In honor of Heart Healthy Month, Dr. Columbus Batiste, an interventional cardiologist, shares his guidance as the special guest on this week’s Tango Alpha Lima podcast.
Dr. Columbus Batiste, an interventional cardiologist, shares his knowledge as part of Heart Healthy Month as the special guest in this week’s episode of the American Legion Tango Alpha Lima podcast.
Inspired by his father’s service in the Army, Batiste developed a deep sense of commitment to serving others that led to a dedication to community health and the establishment of the non-profit organization Healthy Heart Nation. Batiste, Assistant Clinical Professor and the Regional Chief of Cardiology for the Southern California Permanente Medical Group, is also an advocate for whole food plant-based nutrition.
During his sophomore year of college Batiste found his calling.
“I just fell in love with the heart and everything just started connecting and resonating,” he says. “In life you tend to gravitate toward the things that come easier to you. I love the physiology of the heart. I love the anatomy of the heart. It just made sense. It became a passion.”
Soon that transitioned to a role at the Los Angeles VA where Batiste worked in the cardiac rehab program and was inspired by nurse Mimi.
“That (experience) led me to develop the program I did for my organization of delivering cardiac rehab to now about 45,000 patients since 2018,” he said.
Clearly, there is such a need.
According to the CDC, 702,880 people died from heart disease, which equates to one death every 33 seconds, in 2022. Veterans face an even higher risk due to the stress of service, exposure to environmental hazards and the physical toll of military life.
Batiste, who spent six years working at VA medical centers, talked about how changes in society have created the issue.
“We used to eat plants, now we eat food from plants,” he said, while noting the 24/7 availability of media entertainment and processed food. “We don’t get enough sleep. We don’t move our bodies. We don’t feed ourselves well. And then we ask ourselves, ‘Why is there so much disease?’”
Among the practical steps Batiste recommends to improve heart health are re-engaging with nature, animals and communities. His book, “Selfish: A Cardiologist’s Guide to Healing a Broken Heart,” was published last year.
His goal is to educate people so that “each one can teach one” about the power of health promoting foods in the form of plant-based natural food sources combined with activity, sleep and gratitude. Learn more at his website Healthy Heart Nation.
Also in this episode, co-hosts Stacy Pearsall, Adam Marr and Joe Worley chat about:
• The end of the era of dipping?
• Why instructors at a military leadership course assigned students a haiku.
• Let’s All Eat Right day, which is Feb. 25.
• “The most influential auto executive you barely know.”
You can also check out the nearly 300 Tango Alpha Lima podcasts available in both audio and video formats here. You can also download episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify other major podcast-hosting sites. The video version is available at the Legion’s YouTube channel.
- Tango Alpha Lima