Cardiologists Tend to Practice What They Preach

FRIDAY, April 28 (HealthDay News) -- Nearly 90 percent of cardiologists exercise at least once a week and only about 1 percent are active smokers, according to survey findings published in the April 1 issue of the American Journal of Cardiology.

Hussam Abuissa, M.D., of the Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Mo., and colleagues surveyed cardiologists using a one-page, 25-question anonymous questionnaire eliciting information on demographics, medical history and current medications and supplements. Data on the 471 cardiologists who responded to the survey were then compared with data in national databases.

The participants, most of whom were men (92.9 percent) with an average age of 48.6 years, had an average body mass index of 25 kg/m2. Eight percent were obese, 1.3 percent were active smokers, 89 percent exercised at least once a week, and 72 percent had more than one alcoholic drink a week, most commonly red wine.

In terms of cardiovascular risks, 28 percent had dyslipidemia, 14 percent had hypertension and 0.6 percent had diabetes mellitus. Approximately one-third of the cohort took aspirin and statins, and 4 percent had experienced cardiac events.

"Compared with matched cohorts from the U.S. population, cardiologists reported lower rates of hypertension, dyslipidemia and diabetes mellitus, and the rates of smoking and obesity were 1/18 and 1/3 of the U.S. population, respectively," the authors note.

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