Pssst... Tell 5, Pass It Along!

Today is the day! April 7th: National Start! Walking Day!!!!!

Wherever you are, sometime before the clock strikes midnight, get out and walk for  thirty minutes today - even twenty minutes if it comes down to squeezing it in while you're at work (on your morning or afternoon break?!).  Start walking for a healthier lifestyle (yup, I stole that last phrase from the American Heart Association website, but it's soooo true and simple).  You have to make the time for yourself.  Your well-being and health are priceless; you'll even feel a little less stressful after going for a thirty minute walk (I can pretty much guarantee it).  The American Heart Association even has a nifty online tracker, if you're like me, and prefer to see your progress in the days and months to come.  There is no time like the present!  I'll be doing the same thing today - I confess, I've slacked off ;-)  Begin the change today.  

More Reasons To Walk, Not Only For Your Heart, But For Your Brain! From HealthDay News

With the American Heart Association's (AHA) National Start! Walking Day fast approaching this Wednesday (just two days away!), read the article below to learn about another great reason to start walking regularly.   Participate in National Start! Walking Day wherever you are this April 7th!  Check out the details here.  When it really comes down to it, all you need is yourself, 30 minutes and a pair of comfortable shoes!!! 

Exercise May Stave Off Mental Decline

Monday,January 11, 2010 (Healthday News)

FRIDAY, Jan. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Exercise appears to help prevent and improve mild cognitive impairment, two new studies show.

Researchers found that people who did moderate physical activity in midlife or later had a reduced risk of mild cognitive impairment and that six months of high-intensity aerobic exercise improved cognitive function in people with mild cognitive impairment.

Mild cognitive impairment is an in-between state between the normal changes in thinking, learning and memory changes that come with age and dementia, one of the studies explained. Up to 15 percent of people with mild cognitive impairment develop dementia each year, compared with 1 percent or 2 percent of the general population.

The first study included 1,324 dementia-free volunteers taking part in the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging. The participants completed a physical exercise questionnaire and were assessed and classified as having normal cognition (1,126) or mild cognitive impairment (198).

Those who said they did moderate exercise -- such as swimming, brisk walking, yoga, aerobics or strength training -- during midlife were 39 percent less likely to have mild cognitive impairment, while those who did moderate exercise later in life were 32 percent less likely to have the condition.

The Mayo team said exercise may guard against mild cognitive impairment through production of nerve-protecting compounds, increased blood flow to the brain, improved development and survival of neurons, and decreased risk of heart and blood vessel diseases.

The second study included 33 adults, average age 70, with mild cognitive impairment. Some were randomly assigned to do high-intensity aerobics for 45 to 60 minutes a day, four days a week. Others were put in a control group that had the same workout schedule, but did stretching exercises and kept their heart rate low.

After six months, the patients who did high-intensity aerobic exercise had improved cognitive function compared to those in the control group. The beneficial effects were more pronounced in women than in men, possibly because the body's use of and production of insulin, glucose and the stress hormone cortisol differed in women and men.

"Aerobic exercise is a cost-effective practice that is associated with numerous physical benefits. The results of this study suggest that exercise also provides a cognitive benefit for some adults with mild cognitive impairment," wrote Laura D. Baker, of the University of Washington School of Medicine and Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle, and colleagues.

The studies appear in the January issue of the Archives of Neurology.

More information

The Alzheimer's Association has more about mild cognitive impairment.

Geographic Primary-Stroke-Center Placement

I've noticed several comments from heart attack and/or stroke survivors lately regarding the lack of available facilities where they reside.  The article below (courtesy of International Media News Group http://egmnblog.wordpress.com ) peaked my interest; heck, there is a map included which would explain exactly why survivors are expressing frustration about lack of facilities.  Look at all of the gaping white spaces on the map pictured below - I'm very thankful to the writer, Mitchel Zoler, for making this information available:

The Uncoordinated U.S. Primary Stroke Centers

From the International Stroke Conference in San Antonio

The good news for U.S. stroke patients is that in March 2010, 685 certified primary stroke centers existed in America. The bad news is that no one makes sure they’re optimally placed to maximize coverage of the U.S. population.

