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Posts Tagged ‘American Heart Association’

February is American Heart Month

Posted in Healthy People, tagged , , , , , , on February 21, 2017| Leave a Comment »

heart

 

Now is the time to review what you know about women and heart disease. Heart disease is the number one killer of women in the United States. One out of four women in the United States will die from heart disease, while one woman out of thirty dies of cancer. Four out of five women who are 40-60 years of age have at least one risk factor for heart disease.

Are You At Risk?                                         heart-rate

  • High blood pressure
  • High cholesterol
  • Diabetes
  • Family history of heart disease
  • Over the age of 55
  • Smoking
  • Overweight or obese
  • no regular exercise
  • Diet high in saturated fat

 

Some risk factors like age and family history cannot be changed, but all women have the power to make diet and lifestyle choices that can reduce these risks.

Take Care of Your Heart

  • Reduce the sources of saturated fat in your diet
  • Limit or reduce eating fried foods. You can do this by choosing cooking methods that do not submerge food in oil. Use cooking methods like baking, broiling, and steaming instead.
  • Choose low fat or fat free dairy products
  • Remove and discard the skin from turkey or chicken to reduce the saturated fat in your diet
  • Avoid fats that are solid at room temperature. Change to poly or unsaturated oils like olive oil or canola oil
  • Reduce sodium intake by limiting processed foods

 

Smoking cessation is good for your lungs and your cardiovascular system. The chemicals in tobacco smoke damage cells and the vessels that carry blood throughout the body.A lifestyle that includes many risk factors like smoking,making unhealthful food choices, remaining overweight or obese,and not getting regular exercise all add to your risk of developing heart disease.  Make a great choice for your health and stop smoking, or reduce the number of times that you smoke, starting today!

Signs and Symptoms

Heart attack symptoms for women can easily be dismissed as stress or the flu. Do not brush off symptoms that may be signs or symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. Common signs of heart attack in women include:

  • Sweating, nausea, or feeling faint or lightheaded. Feeling pressure or a feeling of fullness in the chest. This may be consistent, or brief and then returning.
  • Feeling uncomfortable, achy or sore in either or both arms, neck or jaw pain, back pain, or even stomach discomfort.
  • Feeling short of breath, with or without chest pains

Sources:

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute: The Heart Truth: A Campaign for Women About Heart Disease, HHS, NIH, NHLBI

American Heart Association: Know Your Numbers? | Go Red For Women®

Authors: Laura Brubaker, Dietetic Intern with OSU Extension, Wood County. Graduate Student studying Food and Nutrition at Bowling Green State Universtiy and Susan Zies,  Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, OSU Extension, Wood County.

 

Reviewer:Dan Remley, Assistant Professor, Field Specialist, Food, Nutrition, and Wellness, OSU Extension

 

 

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“I thought it was just my compression bra – I didn’t think it could be a heart attack.”

Posted in Healthy People, tagged , , , , , , on September 6, 2016| 1 Comment »

DebbieMy family had a scare this week. My sister recently had breast reconstruction surgery from breast cancer. After the surgery she was instructed to wear a compression bra for 3 weeks, only taking it off to shower. It was uncomfortable and perhaps a little tight. She thought the bra and surgical site were causing her discomfort. She didn’t think it was a heart attack. She said the pain was strong but thought it was related to her recent surgery. When she called the surgeon’s office, they asked if someone could take her to the ER, she said yes and then drove herself to the ER.

Many women have symptoms of a heart attack and/or a stroke and don’t recognize them. Don’t be one of the statistics that misinterpret your symptoms. According to the American Heart Association, the symptoms a woman experiences may be very different from the ones that a man experiences.

Heart Attack Signs in Women

  1. Uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain in the center of your chest. It lasts more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back.
  2. Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.
  3. Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.
  4. Other signs such as breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or light headedness.
  5. As with men, women’s most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. But women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting and back or jaw pain.

If you have any of these signs, call 9-1-1 and get to a hospital right away.

What is the take-a-way from my sister’s experience? If you have symptoms, don’t hesitate to seek medical help. Go to the nearest ER room and get checked out. My sister isn’t the only one to miss symptoms, read this blog posted on the American Heart Association about a 38 year old woman who had a stroke and didn’t know it! Don’t become a statistic because you are afraid to inconvenience your family or doctor.

