Heart Blog | Bellin Health
Welcome to the Bellin Health Heart Blog, where you can share articles and information with a clinical expert who will help you stay up-to-date on causes, symptoms and treatments of heart disease.
Be sure to check in weekly for new posts and updates. Don't forget that we want to hear from you. Share your heart story with others by adding a comment, or click on the "Ask Kelly" button to get answers to your own heart health questions.
Did Michael Jackson have a heart attack?
By now we have all heard the devastating news of Michael Jackson's death, but with his death comes many questions. At this point, the autopsies have not told us what the true cause of death was. There are many coversations and news articles going on out there that describe him having a heart attack, or maybe cardiac arrest, or was it related to a medication overdose? Prompted from those conversations, I received this question:
Heart Walk 2009
Green Bay Start! Heart Walk is Saturday, September 19th, 2009
Location: NWTC Registration at 8 am, walk at 9 am.
Join us for some physical activity and fundraising to prevent heart disease and stroke. There is a 1 mile route and a 3 mile route.
Bellin Health is an annual participant in this American Heart Association event. For more details, go to the event website:
http://heartwalk.kintera.org/greenbaywi
Does ABI = PAD?
I am sure that you are asking: what is an ABI? ABI stands for Ankle-brachial index. This means, we take a blood pressure on each of your arms and we take blood pressures around each of your ankles. The ratio from arms to legs, is the ABI. The ABI is the "gold standard" test to diagnos PAD. If the blood pressures are too low in the legs as compared to the arms, that means the blood is not getting down to your toes as well as it should.
So if you have been diagnosed with PAD, what should you do about it?
An expert on PAD: video
One in every 20 Americans over the age of 50 has PAD, a condition that raises the risk for heart attack and stroke. We've talked about what it is and what the risks are. What about possible treatments?
Learn more by watching these videos:
Symptoms of PAD
Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) occurs when arteries become blocked in the legs or arms. It's a silent killer, because often there are no symptoms. Some people may experience:
PAD
A disease called by many names:
PAD: Peripheral Arterial Disease
PVD: Peripheral Vascular Disease
Leg Atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries)
Claudication: pain in legs while walking
Poor Circulation
Watch what happens during a stroke
I think this video gives you a great overview of who is at risk, what happens during a stroke, and what happens after. Watch........
Stroke equals disability
Stroke equals disability
A stroke is a “brain attack”
If you or a loved one has symptoms of a stroke, call 911
May is Stroke Month
Did you know that May is National Stroke Awareness Month? Well if you didn’t, I am making you aware that it is. Why should we talk about stroke on the heart blog? Those are two different things right? No, they are not. The things that cause heart disease are the same things that cause vascular disease. Stroke is a vascular disease and we need to work on preventing it.
Artery plaque
Well if you had a chance to look at the pictures that were posted, were you able to guess what they were of?
This is an example of what a normal artery, inside your body may look like. Healthy, pink, nice open hole (lumen) in the center for blood to flow through. This is what we all start with in life.
