By ERIN PUSTAY, The Independent
Posted Feb 2, 2009
Friday was a bad day for a stress test.
I woke up grumpy, I wasn’t allowed to make my much-needed Starbucks stop and my fellow drivers were driving me insane.
No wonder my blood pressure was up.
I did it, though. High blood pressure or not, I took the first step.
Last week, the entire community was soberly reminded of the risks of heart disease and hypertension when news of Central Catholic Basketball Coach Greg Thurman’s death spread. Everyone, I think, took pause to mourn with the Central community and hopefully turn a critical eye to their own habits.
What would it take to reduce our own risks of heart disease and hypertension?
Aultman has the answer.
HeartAware
Last summer, Aultman introduced a new program to Stark County. HeartAware, launched in May, is a program designed to reach the entire Stark County population – everyone insured, uninsured or underinsured – and allow them to evaluate their own habits and what it means for them in terms of heart health.
Adene Keller, an RN in the Aultman Heart Center, located on the hospital’s main campus, noted that when it comes to heart disease, there are very few symptoms.
Without regular doctor check-ups, a person may not even realize they are at risk until they have a heart attack or stroke.
“There are a lot of people,” Keller said, “especially the uninsured or underinsured who do not see their doctors as often as they should because, to them, that’s an out-of-pocket expense.”
If everyone knew that changes in diet or a few days of exercise would curb the risks of heart disease, making the difficult healthy lifestyle changes may not seem so bad, Keller said.
Knowing that finding motivation for change is as easy as logging onto a computer could help everyone take that first step.
Through an online survey, visitors to the Aultman Web site can see how high their risks of developing a cardiac disease are. It’s really, truly easy.
I know because I did it myself.
Curiosity saves the cat
It takes, maybe, 15 minutes to do. Just fill-in your weight, age and other vital statistics, making note of how often you exercise, if you smoke and if there is a history of heart disease in your family.
James McCormick, 41, decided last year that he wanted to know what his risks were. So he logged on to the survey after hearing about it on the radio.
“I was kind of curious,” McCormick said, noting that in his case curiosity may have saved the cat.
“I had never taken care of myself and I didn’t eat right or anything,” McCormick said. “I wanted to get healthy … (and) this was a big wake-up call for me.”
Those who are at high risk for developing a cardiac disease will be contacted and offered a follow-up visit with a Heart Center RN – someone like Keller.
“Those (high risk) results are automatically sent to our e-mail and we follow up with a phone call,” Keller said.
The follow-up visit involves a cholesterol and triglycerides analysis, blood pressure check and weigh-in.
Best of all: It’s totally and completely free of charge.
Really.
No strings attached.
On a mission
“The mission of the hospital is to lead the community to improved health and that is what this is all about,” Keller said. “Especially when you are young, why not make the changes that will benefit you down the road?”
My health assessment, for example, was nothing I didn’t expect. It would do me good to get back on track – eating healthier and exercising more. My blood pressure is fine and I am not at risk for diabetes. Overall, I am healthy and happy.
The bad news, though, is that some day, I will be old. If I change nothing about my lifestyle right now and continue on my merry way for 20 or 30 years, Keller said I could be at risk for developing a cardiac disease.
That was the same news that McCormick got. The same news that changed his life.
“I’m 40 years old and if I stay on this track, it’s only a matter of time before I have problems,” McCormick said. “In 20 years or so, I could have one foot in the grave and one on a banana peel.”
So McCormick did what he always knew he had to do. He gave up “beer and bad food” and started eating apples, chicken and Kashi granola bars.
“I did it for me,” McCormick said.
That, Keller said, is the key. You need to do it for you. You need to do it for your heart.
“Your body is your vehicle,” Keller said. “Whether you have a BMW or a clunker, it’s still the only one you get. How you maintain it is important. Because where else are you going to live?”
To take the first step and access the online survey, log on to aultman.org and click on the “Did you test your heart risk yet?” link.
If lack of Internet access is slowing you down, don’t let it be your excuse. You can obtain a paper copy of the evaluation by calling 330-363-7600.
