Registered nurse Darla Feikema walks Bernadine Hansen through the questionnaire that helps determine patients' heart health.
By Sara Strong
With heart disease the No. 1 cause of death in America, increasing heart health awareness is on Luverne Community Hospital's list of goals.
Tuesday's heart screening at the hospital covered about 100 people who were checked for cholesterol, blood pressure and cardiac risk factors. Staff also weighed participants, took pulses and measured height.
Darla Feikema is a registered nurse in the Cardiac Rehab department at Luverne Community Hospital. She helped patients during the special screening day.
"We want to identify patients who are at risk and start making some healthy changes," Feikema said.
Heart health screening participants will get their blood and questionnaire results in about two weeks.
Feikema often works with patients who need to make lifestyle changes Ñ including eating healthier, exercising more and managing stress.
Heart problems keep her department of the hospital busy. An average of 12 patients are in cardiac rehab sessions three times a week at the hospital.
Risky business
Although obesity is a strong risk factor for heart disease, Feikema said the hospital doesn't want to focus on weight loss.
One of the most important things heart patients can do is realize what they can change. Feikema said some people try to write off obesity as just being a family problem.
"There are some things that genetics can't change, but you can control what you eat and how much you exercise," Feikema said.
Obesity is just one of a few major risk factors for heart disease. Others are:
smoking
hypertension
high cholesterol
physical inactivity
diabetes
Family history of heart disease is considered to be a risk factor if you have a male relative younger than 55 or female relative younger than 65 who has been diagnosed with coronary artery disease.
Smoking doubles the heart disease risk and increases mortality by 70 percent. The arteries of a smoker harden an average of 50 percent faster than those of non-smokers.
Feikema also points out that smokers increase the cost of health care in general.
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is the most important risk factor for stroke and heart failure. It is essentially a problem that increases the heart's workload, causing the heart to weaken and enlarge.
High blood pressure is a common problem, though, presenting itself in 50 percent of women older than 55.
The top number of blood pressure readings represents the pressure in the vascular system when the heart is beating. The bottom number stands for the pressure between heartbeats.
A blood pressure of 120/80 is ideal; a blood pressure of 140/90 is recognized as high. Feikema said that wine in moderation has been shown to help reduce blood pressure and help prevent heart disease. Eating up to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables per day also lowers blood pressure.
The American Heart Association has said that cholesterol numbers considered healthy are less than 200. High cholesterol can be treated with drugs, decreasing weight and increasing activity.
Diabetes is another risk factor, often made worse by a sedentary lifestyle. Feikema said that many jobs today donÕt require as much physical activity as those in the past, and that adds to problems.
Exercise also helps relieve stress, depression and anxiety, which are other risk factors
For women
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women as well as in men. The misconception that breast cancer is the No. 1 killer is far from the truth, Feikema said.
She said that heart disease kills more women than the other top killers: cancer of any kind, chronic lung problems, pneumonia, diabetes, accidents and AIDS.
The symptoms of a heart attack have been well publicized, but they pertain mostly to men. The chest pressure, pain in the back or left arm often aren't felt by women the same.
Women having a heart attack are more likely to feel:
discomfort in the jaw, neck, arms, shoulders or back
shortness of breath
palpitations, cold sweat or paleness
Women who have heart disease often feel shortness of breath more often than men. Women can experience a "lousy" feeling, Feikema said, and they aren't sure why.
Women with heart disease are more likely to feel pain in the abdomen - sometimes described as indigestion, nausea, or gas pains. They are more likely to report extreme fatigue, dizziness, swollen feet and ankles, skipped heartbeats or a cough when lying down.
These symptoms are especially notable, Feikema said, because studies have shown that women seek help later than they should.