Vital Signs
Vital Signs is brought to you by the
physicians of the Greater Louisville
Medical Society. It is a free health
and wellness publication intended
for educating patients on important
medical health topics.
Vital Signs Team
David Watkins, MD
Vital Signs Adviser
Bruce A. Scott, MD
GLMS President
Robert H. Couch, MD
GLMS President-Elect
A Q&A with Cardiologist
Henry Sadlo, MD.
Lelan Woodmansee, CAE
GLMS Executive Director
Bert Guinn, MBA, CAE
GLMS Associate Executive Director
Aaron Burch
GLMS Communications Specialist
Kate Williams
GLMS Communications Designer
GLMS Mission
Promote the science, art and
profession of medicine; Protect the
integrity of the patient-physician
relationship; Advocate for the health
and well-being of the community;
Unite physicians regardless of
practice setting to achieve these
ends.
Notice
Vital Signs is published by the
Greater Louisville Medical Society,
101 W. Chestnut St.
Louisville, KY 40202
Phone (502) 589-2001
Fax (502) 581-9022
www.glms.org
For more information, contact
Aaron Burch at (502) 589-2001 or
[email protected].
Vital Signs is underwritten by:
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Employment
Services
A Greater Louisville Medical Society Company
Copyright 2014 The Greater Louisville Medical
Society. All rights reserved.
2
H
igh blood pressure is an epidemic Americans have faced for decades. According to
research done by the American Heart Association, one of every three adults in the U.S.
(77.9 million people) has high blood pressure. Of that number, nearly 20 percent are
completely unaware of their condition.
High blood pressure, otherwise known as hypertension, often has no single underlying
cause. It may come from a combination of circumstances including genetics, inactivity and
poor diet. While 1/3 of adult Americans are estimated to have hypertension, the Center for
Disease Control has announced another 1/3 of our nation have pre-hypertension, meaning
that without lifestyle changes we could soon be facing a country where more than 50 percent
of the population has life-threatening high blood pressure.
These numbers are humbling. In 2009 alone, high blood pressure was listed as the primary
or contributing cause of death in 348,102 fatalities. In addition to the loss of life, high blood
pressure takes a toll on the nation’s economy. The AHA estimates the direct and indirect
costs of high blood pressure to top $50 billion on an annual basis. However, there is room
for improvement. Public education on the disease is increasing and medicine has improved
significantly in the past few decades.
Henry Sadlo, MD, is an invasive, non-interventional cardiologist with the University of Louisville, currently focused on preventive cardiology and outpatient cardiology. He also practices
at Jewish Hospital and Floyd Memorial Hospital. In practice for 24 years, Dr. Sadlo works
with patients, ages 18 to 100, on cardiac issues such as heart attacks, valve problems and
rhythm problems.
We sat down with Dr. Sadlo to learn more about high blood pressure and what the average
person can do to lessen his or her health risks.
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VITAL SIGNS Volume 9 • Issue 3