The Joint Commission, a U.S. hospital accreditation organization, began certifying primary stroke centers in December 2003. The idea was that these centers would specialize in state-of-the-art stroke care and become the prime locations for acute stroke patients to receive care.

The concept has certainly taken root. According to Dr. Karen C. Albright, a neurologist at the University of California, San Diego, 524 certified American primary stroke centers existed by November 2008, and another 102 came on board during the following year, through late September, 2009. The pace for new center certifications has held steady, with another 59 centers added to the list during a little more than another 5 months.

Stroke patients who live in the white areas have a greater than 60 minute trip to their nearest primary stroke center (photo by Mitchel Zoler).

But according to Dr. Albright, many of the new centers added during Nov. 2008-Sept. 2009 were “in proximity to existing centers.” No person or group controls where new stroke centers open, and they’ve left big gaps of uncovered population. Based on the centers that existed last September, Dr. Albright estimated that roughly 63 million to 135 million Americans lived more than 60 minutes away from the closest primary stroke center (see map). The upper end number, 135 million, applied if all emergency stroke transport was by ambulance. The number fell to 63 million if all centers had helicopter transport available, but that’s a big if because in reality many centers don’t use air transport.

Some excellent models exist for better emergency-care coordination, most notably the way trauma care is integrated and delivered across the U.S., particularly by regional systems like the Southeast Texas Trauma Regional Advisory Council.  Recently, SETTRAC set up regional coordination of emergency stroke care in the Houston area.

Now all that has to happen is for this approach to spread through the rest of Texas, and then the rest of the United States.

—Mitchel Zoler

Pay the Rent, Eat or Buy Medicine?

Years ago I recall seeing elderly persons at the pharmacy telling a pharmacist that they weren't taking their medications as prescribed because they couldn't afford to; my heart would go out for them.  Now it seems like everyone, including me, is faced with tough decisions if they find themselves unhealthy.  I've heard the comments from the "naysayers", 'they should have planned better for retirement' (in reference to the elderly who don't have the means to pay for proper medical care.  I don't buy it.  I don't buy how a person can be a warm blooded human being and feel that universal medical care is not a basic human right and need.  

Please visit Hearts for Healthcare to learn more about how the American Heart Association has become involved in making the United States Congress aware of the health care crisis faced by Americans.

Heart patients worry about health costs

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The monthly mortgage payment is the heaviest expense facing the average U.S. family but for heart patient Frank Amend, an engineer from North Carolina, the biggest cost is healthcare.

That's why Amend and tens of thousands of patients with similar conditions find themselves at the center of debate over how to reform the $2.5 trillion U.S. healthcare sector -- and whether the country can afford it.

Amend, 48, has insurance through his employer but since suffering a heart attack in 2003, his monthly out-of-pocket costs for premiums and medications have grown to consume as much as 20 percent of his wages, and he has become a strong advocate for broad healthcare overhaul.

He says he would like to start his own consulting firm, but can't because the cost of obtaining health insurance for him and his family would be "financial suicide."

A survey of heart patients by the American Heart Association shows that Amend is not alone. Cost of insurance premiums and medication is the top concern of heart patients, said the poll, made available to Reuters before its release on Thursday.

The online survey of 1,105 adults who said they had a heart condition, stroke or high blood pressure showed that 56 percent had trouble paying for prescription drugs or other medical care in the past few years. It was conducted from December 29, 2009 to January 5, 2010.

Stroke patients -- 69 percent -- were most likely to report having trouble paying medical bills.

Almost two thirds of heart patients -- 64 percent -- said making healthcare costs more affordable was a top priority for them.

AHA officials say they hope the survey will help jumpstart the drive for a more comprehensive approach to healthcare reform.

"The problem has not gone away," association president Dr. Clyde Yancy said in an interview.

Nearly 10 percent of heart disease patients eventually file for bankruptcy, said AHA spokeswoman Suzanne Ffolkes.

'ENTITLEMENT EXPANSION'

But a push by President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats to overhaul the sector to rein in costs and expand coverage to the uninsured has stalled in the face of Republican opposition and falling public support, denying Democrats victory on the top legislative priority.

