Welcome to the Heart Beat blog.

By Dr. Chris Huff, Interventional Cardiologist & Founder of Premier Cardiovascular Health and Performance

I'm Dr. Chris Huff, a board-certified interventional cardiologist with over a decade of experience helping patients recover from some of the most serious heart and vascular issues. But today, we're not talking about crisis management. We’re here to talk prevention, performance, and reclaiming your health—starting with your heart.

Who I Am—and Why This Blog Exists

You might be wondering, what exactly is an interventional cardiologist? In simple terms, after training in cardiology, I pursued further specialization that allows me to treat heart and vascular issues using minimally invasive procedures—think catheters and stents, not scalpels and open-heart surgery. From heart attacks to aortic aneurysms, blood clots in the lungs (pulmonary embolisms), and leg veins (DVT), I’ve spent years on the front lines saving lives.

But as much as I love fixing problems, I’m even more passionate about preventing them. That’s why I started Premier Cardiovascular Health and Performance—a program dedicated to helping people improve their metabolic health and cardiovascular performance through personalized nutrition and fitness plans.

The Truth About Cardiovascular Health in America

Let’s face it: heart health in the U.S. is in a dire state. Despite our technological advancements, we're suffering from epidemic levels of heart disease—largely due to what we call metabolic dysfunction, driven by poor nutrition and a sedentary lifestyle.

So what is metabolic dysfunction?

At its core, metabolism is your body's ability to convert food into energy. When that process breaks down—thanks to processed foods, sugar overload, and inactivity—it leads to metabolic syndrome. This syndrome dramatically raise your chances of developing heart disease. Here's what we look for:

• High triglycerides (over 150 mg/dL)

• Low HDL (“good” cholesterol, less than 40 mg/dL)

• Increased waist circumference (a sign of dangerous visceral fat)

• High blood pressure

• Elevated fasting glucose

Sound familiar? If so, you're not alone.

Coronary Artery Disease: The Silent Killer

When we talk about heart disease in this podcast, we’re primarily referring to coronary artery disease (CAD)—a condition caused by cholesterol buildup in the arteries that supply blood to your heart muscle.

Every 40 seconds, someone in the U.S. has a heart attack. In 2021 alone, CAD claimed over 375,000 lives. This isn’t just a medical statistic—it’s a call to action.

What Happens in CAD?

The arteries that feed your heart muscle begin to clog with fatty plaque. That restricts blood flow. Without blood, your heart muscle can’t contract—and that leads to heart muscle death, heart failure, and sometimes, sudden cardiac arrest. And here’s the kicker: once those heart muscle cells die, they don’t come back.

Understanding Symptoms and Risk Factors

The hallmark symptom of coronary artery disease is angina—chest discomfort during physical exertion. But symptoms can vary. Some people feel tightness, shortness of breath, or even indigestion-like discomfort. If these symptoms occur at rest, it could signal an unstable condition that demands immediate medical attention.

Now let’s talk risk factors. Besides rare genetic conditions, the biggest culprits are:

• Smoking

• Diabetes (especially Type 1)

• High blood pressure

• High cholesterol

• Obesity

• Physical inactivity

In short, most of these are fixable. That’s what makes prevention so powerful.

My Mission: Restore. Prevent. Perform.

At Premier Cardiovascular Health and Performance, our focus is helping you reduce these risks by restoring metabolic health and enhancing cardiovascular performance. How?

We work to:

• Normalize blood sugar

• Improve cholesterol profiles

• Lower blood pressure

• Boost VO2 max (a critical measure of cardiovascular fitness)

The higher your VO2 max, the longer—and better—you’re likely to live. That’s not just hopeful thinking. It’s science.

What’s Next?

In our next post, I’ll break down cholesterol in a way that makes sense. We’ll cover what the numbers mean, which ones matter most, and what’s often overlooked. We’ll also explore how the right nutrition—and when necessary, medications—can make a huge difference.

Let’s keep learning, moving, and building a stronger heart—together.