Category: Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease
February is Heart Month: Wear RED Friday Feb 3, 2012
February is Heart month: to increase awareness and prevention of this Number 1 killer of Americans. Women are a special category in Heart Disease, and we celebrate to increase awareness that women get heart disease too! Feb 3rd, is National Go Red Day.
How healthy is Wisconsin?
The UnitedHealth Foundation, the American Public Health Association (APHA), and the Partnership for Prevention have put out the 20th annual report of "America's Health Rankings." Vermont is the healthiest state overall and Mississippi in the unhealthiest. Guess where WI is.......
Bellin in Top US Cardiac Hospitals
It was announced today, November 14, 2011, the TOP 50 US Hospitals for Heart Care. Is your local hospital on the list? Bellin Health is!!
7th grader collapses from heart problem. AED saves the day!
Did you see this amazing video on Fox News? I caught it on Yahoo! News last night and I just have to tell you about the story. A 7th grader collapsed because of a heart condition and she is living to tell her story about it.
Anatomy of the heart
The AmeriHeart is an extreme example of the heart anatomy. But it is such a useful tool. How better to see the heart, learn what each part of the heart does and remember the importance of taking good care of your heart, than to walk through a GIANT anatomically correct heart? It has a lasting impression. Let me walk you through it.
Lowest death rate after heart attack at Bellin Hospital
Just featured in the Green Bay Press Gazette, an article about Bellin Hospital having one of the lowest death rates after heart attack in the Nation! Way to go Heart Care Team at Bellin and EMS!
festival foods: Nutrition made easy!
Have you seen it yet? The NuVal Nutritional scoring system is now available at your local Festival Foods store. Help take the confusion out of choosing healthy things to eat when you are at the store. The scoring system has done it for you!
Introducing you to MerckEngage for a Healthier You
Check out this great resource at Merckengage.com
MerckEngage is a free resource that supports your choices for healthier living. MerckEngage has a range of offerings to help you take steps toward better health, including:
• Help with managing health conditions
• Ideas for healthier eating
• Suggestions to help you become more active
• Ways to better communicate with your health care professionals
The AmeriHeart and The Bellin Run Expo
I hope you all came to see the AmeriHeart at the Bellin Run expo on Friday! It was great! We received lots of very positive feedback on the AmeriHeart tours. It is the most fun, interactive and educational exhibit we have had!! Thank-you to all who toured and also to those who completed a survey!
Students to learn about the heart
What better way for kids to learn about their hearts and how it works, then to get an official tour through BellinHeart's AmeriHeart?! The 21x17 foot, walk through heart will be at Kennedy School in Green Bay, WI on Tuesday May 24th, 2011!
BellinHeart's AmeriHeart
The AmeriHeart is coming! The AmeriHeart is coming! You saw pictures of this enormous heart back in January of this year, when Bellin Heart and Vascular brought it to the Super Bowl of Safety. Now we have one of our own!!
Prevent, halt and reverse heart disease
A book by Jospeh C. Piscatella and Barry A. Franklin, Ph.D.
The first thoughts that came into my mind when I began reading this book on the 109 things you can do to prevent, halt and reverse heart disease, was "that's exactly what I say to people when I am giving heart healthy talks!" My first impressions of the authors, is then credible, because I know the sources of where I get my information to increase awareness and educate the general public. As I read through this book, I noted it was very well referenced with many reliable sources and credits found through out the book as well as listed at the end. Ok good. The information I am going to find in this book, is valuable, evidenced-based, and the recommendations are based on the most current literature.
Managing your cholesterol
Why is cholesterol important when we talk about heart disease?
Cholesterol is found in the blockages that causes heart attacks. Less cholesterol in the body means less cholesterol to form blockages. Take a look at this picture.
Get Tough on Angina
Do you have angina? Do you know what angina is? Find out the key things you need to know here. The Get Tough on Angina program was developed by the Preventative Cardiovascular Nurses Association. www.pcna.net
Heart Calcium Scoring: What is it?
Don't wait for symptoms! Find out fast if you already have heart disease!
Wear Red on Friday, Feb 4th
One Day a Year,
What You Wear speaks volumes. Wear Red and Speak Up!
We learned so much walking through that heart!
