00:10:13

Into an environment where they're going to be exposing each

Patrick Dunn: 00:10:16

other was just not a good idea.

Patrick Dunn: 00:10:18

So it really pressed the issue of doing home-based rehab supported by technology.

Patrick Dunn: 00:10:25

And what we showed is it actually is very easy to do.

Patrick Dunn: 00:10:29

And a lot of people that would never have gone to a center

Patrick Dunn: 00:10:32

are able to do it via home.

Patrick Dunn: 00:10:35

What we've been working on is what we call.

Patrick Dunn: 00:10:37

Hybrid cardiac rehab.

Patrick Dunn: 00:10:40

And what that means is, okay, it's not just going to the center or

Patrick Dunn: 00:10:45

just doing it on your own at home.

Patrick Dunn: 00:10:48

It's creating a good combination.

Patrick Dunn: 00:10:50

So maybe some of it is done in the center.

Patrick Dunn: 00:10:52

So you start out you meet with your, the doctor, the nurse, the exercise

Patrick Dunn: 00:10:56

physiologists, they set you up with the program and then you're able

Patrick Dunn: 00:11:00

to go home and you do a lot of it

Patrick Dunn: 00:11:03

on your own time and in your own space, but you're still connected

Patrick Dunn: 00:11:09

with that healthcare team.

Patrick Dunn: 00:11:10

And when you do need to go back, you do come back.

Patrick Dunn: 00:11:13

The other element of it with rehab is it's not just a 12 week program.

Patrick Dunn: 00:11:19

It's a lifelong program.

Patrick Dunn: 00:11:20

As you don't really cure heart disease, you can manage it.

Patrick Dunn: 00:11:25

You can get it to a point where you can live with it.

Patrick Dunn: 00:11:28

But if you forget about.

Patrick Dunn: 00:11:30

It will remind you, it will come back.

Patrick Dunn: 00:11:33

So you have to, even after a 12 week period, you still have

Patrick Dunn: 00:11:38

to be doing the same thing.

Patrick Dunn: 00:11:40

And so that's especially where, having a technology component and

Patrick Dunn: 00:11:46

an ability to stay connected with your rehab professionals and with

Patrick Dunn: 00:11:49

your doctors, even if you live far away is incredibly important.

Serena: 00:11:56

When I had my last surgery, I was feeling really powerless.

Serena: 00:12:01

And so my question for you, how can you empower people in a moment of their

Serena: 00:12:08

life, where they feel really powerless and not in control of their body?

Patrick Dunn: 00:12:14

Yeah.

Patrick Dunn: 00:12:14

So that's where the support system is super important.

Patrick Dunn: 00:12:18

If people are isolated they can lose confidence in themselves.

Patrick Dunn: 00:12:22

It's really important.

Patrick Dunn: 00:12:25

The ability to interact.

Patrick Dunn: 00:12:27

With other people that have gone through a similar thing, you do get to meet

Patrick Dunn: 00:12:32

other people who have gone through the same thing you've gone through.

Patrick Dunn: 00:12:37

It's one thing, reading about it in a book.

Patrick Dunn: 00:12:39

It's one thing to hear about it from a professional, but seeing other

Patrick Dunn: 00:12:43

people, and they might be at a, at different phases of the program.

Patrick Dunn: 00:12:48

That so you can see, okay, this person, wow.

Patrick Dunn: 00:12:51

They're walking on a treadmill for 45 minutes, I didn't

Patrick Dunn: 00:12:55

think that was even possible.

Patrick Dunn: 00:12:57

So seeing other people is super important, having that support system

Patrick Dunn: 00:13:02

to help you stay motivated, and the reality is it's all, there is also

Patrick Dunn: 00:13:07

some individual choice that you do have to take it upon yourself to stay.

Patrick Dunn: 00:13:13

You have to stay connected to stay engaged in that program.

Patrick Dunn: 00:13:17

Having a plan to do that, is really important.

Patrick Dunn: 00:13:20

If you have, goals and the goals, it can be just, I have a goal of

Patrick Dunn: 00:13:25

150 minutes of exercise a week.

Patrick Dunn: 00:13:30

I have a goal of.