Republicans say it is a mistake to expand the role of government in healthcare and oppose the roughly $1 trillion 10-year cost of expanding health insurance coverage at a time of record budget deficits.

"I don't know how you spend a trillion dollars to create a new entitlement ... That's not really reform, that's entitlement expansion," Representative Dave Camp said in an interview this week. He and other Republicans are pushing for less sweeping legislation that focuses on costs.

COSTS DISCOURAGE PATIENTS

About 46 percent of those who said they had trouble paying medical bills said they had to delay getting needed healthcare and 43 percent said they failed to fill a prescription because of the expense.

"The high cost of healthcare is forcing many of our patients to not take advantage of, or to forego, life-saving treatments and medications," Nancy Brown, chief executive of the Heart Association said in an interview. "They really are making life and death decisions because of the cost of healthcare."

The majority of those surveyed said they had some form of health insurance. About 16 percent of the non-elderly adults surveyed said they had no medical insurance.

Some 46 million people in the United States lack health insurance and many with coverage find it inadequate when it comes to preventive care or when struck by major illness.

"Everyone believes that if you have insurance, there's no issue here," Dr. Yancy said. "There is a big, big problem with the underinsured -- those who have insurance and are still having difficulty receiving care."

The Heart Association and other healthcare advocacy groups are pushing for broad healthcare reform.

The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have passed sweeping reform measures but efforts to merge the two bills into a single piece of legislation stalled when Democrats lost their "supermajority" of 60 seats in the Senate after a special Massachusetts election last month.

The online survey conducted by research firm Synovate had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. It is available at www.americanheart.org/accesstocare.

(Editing by Matthew Bigg, Xavier Briand and Eric Walsh)

Prevent a Blood Clot

Health Tip: Help Prevent a Blood Clot

Friday, January 15, 2010

Don't sit or stand in the same position for too long

(HealthDay News) -- Blood clots most often occur in people who don't move around enough and among people who have had recent surgery or injury. A clot can travel to the heart or brain, leading to a heart attack or stroke.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services suggests how to help prevent a blood clot:

• Wear clothing and socks that fit loosely.
• Occasionally lift your legs to about six inches above your heart.
• If prescribed by your doctor, wear compression stockings.
• Follow your doctor's recommendations for exercise and take all medications as prescribed.
• Avoid sitting or standing in the same position for longer than one hour.
• Limit your salt intake.
• Avoid crossing or bumping your legs.
• Don't put pillows beneath your knees.
• Elevate the end of your bed about four to six inches.

Macy's Goes Red For Women!

Go Red For Women is the American Heart Association's nationwide campaign to wipe out heart disease, the #1 killer of women. This effort celebrates our power to band together and fight back. One in three women dies from cardiovascular disease—and that number is simply too high. The good news? There's something we can do about it. It's time to take charge and give your heart the love it deserves!

• red is the color that saves—especially at our Wear Red Sale
• join Go Red For Women! sign up now
• take heart health to heart
• watch the Go Red For Women public service announcement
• read personal stories & share yours
• for more information, check out GoRedForWomen.org
  or en espanol GoRedCorazon.org 

Attention Men (and Women Who Have Influence Over Men)...

Erectile Dysfunction Predicts Heart Disease

Experts urge more doctors to ask simple question of male patients

MONDAY, Jan. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Erectile dysfunction is a strong warning sign that a man might be at increased risk for heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular problems, a long-running study indicates.

"We saw that adjusting for age and Framingham [Heart Study] risk factors, men with erectile function still had a 40 percent increased risk," said Andre Araujo, director of epidemiology at New England Research Institutes and lead author of a report published online Jan. 19 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Though adding erectile dysfunction to the list of known risk factors determined by the Framingham Heart Study -- cholesterol, smoking, high blood pressure -- doesn't improve the prediction of future cardiovascular trouble, it can be a quick, free addition to risk assessment, Araujo said.

"If a man presents with erectile dysfunction, the physician should work him up for cardiovascular disease," he said. "It is low cost -- indeed, no cost -- with no risk associated with it."