Source: American Heart Association, http://www.heart.org

Photo credit: Nancy Harris

Author: Michelle Treber, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, Ohio State University Extension, Pickaway County, treber.1@osu.edu

Reviewer: Jenny Lobb, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, Ohio State University Extension, Franklin County, lobb.3@osu.edu

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Alert Day: 3-22-16

Posted in Healthy People, tagged , , , on March 21, 2016| Leave a Comment »

alert day 1

Did you know that tomorrow is American Diabetes Association Alert Day?

On March 22, I encourage you to take a quick (and anonymous) one-minute test to find out if you are at risk for type 2 diabetes. Plus, I hope you will share the test with everyone you care about, including family members, friends, and colleagues.

Diabetes is a serious disease. Nearly 30 million children and adults in the United States live with it. More than a quarter of them—8 million—don’t even know they have it and aren’t getting the medical care they need.

It’s estimated that another 86 million people have prediabetes, which puts them at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Prediabetes is a condition in which a patient has elevated levels of blood glucose but does not yet meet the criteria for Type 2 diabetes.  However, patients with prediabetes are still at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.  This condition is listed as a risk factor for mortality and has been labeled by some as “America’s largest healthcare epidemic”.  Through lifestyle changes of improved diet and exercise, prediabetes patients can significantly decrease their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes in Ohio

According to 2013 data from the Ohio Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), it is estimated that 10.4 percent (921,012) of Ohio adults have been diagnosed with diabetes. In addition, it is estimated that another 7.2 percent (378,153) of Ohio adults have been diagnosed with prediabetes, increasing their risk of progressing to Type 2 diabetes later in life. (Source: 2013 Ohio Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.)

Your family health history is an important risk factor for developing Type 2 diabetes.  Most people who have Type 2 have a close family member with the disease.

Knowing your family health history is important because it gives you and your health care team information about your risk for type 2 diabetes.

alert day 2

Please make sure to mark your calendar for American Diabetes Association Alert Day on March 22 and take the type 2 Diabetes Risk Test.  It will only take a minute!!!

 

Sources:

American Diabetes Association, http://www.diabetes.org/are-you-at-risk/alert-day/?loc=atrisk-slabnav and http://www.diabetes.org/are-you-at-risk/diabetes-risk-test/?loc=alertday

National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse, http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/community-outreach-health-fairs/planning-health-fair/Documents/Pre_Diabetes_EN_SP_508.pdf

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-communication-programs/ndep/am-i-at-risk/family-history/four-questions/Pages/four-questions.aspx

Ohio Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (2013)

Ohio Department of Health,

http://www.healthy.ohio.gov/diabetes/odpcp.aspx

Ohio Diabetes Prevention and Control Program,  http://www.healthy.ohio.gov/~/media/HealthyOhio/ASSETS/Files/diabetes/FactSheet_2012_Final.pdf

 

Writer: Tammy Jones, Family and Consumer Sciences, Ohio State University Extension, Pike County, jones.5640@osu.edu

Reviewer: Shannon Carter, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, Ohio State University Extension, Fairfield County, carter.413@osu.edu

 

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Most Americans Do Not Know Their Sodium Intake

Posted in Healthy People, tagged , , , , , , , on February 1, 2016| Leave a Comment »

ginormous

Did you know the body needs only a very small amount of sodium in the diet to function? According to the American Heart Association, that amount is less than 500 mg per day, which in cooking terms is about ¼ of a teaspoon. The reality, unfortunately, is that very few of us come close to keeping our sodium intake that low.   Most people consume a lot more—a whopping 3,400 milligrams per day on average.  What’s even scarier? 97% of Americans do not know, or seriously underestimate, their daily sodium intake. The newly released 2015 Dietary Guidelines recommend limiting our daily amount of sodium consumption to 2,300 mg or less per day.

The majority of sodium we consume in the diet is in the form of salt. Where is it hiding, you ask? Approximately 77% of sodium intake comes from restaurant meals, processed foods and prepackaged foods.  To illustrate, fresh broccoli contains a mere 27 mg of sodium. However, if it’s processed into canned cream of broccoli soup, it shifts from 27 mg to 770 mg of sodium!