Patrick Dunn: 00:13:31

Taking my medications.

Patrick Dunn: 00:13:33

So those types of things, doing the things that you need to do but you

Patrick Dunn: 00:13:36

can't do it by yourself basically.

Serena: 00:13:40

And you are also really passionate about health literacy.

Serena: 00:13:44

Would you like to talk about this and why it's so important?

Patrick Dunn: 00:13:48

It's incredibly important.

Patrick Dunn: 00:13:50

Knowledge is power.

Patrick Dunn: 00:13:51

One of the ways to.

Patrick Dunn: 00:13:53

Overcome some of your confidence and in not being able to engage is, there's

Patrick Dunn: 00:13:59

a lot of scary words, a lot of scary terms, having a heart attack is almost

Patrick Dunn: 00:14:04

like having to learn a new language.

Patrick Dunn: 00:14:07

There's new terms, new numbers, new rules, and it's incredibly important

Patrick Dunn: 00:14:14

that you understand what's going on.

Patrick Dunn: 00:14:18

So when I talk about health literacy, I'm not just simply

Patrick Dunn: 00:14:23

saying, can I spell cholesterol?

Patrick Dunn: 00:14:26

That's important, but what it's what's really important is understanding your

Patrick Dunn: 00:14:31

condition and then also understanding the numbers associated with that.

Patrick Dunn: 00:14:37

So if you have high blood pressure, for example, understanding

Patrick Dunn: 00:14:41

what blood pressure is.

Patrick Dunn: 00:14:43

And why it's important, but then also understanding what the numbers are.

Patrick Dunn: 00:14:49

So if you have your blood pressure taken, that's a good number.

Patrick Dunn: 00:14:52

It's not a good number.

Patrick Dunn: 00:14:53

It's too high, it's too low.

Patrick Dunn: 00:14:56

And then being able to act on that.

Patrick Dunn: 00:14:58

So do I know what to do?

Patrick Dunn: 00:14:59

So if my blood pressure is super high, it's over say 180 over a hundred that's

Patrick Dunn: 00:15:07

what's called a hypertensive crisis.

Patrick Dunn: 00:15:08

Knowing what to do with in that case.

Patrick Dunn: 00:15:10

So should I retest, should I dial nine one, one?

Patrick Dunn: 00:15:16

Should I call my doctor?

Patrick Dunn: 00:15:17

Should I take more medicine?

Patrick Dunn: 00:15:19

The reality is the guideline is to retest.

Patrick Dunn: 00:15:24

If it's still that high, the recommendation is to dial nine one

Patrick Dunn: 00:15:28

one, or to call for an emergency.

Patrick Dunn: 00:15:31

Okay.

Patrick Dunn: 00:15:31

So knowing what to do the next level is knowing what information to share.

Patrick Dunn: 00:15:37

And what questions to ask.

Patrick Dunn: 00:15:39

So a lot of times, a doctor will get frustrated with the patient, cause

Patrick Dunn: 00:15:43

it's had you only told me that you were having chest pain every time

Patrick Dunn: 00:15:48

you got out of bed, we would've been able to do something about it.

Patrick Dunn: 00:15:52

Be willing to share be willing to overshare in the case of heart

Patrick Dunn: 00:15:56

disease, chest pain is something that should never, ever be ignored.

Patrick Dunn: 00:16:02

So, If you're having chest pain, you need to contact your doctor and you need to

Patrick Dunn: 00:16:06

figure out why you're having the pain.

Patrick Dunn: 00:16:09

It might not be from your heart, but you it's much better to find

Patrick Dunn: 00:16:14

out that it's not from your heart.

Patrick Dunn: 00:16:16

That would be good news then to find out maybe too late, that it really was

Patrick Dunn: 00:16:21

your heart and there's more damage or maybe even a risk of not surviving.

Patrick Dunn: 00:16:27

So that communication level and ask questions if you're not sure if

Patrick Dunn: 00:16:32

you don't understand if the doctor gave you a bottle of nitroglycerin,

Patrick Dunn: 00:16:37

but then explain how to use it.

Patrick Dunn: 00:16:38

Be sure to find out.

Patrick Dunn: 00:16:40

Okay.

