Dr. Ethan 维斯 is a cardiologist specializing in acute-care cardiology, 冠状动脉疾病和普通心脏病学. 他的兴趣包括预防心脏病学, genetics of coronary disease and coronary disease in the young. We sat down with 维斯 and asked him about heart disease and his life outside of medicine.
What are some of the most important things a person can do to prevent heart disease?
Much of the risk for heart disease is genetic and there is absolutely nothing we can do about that other than to thank our parents.
Another large chunk of risk comes from something that we all know we should avoid — cigarette smoke. 每个人都知道不要吸烟, but some people might not know that exposure to second hand smoke conveys great risk as well. 所以如果你和一个吸烟的亲戚住在一起, 在理想的情况下, you should get them to stop or at the very least you should make sure they smoke outside and far away from others.
Finally, there is the stuff that we all refer to now as lifestyle modifications. This means regular exercise, attention to weight and diet. These are complicated things and there is confusion about exactly which diet or what is the definition of being overweight. 锻炼, I really encourage people to do something that gets their heart rate up (brisk walking or hiking up hills, 慢跑, swimming or biking) at least three times a week for at least 30 minutes at a time. 考虑到我们的生活有多忙, it is often hard to make time for extensive exercise regimens, but I think we can all make room in our busy schedules for 90 minutes a week.
你如何定义“心脏健康”饮食?
There is great confusion and disagreement over what is a "heart healthy diet" and even more so over what is the best diet to lose weight. I have a favorite that works well for a lot of my patients, but I am by no means married to it. The biggest thing to remember is that in order to lose weight, one must cut the number of calories they consume (or greatly increase the number they burn). 通过运动来燃烧卡路里是很困难的.
一般成年人不需要计算卡路里. 我认为它只是帮助减少部分. That is, take what you would normally eat for a meal and cut the portion of each item by 20 percent. The choice of diet seems to be important in terms of mitigating hunger. My own favorite diet is a twist on what is called the "Mediterranean Diet." Specifically, I try to limit intake of fatty meats, concentrating on fish and poultry. I limit the intake of "white" carbohydrates and emphasize whole grains. I am a big fan of fresh fruit and vegetables and think snacking on healthy nuts such as raw almonds or walnuts is great!
What are some of the most common myths or misconceptions about heart disease?
People think that heart disease only occurs in people who are overweight or who smoke. People think that if they take really good care of themselves, they cannot have heart disease. People think that heart disease cannot occur in younger people.
你为什么决定专攻心脏病学?
这是个非常有趣的问题. People always assume that I went into cardiology because my dad is a cardiologist. 在某些方面, that made me want to do anything but cardiology as I did not want to always be seen as Jim 维斯's son. But the real reason I chose cardiology is that it was the thing that I could not stop thinking about. I guess it is like falling in love… I knew I was going to be a cardiologist when I started dreaming about it.
If you weren't practicing medicine, what would you be?
Ah! 嗯，如果我有天赋，我会成为一名音乐家. I studied music in college and loved it, and both of my parents are serious musicians. 但是，唉，我没有这个才能!
What do you do in your free time when you're not taking care of patients?
我大部分时间都和我妻子在一起, 帕尔默, who is a very talented interior designer and my two little girls, 阿米莉亚和露丝(8岁和5岁). 我们喜欢远足，滑雪，我们喜欢音乐. I am also a bit of a sports nut and have been a pretty passionate Giants fan since moving to San Francisco. 我们有季票，可以去看很多比赛, and I would guess that we will be celebrating the World Series in our house for the next 10 years.
What have been some of your most rewarding professional moments?
哦，有很多. 这也是我如此热爱我的工作的原因之一. I cannot wait to come to work in the morning and I love the variety. I particularly like how well I have gotten to know some of my patients for whom I have been caring now for almost 10 years. I love being able to discuss my research with my patients and with students and residents.
在加州大学旧金山分校实习最好的部分是什么?
UCSF is a place where there is a great spirit of collaboration. Whether it is with my lab research or if I have a difficult clinical question, 我总能找到一个乐于助人的同事. It is also a place where people are proud of their work and where people strive to do the absolute best they can.
