Yes, he’s a cardiologist who offers world-class treatment of heart disease.

But Dr. James Harvey is also just a guy with a heart, a history of family heart disease and a weakness for snacks in the break room.

“I spend my life fixing hearts. I tell patients, ‘I want this to be the last stent I put in you. I want us to focus on prevention of heart disease.’ I am a very aggressive cholesterol manager,” the 51-year-old interventional cardiologist says. “But when it comes down to it, doctors are just like everybody else. Even knowing everything I do, I kind of paid attention to my own numbers and I kind of didn’t. I stayed aggressive toward my health habits and then I kind of didn’t.”

Fortunately for Dr. Harvey – and for other heart patients – there is both advanced testing and targeted treatment for guys (and gals) with hearts all over our region.

The doctor’s health history

Dr. Harvey has a family history of heart disease. His grandpa and two of his uncles died from heart attacks at an early age – less than 70 years old. So, he knew he would have to pay special attention to his own heart health.

When he was in cardiology training, he started getting his cholesterol levels checked. His LDL, or “bad cholesterol,” level was 156, which was borderline high. He exercised, changed his diet and lost some weight but his LDL reading did not come down far enough. In his early 30s, Dr. Harvey started taking a statin, a drug to lower his cholesterol and reduce his risk of heart attack and stroke, eventually moving to a stronger statin.

About two years ago, Dr. Harvey shared his family history with his colleague Dr. David Kann in the WellSpan York Hospital catheterization lab. Dr. Kann told him he wanted to see him as a patient and was rather firm about it.

“He said, ‘I have an opening tomorrow,’” Dr. Harvey recalls. “I said, ‘I can’t do tomorrow.’ He said, ‘I know you interventional cardiologists. You will show up five years from now. It’s going to be tomorrow. Figure it out.’”

The doctor gets diagnosed

Dr. Kann ordered some advanced cholesterol testing and discussed both diet and exercise, as Dr. Harvey has done with countless of his own patients. But now the cardiologist was hearing himself confess that he was a weekend warrior who sometimes got short of breath when he exerted himself.

Dr. Kann recommended that his colleague undergo an advanced type of testing using a 4DCT machine, basically a very fast and high functioning CAT scanner that adds time as the fourth dimension to traditional three-dimensional imaging.

The 4DCT allows WellSpan cardiologists to record multiple images of the heart over time, allowing them to see heart disease that would not be caught in a traditional stress test. Doctors compare the testing to a mammogram or a colonoscopy, in that it allows them to see disease very early and take steps to treat it.

Dr. Harvey’s scan showed something very concerning: a 30% narrowing in the largest artery in the heart, the one nicknamed the “widow maker.”

This is the image of Dr. Harvey's heart. The narrowed artery is the central one that runs vertically through the scan. The narrowed part is about a third of the way down, where there is a darker spot on the artery.

“I walked away with a diagnosis of coronary artery disease,” he says. “It was humbling as all get out. I saw it. I saw it on my own heart. I know what that artery looks like when it closes. As the father of two little girls, this was terrible. I had to do something.”

The doctor works to heal himself

Dr. Harvey took a three-pronged approach: diet, exercise and medication.

With regard to his diet, he acknowledged he needs to be more prepared with healthy options. His schedule is unpredictable and when he goes a long time without eating, he sometimes grabs whatever is available. In the cath lab break room, that means bags of salty stuff. “You know York County is the snack food capital of the world, right?” he says ruefully.

With regard to exercise, he put a gym in his basement and started getting up very early every day to work out.

With regard to medication, in addition to his cholesterol-lowering drug, he got on a drug called a PCSK9 inhibitor, a drug that lowers the “bad cholesterol” level and reduces the risk of cardiovascular events.

Now Dr. Harvey is the grateful patient.

“I feel fantastic,” he says. “I feel like I have been reversing in age. The test was a wakeup call but also empowering.”

Be like the doctor

You don’t have to be an interventional cardiologist who offers world-class treatments to take care of your own heart. Here’s where to start with the same steps Dr. Harvey took:

• Know your numbers. Ask your doctor if a cholesterol test is right for you.
• Ask your doctor about testing. A 4DCT test may be indicated for patients, like Dr. Harvey, who are experiencing an onset of symptoms that include chest pain and/or shortness of breath. While the right test for most, it is not designed for certain patients such as those with existing stents.
• Take action. Modify your diet and exercise as necessary. Talk to your doctor about appropriate medications.

“There was a time when our parents and their parents felt like knowing you had the beginnings of heart disease was just a reason to worry. But with this disease process, knowing is not bad news,” Dr. Harvey says. “Taking the time to make the effort to learn can save your life. Knowledge truly comes with power. Being informed can change your life about getting the disease or not and, if you have it, keeping it at bay or not. Find out before you have a serious problem.”

How healthy is your heart? Find out by taking this assessment.