Patrick Dunn: 00:16:41

And find out from trusted sources, don't necessarily just go on the

Patrick Dunn: 00:16:44

internet because you might go to a place that gives you bad information,

Patrick Dunn: 00:16:49

go to a trusted source of information.

Patrick Dunn: 00:16:51

Your doctor should be one of those trusted sources.

Patrick Dunn: 00:16:54

If you don't trust your doctor, find another doctor there's

Patrick Dunn: 00:16:58

other trusted sources like the American heart association.

Patrick Dunn: 00:17:00

But find out that information and then finally the end result of health literacy

Patrick Dunn: 00:17:05

is making good well-informed decisions.

Patrick Dunn: 00:17:10

And those decisions can be shared decisions with your doctor,

Patrick Dunn: 00:17:13

like a treatment option or a medication or a surgical option.

Patrick Dunn: 00:17:18

They can also be unilateral decisions like the decision to lose some weight

Patrick Dunn: 00:17:23

for the decision to stop smoking.

Patrick Dunn: 00:17:26

So when I talk about.

Patrick Dunn: 00:17:28

Health literacy.

Patrick Dunn: 00:17:29

I'm talking about that whole gamut from understanding all

Patrick Dunn: 00:17:33

the way to making good choices.

Patrick Dunn: 00:17:35

Now, the question is, how do you do that?

Patrick Dunn: 00:17:38

How do you, how does somebody go from not understanding their heart at all

Patrick Dunn: 00:17:43

to successfully recovering from that again, that's where what we found is

Patrick Dunn: 00:17:50

that the first thing you need to do is address your stress and emotions.

Patrick Dunn: 00:17:57

So there's a lot of anxiety around having heart disease.

Patrick Dunn: 00:18:00

The fear of am I gonna survive?

Patrick Dunn: 00:18:04

Am I going to be able to go back to work?

Patrick Dunn: 00:18:05

Am I going to be able to do the things that I love to do?

Patrick Dunn: 00:18:10

And what we found is if you don't address that anxiety it's very

Patrick Dunn: 00:18:15

difficult to build those literacy skills and to be truly successful.

Patrick Dunn: 00:18:21

So the first step is address your emotional state.

Patrick Dunn: 00:18:26

The second step is to find a behavioral approach.

Patrick Dunn: 00:18:31

So cardiac rehab would be an example of a behavioral approach.

Patrick Dunn: 00:18:36

There's could be others, joining a gym finding a friend that you can walk

Patrick Dunn: 00:18:40

with, but having something that's going to keep you engaged and motivated.

Patrick Dunn: 00:18:46

And then finally having an educational strategy.

Patrick Dunn: 00:18:50

So learn just like you might like to read, you might like

Patrick Dunn: 00:18:53

to learn about other things.

Patrick Dunn: 00:18:55

We've all learned how to use the internet.

Patrick Dunn: 00:18:57

We've learned how to do online banking and online shopping.

Patrick Dunn: 00:19:02

So the same thing, learn about your health in which you need to do.

Patrick Dunn: 00:19:06

And the key factor, the thread that goes through all of

Patrick Dunn: 00:19:09

that is that support system.

Patrick Dunn: 00:19:12

So if you're finding that you don't have a support system that's really the

Patrick Dunn: 00:19:15

first step address the emotions and find the support system and it'll make the

Patrick Dunn: 00:19:19

other components of that super easy.

Serena: 00:19:23

That's a lot.

Serena: 00:19:25

I'm learning a lot also for my self.

Serena: 00:19:27

Normally I'm opening my podcast with one question to the guests.

Serena: 00:19:32

I want to ask you, what do you think means I'm back for.

Serena: 00:19:37

This kind of patients, I'm back to life, I'm back to work.

Serena: 00:19:41

I'm back to some sort of normal life.

Patrick Dunn: 00:19:46

Yeah, especially in the context of what we're

Patrick Dunn: 00:19:48

talking about with cardiac rehab.

Patrick Dunn: 00:19:50

It's super important.

Patrick Dunn: 00:19:51

I love that.

Patrick Dunn: 00:19:52

I love that title because with just because you have heart disease maybe

Patrick Dunn: 00:19:59

in the form of a heart attack, it may be in the form of heart failure, maybe in

Patrick Dunn: 00:20:04

the form of a scary irregular heartbeat, something like atrial fibrillation.