The study is the latest of several that have linked erectile dysfunction to cardiovascular disease. That is to be expected, Araujo said, because the same artery-blocking conditions that reduce blood flow to the heart and brain can also reduce flow to the penis.

The study followed 1,057 men, aged 40 to 70, for an average of 12 years. Overall, 37 percent of the men with erectile dysfunction were in the high-risk category according to the Framingham standards, compared with 17 percent of men without erectile dysfunction.

Once the link to cardiovascular problems was established, "we started modeling to see if we added erectile dysfunction to the Framingham risk profile we could reclassify some men," Araujo said. "In fact, it doesn't do much."

The reason is that the Framingham risk profile is hard to improve on, he said. Over the years, studies of a number of diagnostic techniques -- including computerized tomography scanning and various molecular markers, such as inflammation-related C-reactive protein -- have been shown not to improve on the Framingham profile's predictive power.

But those other measures are either costly, require blood tests or carry some risk, whereas erectile dysfunction can be determined by a simple question, Araujo said.

So doctors should ask the question, said Dr. R. Parker Ward, a cardiologist and an associate professor of medicine at the University of Chicago, who has done several studies on erectile dysfunction and cardiovascular risk.

"Why not ask a simple question in the office that will reveal a diagnosis very clearly?" Ward said. "It is cheaper and easier than doing a lipid profile or measuring high blood pressure."

It's information that men should offer to their doctors, Araujo said. "Self-reported erectile dysfunction matches what urologists say about the question," he said. "We should get the message out: If you have an erectile problem, see your doctor."

Having a doctor ask the question or a man offer the information can lead to preventive therapy that can be lifesaving, Araujo said.

"One of the first signals that a guy has cardiovascular disease is often sudden death," he said.

SOURCES: Andre Araujo, Ph.D., director, epidemiology, New England Research Institutes, Watertown, Mass.; R. Parker Ward, M.D., associate professor, medicine, University of Chicago; Jan. 19, 2010, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, online

HealthDay

Copyright (c) 2010 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

Pace Picante Sauce May Have to Come Up With A New Commercial!

Anyone recall the Pace Picante Sauce/Salsa commercials? I don't even know if they are on the air any longer:  

According to the news release from the American Heart Association below, kudos are in order to New York City for making food a little healthier by working with the packaged and restaurant industry to reduce salt amounts! I hope other cities (states!!) will follow their example. There are a fair amount of low sodium products available here where I live, however I know in other parts of the country, the selection is often very limited. I actually have always disliked salt/sodium (well, except when I was about three years old, but that's another story). Below is the news release: 

The National Salt Reduction Initiative

American Heart Association comment:

DALLAS, Jan. 11, 2009 -- The American Heart Association (AHA) applauds the efforts of New York City to work with the packaged and restaurant foods industry to reduce the amount of salt in the food supply. These efforts serve an important role in bringing both the public health community and food industry together to create solutions and help Americans live healthier lives.

The AHA is very concerned with the amount of salt Americans are consuming since sodium can have a detrimental effect on health, including high blood pressure, stroke, heart failure, and kidney disease. Unfortunately, Americans eat about twice the recommended daily amount of sodium.

Only a small fraction of the sodium in our diets is added at the table as salt; almost 80% of it is added to packaged and restaurant foods. As a result, it is extremely difficult for individuals to limit sodium in their diet. The AHA would like to see food manufacturers and restaurants reduce the sodium added to foods by 50% over the next 10 years, for the benefit of public health. By reducing the amount of salt in packaged and restaurant foods, manufacturers could reduce the prevalence of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.

The American Heart Association receives funding primarily from individuals, foundations and corporations (including pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies) also make donations and fund specific association programs and events. The association has strict policies to prevent these relationships from influencing science content. Revenues from pharmaceutical and device corporations are disclosed at www.americanheart.org/corporatefunding.

CONTACT: Darcy Spitz, Sr. Communications Manager, American Heart Association

(212) 878-5940

darcy.spitz@heart.org

126:

The number of people who die in an hour from Heart Disease & Stroke.  