Which foods are the top sources of sodium? The list includes:

  1. Breads
  2. Lunch Meats
  3. Pizza
  4. Soups
  5. Sandwiches, including burgers
  6. Cheese

Here are five tips to help you limit your sodium intake:

*Read labels and make yourself aware of serving sizes. This can be a real eye opener when looking at the sodium content in many products sold at the grocery stores.  Foods that contain 20% or more of the % Daily Value for sodium are considered high in sodium; 5% or less is considered low.

*At a restaurant, ask the chef or cook to prepare your food without salt.

*When shopping, choose fresh and/or less processed vegetables. If purchasing frozen, try to avoid added salts and sauces.

* Don’t put the salt shaker on the table. Even though salting at the table only accounts for about 6% of our total salt intake, every little bit helps.

* Use herbs and spices to flavor food instead of cooking with salt.

 

Sources: The American Heart Association  http://sodiumbreakup.heart.org/

 

Written by: Susan Zie, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, Ohio State University Extension – Wood County, zies.1@osu.edu

 

Reviewed by: Donna Green, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, Ohio State University Extesnion- Erie County, Green.308.osu.edu

 

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Join Me in Going Red this Friday, February 6, 2015

Posted in Healthy People, tagged , , , , , , , , , on February 2, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Join me in Going Red this Friday. I wear red to increase awareness about the dangers of heart disease and to honor my parents. Heart disease is very personal to me as I lost both my parents in their 50’s to this disease. Heart disease continues to be the number 1 killer of men and women in the United States.

Did you know that heart disease and stroke kill 1 in 3 women, yet it’s 80% preventable?

At your next meeting, family gathering or social event, look around you and count the number of women in the room. If there are 21 women in the room, 7 women will die from heart disease and stroke. When I think about an office where 6 women work, realizing that 2 women will die from heart disease and stroke is sobering. What about at our family holiday party where there are 15 women in our immediate family? 5 of us will die from heart disease. These numbers bring it home to many of us. 

What can you do to reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke? These suggestions are not just for women, they are for men, too. The American Heart Association website shares tips to encourage all of us to be heart healthy:
• Be Active – aim for 150 minutes of physical activity each week. This can help you lose weight as well as lowering your risk of heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure and other health problems. Talk with your health care professional about your activity level before beginning a program. Get their advice and get moving!
• Manage your Weight – if you need to lose weight, set goals and begin this journey by adding more vegetables and fruits to your diet. Eating a diet high in fresh vegetables and fruits may help you achieve a healthy weight. Drink water, move more and eat those veggies.
• Stop Smoking – if you are a smoker, make this your year! It is never too late to quit. Gather your support and make the change.
• Know Your Numbers but Manage Your Risk – According to the American Heart Association, these are the ideal numbers for the general adult population:

Total Cholesterol – less than or equal to 180 mg/dL
Body Mass Index (BMI) of less than or equal to 25 kg/m2
Blood Pressure of less than 120/80 mm/Hg
Fasting Blood Sugar of less than or equal to 100 mg/dL

Show your commitment to living a healthier lifestyle by wearing Red this Friday. Visit  https://www.goredforwomen.org for more information on how you can begin to make positive lifestyle changes.

Do you like to cook? Want some new heart healthy recipes? Check out these heart healthy snacks: https://www.goredforwomen.org/live-healthy/heart-healhty-snacks-and-eating-on-thego/heart-healthy-snacks-for-kids/
For fast family dinners, visit: https://www.goredforwomen.org/live-healthy/cooking-heart-healthy-for-the-family/fast-family-weeknight-meals/

This is why I will Go Red on Friday.

IMG_0413

Family Photo: Debbie Klinger, sister of author, Brandy Harris, niece of author, and Michelle Treber, author.  Monument photo: my parents monument.

Author: Michelle Treber, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, Ohio State University Extension, Pickaway County, Heart of Ohio EERA, treber.1@osu.edu

Reviewer: Beth Stefura, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, Ohio State University Extension, Mahoning County, Crossroads EERA, stefura.2@osu.edu

 

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