Patrick Dunn: 00:20:10

You can get back the majority of people especially if you follow those

Patrick Dunn: 00:20:15

steps that I mentioned, the majority of people are able to get back

Patrick Dunn: 00:20:20

it depends on what you mean by get back.

Patrick Dunn: 00:20:22

I'm back to work.

Patrick Dunn: 00:20:23

I'm back to normal activities.

Patrick Dunn: 00:20:27

I'm back just mentally and physically with my, family and friends, the

Patrick Dunn: 00:20:34

majority of people can get back.

Patrick Dunn: 00:20:36

I would say, follow your advice and get back and there may be times when

Patrick Dunn: 00:20:42

you feel like you're not totally sure.

Patrick Dunn: 00:20:45

You know, you're, You're doing great and then you're not doing so great.

Patrick Dunn: 00:20:48

But you have to be persistent.

Patrick Dunn: 00:20:49

If you feel like you're not all the way back then just, regroup, activate your

Patrick Dunn: 00:20:55

support system and, continue the process.

Patrick Dunn: 00:20:58

Cause that's something like cardiac rehab preventing and managing heart

Patrick Dunn: 00:21:03

disease is it's not a one-time fix it's a day in, day out.

Patrick Dunn: 00:21:09

We can week out here in your out experience.

Patrick Dunn: 00:21:13

It doesn't mean that it has to be total drudgery.

Patrick Dunn: 00:21:16

It can be fun.

Patrick Dunn: 00:21:16

Some people that I've worked with in the past actually began living more fulfilling

Patrick Dunn: 00:21:22

lives after their heart disease, because they did develop their support systems.

Patrick Dunn: 00:21:28

They did start adopting healthier behaviors and.

Patrick Dunn: 00:21:35

They actually became healthier.

Patrick Dunn: 00:21:37

That seems weird to say, but they actually did.

Patrick Dunn: 00:21:39

Their hearts got stronger.

Patrick Dunn: 00:21:40

They were able to do more.

Patrick Dunn: 00:21:41

They got, they became more physically active and physically fit.

Patrick Dunn: 00:21:45

They started eating better.

Patrick Dunn: 00:21:47

So they actually lost some weight.

Patrick Dunn: 00:21:50

They got rid of destructive habits, like smoking and consuming too

Patrick Dunn: 00:21:54

much alcohol and things like that.

Patrick Dunn: 00:21:57

So you can give back, you can totally get back.

Serena: 00:22:02

I'm going to ask you maybe a strange question.

Serena: 00:22:06

Is it possible to fail it again in love with your heart?

Patrick Dunn: 00:22:12

Totally.

Patrick Dunn: 00:22:13

Yeah.

Patrick Dunn: 00:22:13

I love the way you say that because I refer to my heart almost

Patrick Dunn: 00:22:19

sometimes as a its own being.

Patrick Dunn: 00:22:23

And sometimes people tease me about that because no, your heart

Patrick Dunn: 00:22:26

is just an organ in your body.

Patrick Dunn: 00:22:27

That's pumping, but it truly is the center of being I know your heart

Patrick Dunn: 00:22:32

and your brain are, co-equals in that perspective, but you sh you can, and

Patrick Dunn: 00:22:37

you should fall in love with your heart.

Patrick Dunn: 00:22:39

And you can think about the job that your heart does, your heart literally beats

Patrick Dunn: 00:22:46

every moment of your life, whether you're having a good day or a bad day whether

Patrick Dunn: 00:22:51

you've treated your heart well or not, whether you feel great or not feel great.

Patrick Dunn: 00:22:57

Your heart is beating all the time.

Patrick Dunn: 00:23:00

Even when you're sleeping, your heart is beating.

Patrick Dunn: 00:23:03

When you're going on vacation, your heart is beating.

Patrick Dunn: 00:23:06

When you don't feel like doing anything, your heart is still beating.

Patrick Dunn: 00:23:12

So it's incredibly important to give your heart some love, literally.

Patrick Dunn: 00:23:18

So recognize your heart, support your heart and do things that your heart likes.

