Is heart disease in your child’s future?
What's in your children's health future? Strong evidence indicates that if your child is overweight, heart disease may be a part of their future.
"In autopsy studies even on infants, there are cardiac changes even under the age if two. Some of it is family history but a lot of it is learned eating habits and patterns of activity," said Dr. Mark Osborn.
In this age of technology, less exercise means more children are overweight and that spells trouble for their health.
"We are really surprised by that the cardiac risks factors used assessed starting at age 12, then we backed it to age five and now we are going below to age two," Dr. Osborn said.
Kids with a family history are now being screened very early.
"If there is a family history starting at birth and we identify family members who have had heart attack earlier than age 50 and those with elevated cholesterols, hypertension, obesity, if any of those are in place, we do begin screening at age two," said Dr. Osborn.
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When it comes to raising a healthy family, busy parents are challenged.
Controlling cholesterol and blood pressure begins at home. It's the parent’s responsibility to set the stage for the Childs future health.
“We need to rethink what we are doing as parents, setting an example for our kids and teach them habits that will follow them throughout their entire life,” Dr. Osborn said.
If your child does have high cholesterol, there is some good news. The numbers can be reduced by five percent by exercising and eating a healthy diet which means avoiding saturated fats. Cholesterol levels changes as we age.
"A 60-year-old with a cholesterol with 250 isn't bad. It's very bad in a teenager. When we get over 250 we get very concerned and get aggressive with nutritional counseling and exercise programs.” said Dr. Osborn.
Medicating kids for cholesterol has its drawbacks.
“With regards to statins such as Zocor, Lipitor, they are not FDA approved in children. The safety studies are ongoing and but not yet determined so most people will be pretty uncomfortable using off label for kids over 12,” said Dr. Osborn.