SCAD (Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection) Study Opportunity

 Mayo Clinic is now recruiting patients for both a “virtual registry” with retrospective and prospective components and development of a DNA biobank of SCAD patients and first degree relatives. If you are a woman who survived a spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) and are interested in applying to be accepted to a study being conducted at Mayo Clinic by Dr. Sharonne Hayes, access the preliminary information here.

 

 Protocol entails diagnosis confirmation and angiographic review to determine eligibility prior to enrollment in either of the studies. Women with SCAD can access the documents from this link or can request them to be emailed or mailed via the MayoSCAD@mayo.edu email address.

Women & Heart Disease Across the Lifespan (Part 3): Older Women

During this final installment of our 3 part series about women and heart disease we will be focusing on heart problems older women are more likely to experience. Some of the things we will discuss are heart failure, diastolic dysfunction, atrial fibrillation, aortic valve disease and sudden cardiac death.

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Coffee and Tea Drinkers Rejoice!! Heart Health Benefits with Both!

A study published in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology: Journal of the American Heart Association found that moderate and high intake of tea and moderate coffee intake can reduce heart disease risk.

 

The researchers in the Netherlands discovered that people who drank 6 or more cups of tea per day had a 36% lower risk of heart disease as compared to those drinking only one cup. Also, drinking 3 to 6 cups of tea was associated with a 45% reduction in heart disease risk.

For coffee, a 2 to 4 cup per day intake lowered heart disease risk by 20% compared to people drinking less than 2 cups or more than 4 cups.

The researchers also discovered that coffee and tea consumption does not affect stroke risk.

The study followed 37,514 participants for 13 years looking for cardiovascular disease events and death from all causes.

The study is limited because it did not follow the type of tea that was consumed plus the amount consumed was self reported by the participants.  Another possible interfering factor is that tea and coffee drinkers sometimes have different health behaviors. Many coffee drinkers have less healthy lifestyles, such as smoking, as compared to tea drinkers.

The good news……go out and enjoy your coffee and tea (tea drinkers a little more)!

Looking for more info about what beverages to drink – the facts about water, milk, alcohol, fruit juice check out our e-book “You are what you Drink” at http://heart-strong.com/products.html

If you are looking for more heart healthy tips and info please check out our website and our 2 books about preventing heart disease, stroke and diabetes www.heart-strong.com

“Take Charge: A Woman’s Guide to a Healthier Heart” and “Take Charge: A Man’s Roadmap to a Healthy Heart – So simple you will not even have to stop and ask for directions” – our books offer realistic steps to help you develop a healthier lifestyle, all of the information in the books comes from the latest medical guidelines available and is written in an easy to follow and understand format.

Finding the Right Cardiologist for You

            One of the most important parts of your journey to a healthier heart is deciding who will be your regular heart doctor. Heart doctors (cardiologists) can vary greatly. Even though most adhere to the standard of care, their interpretations can lead to a wide range of treatment styles. Some may be more conservative by suggesting very minimal medicines and follow-up. Others tend to be more aggressive in their treatment of heart disease by recommending more medicines and frequent follow-up. Both conservative and aggressive styles are perfectly fine but you need to find a cardiologist with the style you prefer. It should ideally be someone you trust undoubtedly. When it comes to your heart care, you do not have time to second-guess every move your doctor makes!

            If you prefer a cardiologist who is proactive when it comes to national guidelines and standard of care, I would recommend you search several websites. First, go to www.ncqa.org which is the website for The National Committee for Quality Assurance. NCQA is a not-for-profit organization that promotes quality care for patients. You can search their physician database to obtain a list of doctors who have passed the Heart/Stroke Recognition Program requirements. The list contains both primary care physicians and cardiologists. 

If you cannot find a cardiologist in the NCQA list for your area, then look up cardiologists through a search engine on the internet (Google, MSN, Yahoo, etc). You will have to type in key words like “cardiologist” and the name of your city. You can also use your local phone directory or ask a friend.

            Once you have a list of possible cardiologists for your area, I recommend you check out their credentials. By internet, you can view all types of information about any licensed provider through your state’s medical board website. To find your specific medical board website you can visit the American Medical Association’s webpage (link http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/education-careers/becoming-physician/medical-licensure/state-medical-boards.shtml) and click on your state in their list. Physicians who have passed the cardiology board exam will generally have this listed on the Medical Board website under Specialty Board Certifications. The Medical Board website can also tell you if the doctor has had any lawsuits settled against them. If you prefer not to use the internet, you can call the American Board of Medical Specialties (1-866-ASK-ABMS) with questions about a doctor’s certification.

After checking out their credentials, the next step would be to call the cardiologist’s office for an appointment. You will have to ask if they accept your insurance and if they are taking new patients. Many offices have more than one doctor in their group. If you really want to find the perfect match, consider asking a nurse, physician assistant or nurse practitioner about the doctors. You might say to them, “I’m looking for a doctor who will see me often and treat my heart disease aggressively.” Or you could say, “I’d like to see a doctor who is personable and open to alternative treatments.” Chances are they can guide you to the right person! 

Submitted by: Sharon Masinelli, PA-C

Author of What To Do When You Have Heart Disease

www.TheHeartDiseaseGuide.com

http://keepyourhearthealthy.wordpress.com

Tai Chi May Improve Your Overall Health

 

Have you ever tried Tai Chi? If not it may be worth looking into…

The picture above certainly makes Tai Chi look enticing and relaxing.

Tai Chi originated in China and is often referred to as “meditation in motion.”  Tai Chi involves low-impact, slow motion mind-body exercises.  Movements are never forced, usually circular, not stressful on joints making it a great exercise for anyone of any age.