Look at the size of that HEART! The AmeriHeart was presented by Bellin Heart and Vascular Center at the Superbowl of Safety on Saturday Jan 29th, 2011. If you didn't get a chance to see it, take a look at these pictures.
Children's Superbowl of Safety Jan 29th, 2011
Join the fun on Saturday, January 29th at Lambeau Field Atrium! FREE!
Fire safety, the dangers of electricity and the importance of staying away from household chemicals are important lessons for children. And as the fight against childhood obesity rages on, heart health and physical fitness have become important topics as well.
BellinHeart presents the Ameriheart
BellinHeart is pleased to present the AmeriHeart. A 21 foot by 17 foot large, walk through heart. Come see it in person on January 29th, 2011!
Stress women at increased risk
Are you in a high strain job? Defined as a demanding job, with time pressures and little opportunity for decision making or person growth.
Do you consider your job to have active job strain? This means high-demand work with with a high sense of control.
MD consult reports that job-stress women are faced with increased cardiovascular risk.
Could calcium supplements increase heart attack?
A recent review of 15 different trials, suggests that treating 1000 people with calcium for 5 years would prevent 26 fractures but cause an additional 14 heart attacks. This information comes from the article: "Rethinking Calcium: Bone Health or Heartache?" by Sandra A. Fryhofer, MD in Medscape Internal Medicine 10-25-10.
New blood test to detect heart disease
ABC world news just reported a new blood test that can find microscopic injury to heart muscle cells. This blood test is a protein known as cardiac troponin T (cTnT). The less sensitive cardiac marker Troponin, is what is used in the Emergency Department to see if a person is having a heart attack.
Heart risk identified at age of 9
Screening can begin as early as 9 years old, to find those people who could develop heart disease when they are older. This information comes from a newly published report in Circulation 2010.
The formula for good health
Follow this formula to achieve healthy life-style goals. You can do it, I know you can.
0-5-10-30-150
A blockage in your arteries: See how it forms
I would like to show you a great video that will help you to understand how build-up occurs in your arteries. Plaque, build-up or blockages can happen in any artery in your body and can lead to heart attack, stroke or the need for amputation of a toe or foot. Watch and see how this happens inside you!
Who wants a heart attack?
Who's next in line for a heart attack? Step right up, don't be shy, you've worked so hard on the risk factors.....nows the time to cash them in! Right? Well I sure hope not. We need to be working harder on preventing our risk factors, but it seems so easy to smoke, be overweight, not watch what we eat and have high blood pressure and high cholesterol. I don't really have to worry, do I?
What's resveratrol?
So if you have ever heard me give a presentation on being heart healthy, you may remember a slide talking about wine. Or maybe you heard through some other source, that drinking wine is healthy for you. Did you ever wonder why?
How your heart gets oxygen
Your heart gets oxygen from the blood brought to it through three major arteries. These arteries are called teh right coronary artery (RCA), the left anterior descending artery (LAD) and the circumflex artery.
High triglycerides and low HDL
If you are over the age of 20, you should have your cholesterol checked at least every 5 years. This test should be done after you have been fasting (nothing to eat) for 12 hours, to get accurate results.
If you have had elevated cholesterol and are making changes to your diet or with medications, it is important to know, that you should not have your cholesterol repeated sooner than 3-4 months after a change. It takes this long to see the changes happen in your values.
Smokeless tobacco is not safe
Smokeless tobacco is not a safe alternative to cigarettes! Says the American Heart Association
Freedom from smoking
It's time to stop smoking in Wisconsin!
July 2010, marks the time when you are no longer allowed to smoke in public places in Wisconisn. Ahh, the freedom to breath fresh air.
Are you ready to quit?
10 Risk factors equal 90% of stroke
A recent study has shown that there are 10 risk factors associated with 90% of the risk of having a stroke. And these risk factors can be modified!
Easy switches and smart choices
For a healthier diet, here are some examples of easy switches and smart food choices.
Meat, Fish and Poultry
Limit:
- fatty meats
- sausage
- bacon
- organ meats
- tuna packed in oil
- bologna
- hot dogs
- salami
- lunch meats
Smart substitutes: lean cuts of beef
the dentist and antibiotics
Ask Kelly Question:
I am a 55 year old women with a murmur. Should I be taking antibiotics before going to the dentist?
The importance of Blood Pressure
What should my blood pressure be? Why does it matter how high my blood pressure is? Is this something that I should monitor?
