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Too many of us are in denial about heart disease, the leading cause of death in our country for more than a century.
Instead, we irrationally fear more sensationalized ways to die, such as gun violence or freak accidents.
Cardiovascular disease, along with stroke, claims more lives in the U.S. than all forms of cancer and chronic lower respiratory disease combined.
On average, someone dies of cardiovascular disease every 34 seconds.
By the time you began reading this column, another American died from heart-related problems.
Despite these chilling facts, roughly half of Americans don’t identify heart disease as the No. 1 killer, according to a 2023 Harris Poll survey.
“The results of this survey are discouraging and even a bit frightening,”
— Dr. Joseph Wu, volunteer president of the American Heart Association
Tom Rich, who was born with a congenital heart defect, had always been a bit frightened of heart problems.
Every family member on his mother’s side died from heart disease.
“I could never get medical or life insurance,” the senior citizen from Highland said.
“One life insurance company told me they could not cover me because people with my problem did not live very long.”
Years peeled away, then decades.
Rich’s heart slowly worsened. He developed hypertension.
It’s considered severe if blood pressure rises above 180/120.
“My blood pressure was 225/190,” Rich said.
His new best friend became a cardiologist, Dr. Shashidar Divakaruni, who ordered Rich to spend a week in a hospital to get his hypertension under control.
“He saved my life,” Rich said.
After that red-alert hospital stay, Rich and his wife, Paulette, began walking regularly at Wicker Park in Highland.
“At first I could barely make it around the park,” Rich recalled.
“But we kept walking and walking.”
When winter arrived, the couple joined a gym, where Rich began integrating regular exercise into his lifestyle.
At the time, his heart was experiencing hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which often goes undiagnosed and asymptomatic.
“My septum was pressing against my aortic valve,” Rich explained.
Divakaruni broke the serious news to him.
“I needed to have major heart surgery,” Rich said.
“I never had surgery in my life. I was terrified.”
He was so terrified that he put off the surgery for three years.
His wife was so terrified of him not having the surgery that she gave him an ultimatum.
“I’m not going to do nothing and just watch you die,” she told him.
Rich finally relented and scheduled the procedure.
It took place four years ago under the care of Dr. Patrick McCarthy, a cardiac surgeon at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago.
Due to the fact that Rich had already been exercising for three years, McCarthy felt confident that Rich’s heart would survive the procedure.
“He said there was less than a 5% chance that anything would go wrong,” Rich said.
With the help of his wife Paulette, left, and trainer Kathy Paul, Tom Rich has worked out a healthier lifestyle.
“My turnaround has a lot to do with healthy eating and exercise,” Rich said.
Healthy eating and exercise are so simple yet so challenging for most of us.
It typically takes a health scare or heart attack to grab our attention by the throat and force us to change our habits.
“If someone has a medical problem, being physically fit will only help them,” said Rich, who is taking part in a research program at Northwestern Medicine.
He recently had a checkup at his doctor’s office.
His blood pressure is now 90/60.
“Dr. Divakaruni told me that once you get a second chance at life, you tend to look at it in a different way,” Rich said.
“One thing you try to do is take better care of yourself.”
In his hospital bed, Rich overheard a nurse talking to a doctor.
“Is he gonna make it?” the nurse asked.
“Yeah, he’s gonna make it,” the doctor replied.
Rich exhaled and rededicated himself to a healthier lifestyle with routine exercise, a stricter diet, and more overall activity.
He works out three to four times a week at Community Hospital Fitness Pointe in Munster.
“I came out of there with a new heart valve, a trimmed septum, and the hole that had been in my heart was patched,” Rich said.
He also came out of the experience with a rededicated passion to share his experiences with anyone who’d listen, including me.
He was one of many readers to contact me with their personal story about getting into better shape, at any age, in response to my column on this topic.
Its headline was as serious as a you-know-what: Just. Keep. Moving.
Rich started a new company, Healthy Lifestyle Apparel, producing T-shirts related to heart issues and a healthy lifestyle.
Part of the sales are donated to the American Heart Association.
“I believe in my heart this is what I need to do,” Rich said.
Forget about other potential killers in our world — gun violence, freak accidents, vehicular homicide, and others that attract too much media attention.
The most likely killer, statistically, of anyone reading this column will be a heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular disease.
Our collective denial of this deadly truth is only killing more people.
Contact Jerry at Jerry.Davich@nwi.com.
Find him on Facebook and other socials.
The gym which I joined is Powers Health Community Hospital Fitness Pointe, Munster, Indiana. They are different from other gyms because they are guided by their Medical Fitness Advisory, which Debi Pillarella instituted one year ago. The chair is an Orthopedic Surgeon, and the members are from a variety of disciplines such as Leticia Duvnjak, RN, Cardiac Rehabilitation Manager.
I would like to thank several individuals who have been a part of my journey. First, my wife Paulette for standing by me through all my medical problems. She changed our whole diet to a healthier one, enabled us to join a health club (Powers Health Fitness Pointe), and essentially got me to have the surgery I needed.
My Cardiologist, Dr. Shashidar Divakaruni of Munster, Indiana, has taken care of me since the beginning of my problem. He got in contact with Dr. Patrick McCarthy of Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiology, Chicago, Illinois. Dr. McCarthy is the cardiac surgeon who, along with Dr. Divakaruni, saved my life. He also advised me on what type of exercise I needed to do when I got back to the gym.
Leticia Duvnjak, RN, Cardiac Rehabilitation Manager at Powers Health, is the best. Everyone enjoys being in her classes, and she is excellent at helping patients get back on track to heal from their cardiac problems.
Debi Pillarella, DHSc., MEd., Executive Director of Integrative Wellness & Medical Fitness Services for Powers Health, has done a fantastic job of keeping this the best gym around—constantly upgrading equipment, hiring the best staff, and more. She listened to the issues I faced during my health recovery journey, helped me with the right exercises, and treats people as if they truly matter.
The trainers at Powers Health Fitness Pointe—Tracey, Kathy, Calvin, and Deidra—are also terrific. They have all shown me good cardiac rehabilitation exercises, the proper way to perform them, and the correct way to use the equipment.
Erin Crawford, Developmental Director of the American Heart Association, enabled me to be involved with the American Heart Association walks for heart disease. I was able to share my heart and hypertension journey on the Walk for Heart Disease website and help raise donations for the association. I thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity.
Finally, Jerry Davich, writer for the NWI Times, wrote an article about my battle with heart disease. He shared statistics about cardiovascular disease, its deadly risks, and highlighted how I was able to get mine under control.
To turn personal survival into public strength — by spreading awareness about heart health, encouraging lifestyle change, and supporting others through fashion with a message.
We exist to spark conversation, save lives, and proudly wear our stories.
A world where heart health is prioritized, awareness replaces fear, and survivors become advocates.
We envision a community where every heartbeat counts, and every voice matters.