A growing body of research is now demonstrating multiple health benefits when Tai Chi is added to more traditional medical treatments.  Many of these studies were small but provide some interesting preliminary results.

Tai Chi has been suggested to:

• Decrease arthritis pain
• Improve quality of life and functional capacity in women with breast cancer or suffering side effects from breast cancer
• Lower blood pressure, improve triglyceride and cholesterol levels, improve exercise capacity (Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 9/2008)
• Improve walking distance and quality of life in heart failure patients
• Lower blood pressure (Preventive Cardiology 9/2008)
• Improve balance and gait in post stroke patients and people with Parkinson’s disease
• Improve sleep quality and duration (Sleep 7/2008)
• Lowers stress levels

You may also find tai chi appealing because it’s inexpensive, requires no special equipment and can be done indoors or out, either alone or in a group.

Although tai chi is generally safe, consider talking with your doctor before starting a new program.

If you are looking for more info about heart health please visit www.heart-strong.com or check out our Facebook site at http://www.facebook.com/reqs.php#!/profile.php?id=1443402011

Are Height and Heart Disease Risk Related?

An analysis of 52 studies and over 3 million participants by French researchers revealed short adults were 1 ½ times more likely to develop and ultimately die from heart disease than were tall adults.  This held true for both men and women and across all ethnic groups.  Men under 5 feet 4 inches and women under 5 feet were considered short and men over 5 feet 8 inches and women over 5 feet 4 inches were considered tall.

 At this point, there isn’t an explanation as to why this is true. A couple of theories include shorter people have smaller coronary arteries which may become blocked earlier in life or the shorter stature may be due to poor nutrition causing decreased growth earlier in life.

 Remember though, height may only be one uncontrollable risk factor for heart disease.  There are many risk factors that can be controlled such as blood pressure, cholesterol, weight, smoking, etc.  So do not concentrate on the things you cannot change, but get out there and work on the risk factors you can improve upon! For ways to help prevent heart disease and learn your modifiable risk factors visit www.heart-strong.com

Women and Heart Disease Across the Lifespan (Part 2 – Baby Boomers)

During this show we will discuss heart problems women may start to experience around menopause. “The Menopause Triple Threat” – weight gain, high blood pressure & cholesterol problems. Heart attack & stroke risk factors, “Broken Heart Syndrome”

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“Good morning, it’s your healthy wake-up call!”

Why not join us for a cup of java or cup of tea (both are healthy drinks which we will discuss) and listen to a free health seminar.

“Good morning, it’s your healthy wake-up call!”

Board Certified Nurse Practioners and authors Margie Latrella and Carolyn Strimike will discuss simple steps you can take to improve your general health and lower your risk for heart attack, stroke and diabetes.  One person dies every minute of every day from heart disease!!  Don’t be the next one!

About 80% of heart attacks and strokes are PREVENTABLE by making simple lifestyle changes.  Come and learn what they are!

The discussion will be held at the Fine Grind at 101 Newark-Pompton Turnpike, Little Falls on June 23, 2010 at 9:30am

Our two books will also be on sale at the event.  Hope to see you there!

Women and Heart Disease Across the Lifespan Part 1 (Young Women)

This is the first of a three part series titled “Women and Heart Disease across the Lifespan.”  On this show we will concentrate on heart conditions that are more likely to affect young women. We will discuss the following conditions: palpitations, tachycardia, pericarditis, conditions that may occur during pregnancy, and premature heart disease.

What’s Lurking in your Family Health Tree?

Have you ever investigated your roots and your family tree? Several years ago I was able to trace several of my great-grandparents back to the ship they traveled on when they arrived at Ellis Island.  While you are working on your family tree, why not piece together your family health history as well?

 The best place to start is with your immediate family.  Your parents, brothers and sisters have the closest genetic link to you and the greatest likelihood of sharing similar conditions or diseases.  Next, move on to your grandparents, aunts, uncles and as much extended family as possible.  You may uncover a lot of information about your family’s health that you were never aware of.

Are there certain diseases that run in your family?  Be sure to ask about the “BIG 4”- cancer, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.  You should also inquire about some other common cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and other unhealthy risk factors they may have had.  If a family member has had or died from a heart attack or stroke, were the overweight/obese, did they smoke or drink alcohol heavily, were they sedentary?  If your grandfather died form a heart attack but was obese, never exercised, smoked 2 packs per day for 30 years and drank excessive alcohol, these factors may have contributed more to his heart attack than genetics.  However, you cannot rule out a genetic influence as well.  Also, if anyone in your family has died from heart disease at an early age, you may be at increased risk for premature heart disease as well. Finally, if a family member has died due to an aneurysm, either in the brain or the chest/abdomen, you should also be screened.  Increased risk for aneurysms can also be inherited.

Try to find out the age at which your relatives developed certain conditions.  If your grandmother developed diabetes in her 70’s, it may not be a very strong genetic risk factor.  If she developed diabetes in her 20’s or 30’s, you may be at a higher risk of inheriting the gene.  The general rule is that the younger a person is when they develop a disease; the more likely it is to have a genetic or hereditary component.

For women, at what age did your mother or grandmother go through menopause?  Most women will become menopausal around the same age as her mother.  Remember, menopause is one of our strongest risk factors for heart disease.  If you have an idea as to when you may go through menopause, you can try to get all of your controllable risk factors at goal levels before this occurs.    

Make sure you investigate all diseases….from A to Z….Addison’s disease, Alzheimer’s, thyroid disease, etc. (not too many diseases start with Z, but you get the point).  Be thorough and put the information in a computer program or make a chart.  Share this information with your healthcare provider, your children and your family.  There is a lot you can learn by investigating your family’s health history and many diseases are preventable by making healthy lifestyle choices.  So what are you waiting for? Get moving, learn about your family’s history and make some lifesaving changes.