Untold Stories of the Heart

One woman dies almost every minute from heart disease. Yet studies show that only 21% of women view heart disease as their greatest health threat. The TV special, Untold Stories of the Heart, which premiered in 2008 and featured Marie Osmond, hosted by Hoda Kotb, raises awareness through the personal stories of women living with heart disease. Because for every heart there is a story, and these stories are at the heart of Go Red.

(above from the American Heart Association/Go Red For Women)

I've Been Wearing My Seat Belt All Along Thanks to My Cardiologist!

I have been extremely happy with the cardiologist who saved my life and continues to see me as a patient (insert big happy smile HERE!). Over time, I have realized that "my" cardiologist keeps very up to date with all things heart related. So it is no surprise to me to read the article below. A statin prescription has been in my daily regimen post heart attack. At first I was confused by the need for cholesterol prescription because I knew the lab results taken by the emergency room determine all of my cholesterol levels to be "good". My cardiologist explained that the statin was being prescribed because it was shown to help heal the heart (given that I had 10% damage/die off of my heart during my heart attack).

Regretfully, I have visited many doctors for various reasons and found advocacy to be a quality found few and far between. No fault of the doctor; I can't begin to imagine the amount of patients they see and the ongoing problems with insurance companies. So, three cheers for my awesome doctor being not only a phenomenal doctor/surgeon, but also an advocate for his patients!!!

Another doctor I see has recently suggested a vitamin supplement since I am taking a statin. I'll share why and what in the future.

Statins cut heart problems after artery surgery

Inexpensive drug that lowers cholesterol also decreases risk of dying

The Associated Press

updated 7:48 a.m. PT, Thurs., Sept . 3, 2009

NEW YORK - Score another victory for the cheap, cholesterol-lowering wonder drugs known as statins. People getting an artery unclogged or repaired were much less likely to die or have a heart attack afterward if they took preventive doses of the pills before and after their operations, a Dutch study showed.

Patients given Lescol had half the risk of having a heart attack or dying of a heart problem in the following month compared to those given dummy pills, the study found.

“You get a bonus with the treatment of statins,” said Dr. Don Poldermans, who led the study at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The results are in Thursday’s New England Journal of Medicine.

Statins are widely prescribed to reduce cholesterol and prevent heart disease. Doctors wanted to see if statins could also protect against heart problems that are a common complication of blood vessel surgery — operations like repairing a bulging abdominal artery or unclogging arteries in the neck.

The stress of surgery on arteries can destabilize plaque buildup, causing it to rupture and blood clots to form, particularly in heart arteries. Statins are thought to help by reducing inflammation and stabilizing the plaque.

The researchers enrolled nearly 500 patients who were not on statins and were going to have operations on their aorta or leg or neck arteries. For about a month before and a month after their surgery, half the patients took a statin; the rest got a dummy pill.

Within a month of the operation, 12 patients in the statin group, about 5 percent, had died or had heart attacks, compared to 25 patients, or 10 percent, of those who took a dummy pill. Other signs of heart damage also were less common among those who had taken statins. There was no difference in side effects between the two groups.

When the study began in 2004, Poldermans said, statins were not as widely recommended as they are today for people with peripheral artery disease — stiff and narrow arteries, often in the legs. The patients in the study probably weren’t on statins before their surgery because their cholesterol levels were normal or near normal, he said.

“There’s no reason whatsoever to withhold statins anymore” from these patients,” Poldermans said.

Current guidelines recommend the drugs for everyone with peripheral artery disease, regardless of the need for surgery.

The Dutch study was partially funded by Swiss drug maker Novartis, which makes and supplied Lescol, also known as fluvastatin. Poldermans has received grants and consulting fees from Novartis; two other researchers have received fees and grants from medical companies.

Other statins on the market would likely achieve a comparable effect, said Dr. Alan T. Hirsch, director of the vascular medicine program at the Minneapolis Heart Institute and a spokesman for the American Heart Association. He said statins aren’t being used enough in people with peripheral artery disease, and he hopes the study draws attention to their benefits at the time of surgery, as well as throughout the lifetime of the patient.

“A statin is a seat belt when you drive a damaged artery,” he said.

© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32661411/ns/health/