Dr Paddy Barrett Profile picture
Dec 17 8 tweets 3 min read Twitter logo Read on Twitter
As a cardiologist, I've seen thousands of patients over the years.

Here are the 5 things I recommend to every patient I see.

📕Make Sure To Bookmark✅ Image
1. Make Fitness A Priority

High levels of fitness have the strongest associations with longevity.

The evidence is overwhelmingly clear.

If you are not prioritising fitness.

You are leaving the biggest opportunity for benefit on the table. Image
2. Understand That Lifetime Risk Is What You Should Focus On

Most people focus on 10 year risk estimations.

At younger ages, these calculations are as close to useless as makes no difference in my view.

Use Lifetime Risk calculators to determine risk/benefits. Image
3. Know Your Lp(a) Levels

There is about a 1 in 5 chance you have an elevated Lp(a)

Which significantly increases your risk of early heart disease.

It's easy to check.

Most people have no idea what their levels are. Image
4. Track Quantifiable Metrics

Use validated metrics to assess your risk and progress over time:

Blood Pressure
Muscle Mass
Visceral Fat
V02 Max
APOB

What isn't measured isn't managed. Image
5. You Are The One Driving The Ship

Your doctor really does care about you.

But YOU are the one in charge.

Don't be a passenger. Be the driver.

YOU have the most to GAIN and the most to LOSE.

Act accordingly. Image
That's a wrap!

👋 If you enjoyed this thread, you might like to join over 16K others on my weekly newsletter, getting actionable insights on heart disease prevention. Link in bio above☝️ Image
If you like Tweets like this, you might enjoy my weekly newsletter.

Actionable content to help you understand and improve your health.

Join thousands of other subscribers by checking out the link in my bio.
Have to do it this way. Blame Elon ;)

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More from @Paddy_Barrett

Dec 16
Over 60% of adults are not doing enough resistance training.

This likely has serious consequences for their health.

Here are 5 reasons why you should be doing resistance training.

📕Make Sure To Bookmark✅ Image
1. By age 80 some people have lost almost half of their muscle mass.

Most of this loss happens after age 60.

Low levels of muscle mass are associated with earlier deaths.

Resistance training delays the decay of muscle mass over time. Image
2. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide.

High levels of muscle mass achieved by regular resistance training

Are associated with lower Coronary Artery Calcification scores

Which is a marker of plaque and an indicator of increased risk. Image
Read 7 tweets
Dec 13
Weight Loss Medications For Obesity Have Changed Everything.

The pace of change is incredible.

But with staggering weight reductions, there are some downsides.

📕Make Sure To Book Mark✅

🧵👇

/1
"There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen"

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin.

This is what the world of weight loss medications feels like right now.

The introduction of semaglutide changed everything

But since then a LOT has changed.

/2
What is new?

And where are we starting to see some cracks in the weight loss medication drug class?

First, there was Semaglutide (Ozempic/Wegovy) and Tirzepatide (Mounjaro)

Showing reductions in weight of 15 to 20%.

Astounding results.

/3 Image
Read 19 tweets
Dec 10
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide.

Many of risk factors are known.

But many go unnoticed and therefore silently increase the risk of heart disease.

Here are 5 risk factors that you should look out for (That might just save your life). Image
1. Lp(a)

1 in 5 people have an elevated Lp(a).

This genetic factor significantly ⬆️ the risk of early:
- Heart disease
- Stroke
- Aortic valve disease

Novel therapies are in the pipeline to treat it

But we know that aggressive risk factor control can seriously ⬇️ risk.
2. Insulin Resistance (IR)

Is a precursor to diabetes and metabolic syndrome

But is rarely formally tested for and can be an issue lurking undetected for years.

IR ⬆️ the risk of heart disease by about 6 fold.

It is entirely reversible with the right lifestyle measures.
Read 7 tweets
Dec 3
Exercise is probably the single best way to extend lifespan.

You need to exercise like your life depends on it.

Because it does.

Here's why.

📕Make Sure To Bookmark✅

🧵👇
/1 Image
When someone says they ‘want to get fit’, I typically have no idea what they mean.

How you exercise if you want to be an Olympic-level sprinter compared to running 5 km at the weekends is vastly different.

So when you say you want to exercise to get fit, to what end?
/2
I base my goals on lifespan and health span:

to be an active and capable 90-year-old.

I want to win at the ‘game of life’.
/3
Read 22 tweets
Dec 2
Is alcohol good for you or bad for you?

Here's what the research says.

📕Make Sure To Bookmark✅

🧵👇

/1 Image
Let’s start with some simple facts.

Alcohol is a toxin.

Alcohol is a factor in:

30% of suicides
40% of fatal burn injuries
50% of fatal drownings
50% of homicides
65% of fatal falls
29% of fatal road traffic accidents.

/2
Globally, alcohol is responsible for 3 million deaths per year.

In the United States, it is the third leading cause of preventable death.

It is hard to see the upside when you see these figures.

So let’s go a little deeper.

/3
Read 25 tweets
Nov 29
Do You Need A Stent To Treat Your Heart Disease?

📕Make Sure To Bookmark✅

🧵👇

/1 Image
One of the most common questions I get is

“Do I need a stent to treat my heart disease?”

First, we must understand what a stent is and why it is used.

A stent is a metal scaffold deployed in a coronary artery that has reduced flow in that artery to restore flow.

/2 Image
Seems pretty simple and makes total sense.

The artery is blocked.

The stent ‘unblocks’ it.

Flow is restored.

Of course, this all seems like a good idea.

But the devil is in the detail.

/3
Read 23 tweets

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