Lots of questions about blood pressure measurement. Let's talk about why it is important.
Go Red for Women - Green Bay Luncheon
The 2010 Green Bay Go Red for Women Luncheon will be held on Wednesday, May 5th at Oneida Gold and Country Club. Call 920-205-8717 for tickets!
Sudden Cardiac death in teens
Every year you read about young, healthy teens and adolescents dying after physical exertion. How do you keep your child from being one of them?
National Wear Red Day
Wear red day helps to save lives! How you ask? This is the day that millions of people will choose to wear red and help to increase awareness of women and heart disease.
Brittany Murphy's heart related death
My sympathy goes out to the family. A tragic loss, related to heart disease, at such a young age. Heart disease comes in many shapes and sizes, not just build up in the coronary arteries. What do we know so far, that could have contributed to her death?
320 slice CT scanner
It's arrived! The new Toshiba Aquilion One 320 slice CT scanner has been installed this week in the new Bellin Emergency Department!
This is the FIRST and the ONLY 320 slice CT scanner in Wisconsin. Read about the great advantages this advanced technology will bring to patients in the community.
Sleep: your heart health depends on it
Sleep occupies a third of our lives according to an article in the New England Journal of Medicine entitled, Sleep-A New Cardiovascular Frontier.
Can you believe that? Do you think that is too much time for sleep? Well, our bodies need sleep to rejuvinate so we can live our lives to the fullest when we are awake. So when we have disturbed sleep or sleep apnea, this can have ill effects on the cardiovascular system.
Why is smoking bad for you?
Overall, about 47 million Americans still smoke cigarettes. It makes me wonder if everyone really knows why they are bad for us. It makes me wonder, what the barriers are to get them to quit smoking. Read on for some facts and some tips.
Taking Aspirin to prevent heart attack or stroke
Taking aspirin (ASA) to prevent heart attack and stroke. Should I do it? Here is an "Ask Kelly" question. The answer refers to the most recent guidelines, specific to women, to prevent cardiovascular disease.
Mummy's CT scan shows Heart Disease
A recent article by Steve Sternberg from USA Today entitled: Mummy's CT scans show heart disease came before fast food. Very interesting!
Diabetes equals heart disease
Diabetes is becoming more common in the
What is cholesterol?
What is cholesterol?
It is a soft, fat-like substance found in the body. Cholesterol comes from two sources
– Food we eat
– Made in your liver
Heart Healthy Hunting
Did you know?
In the early days of the American Frontier the skin of a male deer was worth a dollar -- which is how we got the term "buck" for a $1 bill
Cardiac CT
“Recent advances in CT technology have transformed Cardiac CT from an interesting new technology into a “game-changing” technology that will revolutionize the care of patients with chest pain and change the way we practice medicine.” – Christopher Wolfram, MD, FACC - Cardiology Associates of Green Bay
Cardiobesity
Cardiobesity: a new epidemic in the United States?
Obesity is the central problem contributing to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, altered lipoproteins, prediabetes, insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome.
Can red yeast rice lower my cholesterol?
So you don't want to have to take a medication for your high cholesterol? What are the alternatives? Of course, you can watch what you eat and start to exercise, that will be very helpful. What about nutiritonal supplements? Let's talk a little bit about red yeast rice.
Prevent Sudden Cardiac Death
The C.A.R.E. Foundation: http://tinyurl.com/npan95
The C.A.R.E. Mission: To formulate, promote and lead initiatives to prevent sudden cardiac death due to acquired and heritable heart rhythm disorders by:
- Advocating increased support for comprehensive scientific research and clinical trials.
- Educating patients, the public and healthcare professionals to increase awareness.
- Advancing strategies to identify, protect and support at-risk individuals and their families.
Getting enough omega-3s in your diet?
It seems like just about everybody these days is aware that a generous intake of omega-3 fatty acids is necessary for optimal heart health. But day to day, how much do you need?
'Smart Choices' Food Labels Are Deceptive
New 'Smart Choices' Food Labels Are Deceptive
is an article by Christopher Wanjek, LiveScience's Bad Medicine Columnist. He points out one of the biggest problems in the world today: how can we make good food choices, when processed foods, with lots of sugar, high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils, are made to look like they are healthy?
