The Organ Next Door: Heart Health and CF

What happens when the heart becomes part of the cystic fibrosis story?

In this episode, Ahmet Uluer, DO, MPH, Lauren Harvey, and Andrea Gavin Becker welcome cardiologists Evan Manning, MD and Mark Harvey, MD to discuss the connection between cystic fibrosis and cardiovascular health. CF care has historically centered on the lungs, but as people with CF live longer, what have we overlooked about the organ sitting right next door?

Together, we explore how inflammation, cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes, and CFTR modulator therapy can affect heart health, why people with CF may face an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, and what symptoms shouldn’t be ignored.

We also talk about plaque, medication interactions, the importance of knowing your numbers, and why sometimes the best place to start is with the basics. As people with CF are living longer, what do we know about protecting the heart—and what are we still trying to figure out?

Also: Dr. Dad on the dance floor, the heart as a next-door neighbor, and, you AORTA know, a hearty amount of heart puns.

Evan Manning completed his cardiology training at the University of Minnesota with a special focus on the prevention of heart disease. His research interests include studying the effects of chronic inflammation on heart health.

Dr. Manning believes that prevention cardiology has a role in everyone’s healthcare journey whether that involves preventing heart disease for healthy people with a family history of heart disease or preventing further heart disease for people with already sick hearts. He works together with his patients to form strategies for healthy lifestyle changes through diet, exercise and weight loss and to help make shared decisions on what tests and medications could be right for them.

Mark Harvey is a Cardiac Electrophysiology specialist in Oklahoma City. He completed training at the University of Michigan Hospitals. Dr. Harvey recently retired from Oklahoma Heart Hospital after more than 30 years of  practice.

Two of Dr. Harvey’s adult children are living with cystic fibrosis, making the HFF’s mission highly personal. Dr. Harvey’s vision for the foundation is one in which financial and human resources can be strategically given in such a way that they become catalysts to cure cystic fibrosis and beyond.