Patrick Dunn: 00:23:25

You hurt, loves to be active.

Patrick Dunn: 00:23:27

Okay.

Patrick Dunn: 00:23:28

So take your heart out for a walk.

Patrick Dunn: 00:23:30

Your heart is influenced tremendously by your emotions.

Patrick Dunn: 00:23:35

So find as much time as possible to be doing things

Patrick Dunn: 00:23:42

that provoke positive emotion.

Patrick Dunn: 00:23:45

Your heart loves that your heart doesn't like it as much when it's negative

Patrick Dunn: 00:23:49

emotions like fear and sadness and stress.

Patrick Dunn: 00:23:54

So find those things, find the things that you love, do the things that you love.

Patrick Dunn: 00:23:58

Find ways to seek happiness, and when you do that, you'll, you're

Patrick Dunn: 00:24:04

so happy you forget about your.

Patrick Dunn: 00:24:06

But your heart is also in a good state when you're happy.

Patrick Dunn: 00:24:10

If you're laughing, if you're enjoying life, when you're sad,

Patrick Dunn: 00:24:14

when you're depressed, when you're angry, your heart has to work harder.

Patrick Dunn: 00:24:20

So do things that help your heart.

Patrick Dunn: 00:24:21

The flip side of that is do things that are good for your brain as well.

Patrick Dunn: 00:24:26

A happy heart and a happy mind work really well together.

Patrick Dunn: 00:24:30

And the good news is many of the things that support good heart health, also

Patrick Dunn: 00:24:38

support good brain and brain health.

Patrick Dunn: 00:24:41

So be an active engage in your mind.

Patrick Dunn: 00:24:45

So that's again, where the literacy comes in.

Patrick Dunn: 00:24:48

Learn about things, but, learn other things too.

Patrick Dunn: 00:24:50

Again keep your mind engaged and keep your body engaged.

Patrick Dunn: 00:24:54

And frankly, even if you've had some problems with heart disease in the past,

Patrick Dunn: 00:25:00

you'll live a much more fulfilling life.

. Serena: 00:25:02

Would you like to share any other advice to our listeners?

Patrick Dunn: 00:25:07

I think so part of the advice I would say is if you think

Patrick Dunn: 00:25:11

we're talking about cardiac rehab and that doesn't really apply to me.

Patrick Dunn: 00:25:16

Again, keep in mind that your heart is there working hard all the time.

Patrick Dunn: 00:25:21

You don't have to wait until your heart has been threatened by heart

Patrick Dunn: 00:25:24

disease to take care of your heart.

Patrick Dunn: 00:25:28

We can do things like cardiac prehab.

Patrick Dunn: 00:25:30

Start adopting these regimens and these behaviors before something bad happens.

Patrick Dunn: 00:25:36

And even before that, so what we call primary prevention.

Patrick Dunn: 00:25:42

So just adopting good, healthy lifestyles, and even another term,

Patrick Dunn: 00:25:49

which is primordial prevention, which means throughout your life.

Patrick Dunn: 00:25:53

You can be, you know, uh, a child, it can be uh, an adolescent.

Patrick Dunn: 00:25:58

You can be a young adult and there's no time that's too soon

Patrick Dunn: 00:26:04

to be taking care of your heart.

Patrick Dunn: 00:26:07

So that would be my advice.

Patrick Dunn: 00:26:08

Don't wait for don't wait for cardiac rehab to be your

Patrick Dunn: 00:26:11

reality, if you can avoid it.

Serena: 00:26:14

Thank you.

Serena: 00:26:14

Thank you so much for being here with us.

Serena: 00:26:18

I'm really grateful.

Patrick Dunn: 00:26:20

Yeah, I appreciate the opportunity.

Patrick Dunn: 00:26:22

Thank you.

Serena: 00:26:25

thank you for listening.

Serena: 00:26:28

If you enjoy this episode.

Serena: 00:26:31

Please share it with others, with friends, the needs to hear

Serena: 00:26:35

this meaningful conversation.

Serena: 00:26:37

For more information, you can visit the website, serenheart.com.

Serena: 00:26:42

You have the link in the description

Serena: 00:26:45

Thanks again