Assessing your Risks for Heart Disease
Are you aware of your risks for cardiovascular disease? And, are you making healthy daily choices to lower your risk and follow a heart healthy lifestyle? According to the American Heart Association, over 80% of all cardiovascular disease can be prevented if one is aware of his/her risk factors and makes choices to lead a heart healthy lifestyle by keeping risk factors in healthy ranges. Risk factors identified by the American Heart Association are:
Major Risk Factors that cannot be changed:
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Increasing Age
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Male Sex
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Heredity, including race
Major Risk Factors that can be changed:
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Cigarette Smoking
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Blood Cholesterol Levels
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Blood Pressure
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Physical Inactivity
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Obesity and Overweight
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Diabetes Mellitus
To keep your risk factors in healthy ranges, be sure to:
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Get your blood pressure checked regularly and keep pressure below 120/80 mm Hg
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Don’t smoke cigarettes or use any other tobacco products
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Get at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity each week
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Maintain a healthy weight keeping your Body Mass Index less than 25
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Eat a nutritious diet that follows the American Heart Association recommendations
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Keep cholesterol levels in normal ranges (Total cholesterol, LDL and HDL cholesterol and Triglycerides)
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Keep fasting blood glucose less than 100 mg/dL
To learn how your specific risk factors stack up, go to the American Heart Association website at www.heart.org and take the Heart Attack Risk Calculator assessment to determine your risks for heart attack or heart disease.
Keep the beat going strong! Learn your risks today and take action to follow a heart healthy lifestyle!
America on the Move
Parkview Physicians Group - Cardiology is a strong supporter of the FREE national initiative called America on the Move. The program is
a simple call to action: move more and eat wisely.
- Move a little more — by increasing total steps taken in a day. Start with 2,000 extra steps and gradually build up to an active lifestyle status
- Eat a little less — by making wise, healthy food choices to eat 100 fewer calories each day by substituting a healthier food version (one that has less fat and calories) and by eating smaller food portions
In addition, America On the Move in Fort Wayne in conjunction with Fort4Fitness has designed local exercise guides to offer YOU free or reduced pricing on exercise locations. Click to view the Indoor Exercise Guide, the Outdoor Exercise Guide or the Winter Exercise Guide and get moving today! Some of these locations require an America on the Move ID card. To access your America On the Move membership card, click here.
To learn great community health and wellness offerings, plus see the monthly health and Wellness Event Calendar, visit www.fort4fitness.org/4yourhealth. For more information about American on the Move in Fort Wayne or Fort4Fitness Community Wellness, contact Marsha Worthington at (260) 266-5730 or marsha.worthington@parkview.com.
Cookbooks
Because nutrition can be a major determinant of cardiovascular health, we would like to provide you with cookbooks to get you on the right rack. At our main office at 11108 Parkview Circle in north Fort Wayne, we currently sell Quick and Health, Volume II, by Brenda J. Ponichtera ($12), to patients and the community.
Heart Healthy Websites:
Heart Conditions
Angina is chest pain or discomfort due to coronary heart disease. It occurs when the heart muscle doesn’t get as much blood as it needs, which usually happens because one or more of the heart’s arteries is narrowed or blocked.
Arrhythmia: An abnormal heart rhythm that, when severe or long-lasting, can prevent the heart from pumping enough blood to the body. Damage to the heart muscle from a heart attack can make someone prone to arrhythmias, as can some congenital heart conditions. A variety of minerals, such as potassium, magnesium and calcium, with high or low concentrations in the blood and tissue can cause arrhythmias. So can alcohol, cigarettes and recreational drugs.
Atrial Fibrillation: Atrial Fibrillation (AF of Afib) is a disorder of heart rate and rhythm, which occurs when the heart’s two small, upper chambers quiver rapidly and empty blood into the heart’s lower chambers in a haphazard manner instead of beating effectively. A dangerous condition can arise because blood that isn’t pumped completely out of the upper chambers when the heart beats may pool and clot. Then, if a piece of a clot enters the bloodstream, it may lodge in the brain causing a stroke. Causes of atrial fibrillation include dysfunction of the heart’s pace making area, coronary artery disease, rheumatic heart disease, hypertension and hyperthyroidism.
Cardiomyopathy: Cardiomyopathy is a serious disease in which the heart muscle becomes inflamed and weakened. It may be caused by viral infections, coronary heart disease or diseases involving other organs and the cause may be unknown. When the disease worsens, it can lead to heart failure, arrhythmias and heart valve problems
Heart Attack: A heart attack occurs when a blocked coronary artery prevents blood from reaching sections of the heart muscle. If the blocked artery is not reopened quickly, the part of the heart supplied by that blood vessel begins to die. Symptoms can come on suddenly, or may start slowly and persist over time. Warning signs include discomfort in the chest or in the upper body, shortness of breath, a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.
Heart Failure: Heart Failure, or congestive heart failure, is when the heart can’t pump enough blood to the organs. The heart works, but not as well as it should. This is usually a chronic, long-term condition and the risks for developing heart failure increases with age. Risk also rises if you are overweight, diabetic, smoke, abuse alcohol or use cocaine. When the heart begins to fail, fluids pool in the body and can lead to swelling in the lower legs and ankles. Fluid also may collect in the lungs, causing shortness of breath.
Learn CPR
No one ever knows when there may be a need to administer CPR to save a life…of a loved one, a child or anyone in need. Learn CPR to be prepared in case of need. CPR training is available in a variety of formats. Explore the options below to learn what may serve you best!
· American Heart Association: Go to www.heart.org and search “Learn CPR”. Options vary from Hands-Only CPR (Watch a Video….Save a Life), to Friends and Family CPR Anytime ( a kit with video and manikin that can be done in your home), to finding a class nearby. Call 877-AHA-4CPR to learn more.
· American Red Cross: Go to www.redcross.org and click on CPR: “Find a Course”
· CPR Task Force of Fort Wayne and Allen County offers free “Hands only CPR” several times each year. To learn more, visit www.3rcpr.org or call 260-427-1164.
Lobby Educational Information
In our lobby, you’ll find information with practical implications, such as how to accomplish healthy lifestyle changes, as well as local community offerings to support your behavior change efforts.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition affects many factors associated with cardiovascular disease, including (but not limited to) body weight, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Improving your diet is an important component in the prevention or progression of heart disease.
We have an in-house Nutrition Department at our main office, where our registered dietitian consults one-on-one with patients and their families on the benefits — and often the necessity — of adopting low fat, low cholesterol and low sodium diets as well as other healthy regimens. To schedule a one-hour consultation ($47/hour) with the dietitian, call (260) 266-5731. Appointments are available Tuesday through Thursday during normal business hours.
Do you have a nutrition question?
You can email our dietitian at sarah.mohrman@parkview.com and get your nutrition answers electronically.