Ask Kelly question about back pain and aortic dissection
Ask Kelly question:
Hi, 14 years ago I had a spontaneous dissection of the LAD descending. August 23rd of this year I had horrible building pain in my upper back. Shortness of breath, nausea and sweating. I thought it was just my back. Before I got upstairs to lie down my chest started hurting. So, I took an aspirin, because that happens often. However, in several minutes ALL pain was gone. I was shocked because the back pain had me in tears, I had taken a T3 two hours earlier to no effect. I have pain in my back daily now and an aspirin usually takes care of it.
My cardiologist wants me to get a CT scan, but I am not insurable because of my first attack. I am, female and 55 years old. It seems my symptoms indicate a dissection of the aorta, is this possible?
What exactly does it mean?
My doctor was too busy berating me for not quitting smoking and not having insurance to explain. Also, I am under stress because my husband has a few mental illnesses with BIG control issues. Thank you.
Video: The Artery Explorer
Watch this great educational video from AstraZeneca to increase awareness and knowledge about cardiovascular disease.
Women who did six things right had 80% lower risk of developing high blood pressure.
Living right can help people live healthier, and researcher John Forman of Brigham and Women’s Hospital can back that up with the experiences of women who did it.
How to Reduce Stress in Your Daily Life
No one wants to be stressed out all the time. Being in a constant state of tension and anxiety can really take a toll on our physical health. Stress has been linked to headaches, fatigue, sleep disturbances, alcohol and drug problems, mood swings and many other ailments. Essentially, stress can be overwheliming and just wears us out.
Follow these simple steps to keeping your stress in balance.
3 Things Every Woman Should Know About Heart Attacks
There are three things every women should know about heart attacks.....watch........
How a low vitamin D level leads to clogged arteries, heart disease
Low levels of vitamin D are known to nearly double the risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with diabetes, and researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis now think they know why.
Follow this link to read the full article on ihealthbulletin.com:
http://bit.ly/12Zqd4
5 top healthiest food choices for your heart
The following article is from the Heart and Stroke Foundation www.heartandstroke.com
Read about the basics to remember: eat food that is high in fiber and lower in fat and salt.
Heart Healthy Benefits of Wine
What are the heart healthy benefits of wine?
Wine is FULL of antioxidants: flavonoids and resveratrol!
Question about a heart murmur in a child
Question:
My son is 2 years old and has a slight heart murmur. Should I be concerned about it with him?
Video: Prevention of heart disease and stroke
Click on this link to watch the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association (PCNA) video on reducing your risk for heart disease and stroke.
http://www.pcna.net/about/photos/index.php
Bellin Heart Care is the Best in the area!
Bellin's report is BETTER than US National rate for death after heart attack according to a recent report from the Hospital Quality Alliance www.hospitalqualityalliance.org
In a reporting period from July 2005 through June 2008, Bellin Hospital in Green Bay, is the only area hospital to be ranked BETTER than the US National rate in mortality (death) after Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI or heart attack). See this link: http://tinyurl.com/l6dhxx
Walk for 30 minutes or exercise for heart rate goal?
Question:
Is better to walk for 30 minutes daily or walk for heart rate?
I am a male of 43 years young, 225 pounds, high blood presure (taking meds for it).
My wife is 40 years young,187 pounds, high pressure in the family, she doesn't have high blood pressure though.
Question: Chest pain not from the heart?
Question:
For quite some time now I have been experiancing pain in my chest, it is right under the sternum, when I cough or sneeze it is very painful, the pain spreads across my chest and straight into my back. I have been to the hospital and had a chest xray but they couldn't find anything wrong. I know something is wrong- this is not normal.
Is there anything you can tell me? I would like to find out what the problem is.
Heart and Stroke Risk Assessment
Just found a risk assessment for heart attack and stroke from the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
Answers the questions and find out your personal health and risks. The report will also provide tips on ways to improve your health. Click on this link:
http://tinyurl.com/mtpayz
Dr. James Rider talks about heart attack risk
Watch this clip with Dr. James Rider about how cardiac health professional determine your risk of heart attack.
It all adds up to your risk
By answering a few questions, we can determine you risk of cardiac disease.
This risk assessment tool uses information from the Framingham Heart Study to predict your risk of developing a heart attack (or possibley a stoke) in the next 10 years. This tool is designed for people aged 20 years and older without known heart disease and who do not have diabetes.
