Heather Shenkman, Cardiologist: DrHeatherShenkman.com
Sifu Slim, Author; Speaker; Wellness Coach: SifuSlim.com
Heather Shenkman, MD, FACC, is an interventional cardiologist in practice in the Los Angeles area.
She is a proponent of lowering her patients risk of heart disease through healthy lifestyle changes, including a plant-based diet and regular exercise.
An avid athlete, Dr. Shenkman has completed over a hundred races of various distances. DrHeatherShenkman.com
The Aging Heart question from Sifu Slim
Suggested by a 4th generation orthopedic surgeon because “it’s a new field in orthopedic medicine,” ‘The Aging Athlete’ is a compelling look at the post-athletic life of athletes. Former high performance athletes, military personnel, and stage performers tend to stop doing regular, wellness enhancing physical activity on the first day they leave their former calling. Only about ten percent of the athletes pursue lifetime fitness. Since fitness and diet drive wellness, many of the 90 percent experience dysfunction and obesity. This first book of the series examines the lifetime pursuits of 15 engaging male athletes whose fame was in the 1950s through 2000s, from the point of view of mindset.
Why are they wired differently than the other 90 percent who hang up the running shoes and never get into their own program of lifetime physical activity and recreation like yoga, stretching, hiking, and dancing.
My research about the 10% who are still practicing physical movement has been updated. Now, I believe, that of the 10% who are still doing regular physical movement, a certain percentage may be doing things at least partially incorrectly. For example, the heart changes with age. Even the valves tend to function differently with age, stress, trauma, diet, etc.
A friend of mine has a hardcore dad who served in Vietnam. His dad was running like a performance athlete into his late 60s. His cardiologist told him two things:
1. You need a pacemaker and heart medication
2. You are running the wrong way, excessively and with too much pressure for your system
The dad’s answer: “No one told me… I was just doing what I learned in high school and in the Army…”
What Sifu suggests is people learn about thriving through aging process. It’s a reality check we all must face.
Dr. Heather discusses the causes that lead to heart problems which, in general, are often not a by-product of our fitness regimens.
Inactivity and poor diet–issues of lifestyle–are general drivers for bad health and poor heart health.
Try Dr. Heather’s book as a starting point for your improved health.
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