Mending Broken Hearts: Regulatory Response to America's Heart Disease Epidemic
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MENDING BROKEN HEARTS: REGULATORY
RESPONSE TO AMERICA'S HEART DISEASE EPIDEMIC
Kimberly Madden*
INTRODUCTION
In 2021, my 45-year-old, marathon running, active and seemingly healthy
husband, Zach, had a massive, widowmaker heart attack. His left anterior
descending artery was 100% blocked, which required two stents to restore blood
flow to the heart.' Zach had consistently exercised-waking up at 4:30 a.m. six
days a week to run and lift weights. He counted his calories and made sure he was
eating plenty of protein as he had been instructed by both his primary care
physician (PCP) and his fitness trainer. He diligently went to his PCP each year
for a physical exam. He drank plenty of water. He never smoked or drank alcohol.
He had no family history of heart disease. He was not obese or diabetic. He did not
have high blood pressure or cholesterol. He did not seem a prime candidate for a
heart attack. And yet, he had the worst type of heart attack-a heart attack with a
12% survival rate if experienced outside the hospital, which his was.2 Fifty percent
of men who survive a heart attack eventually die from a heart attack, and 24% of
those deaths occur within the first year following a heart attack.3 Zach was
determined not to be one of the 50% of men who die from a subsequent heart
attack. He asked his cardiologist what he should be doing to prevent that. Take
these drugs, eat right, exercise, and hope for the best, his cardiologist told him.
Zach was not satisfied, and he went to three other cardiologists hoping for more
concrete advice. Specifically-what does eat healthy mean, especially heart
healthy. Some gave general guidance-eat a well-balanced diet and avoid fatty
foods, but what does well-balanced diet mean? The answer to that question
could potentially save some of the over 700,000 people [who] die of heart disease
each year in the United States.4
* This Comment is dedicated to my husband, Zach. Thank you for not dying and leaving me
to raise these kids alone. They would eat me alive.
1. Widowmaker Heart Attack, CLEVELAND CLINIC, https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/disea
ses/24507-widowmaker-heart-attack (Dec. 6, 2022).
2. Heart and Vascular Health. What Is a Widowmaker Heart Attack?, UPMC HEALTHBEAT,
https://share.upmc.com/2019/02/widowmaker/ (Sept. 2, 2022).
3. Wendy E. Parmet, The Impact ofLaw on Coronary Heart Disease: Some Preliminary Obser-
vations on the Relationship of Law to Normalized Conditions, 30 J. L. MED. & ETmHcs 608, 609
(2002).
4. Heart Disease Facts, U.S. CTRS. FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (May 15, 2024),
https://www.cdc.gov/heart-disease/data-research/facts-stats.
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Mending Broken Hearts: Regulatory Response to America's Heart Disease Epidemic
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