February is American Heart Month

By Julie Rae Rickard

In February the focus is on our hearts, not just because of Valentine’s Day, but because it is American Heart Month.

The idea of designating February as a month to spread awareness of heart disease began in 1964 with President Lyndon B. Johnson, who had suffered heart attacks himself.

Later the first Friday in February was named National Wear Red Day to focus more on women’s heart health.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States with one person dying every 33 seconds from it. In fact, every 40 seconds, someone in the country has a heart attack.

Clearfield County has a higher rate for death related heart disease than the rest of the state, according to information from the CDC based on data from 2018-2020.

The state death rate from heart disease is 339.2 per 100,000, and Clearfield’s is 357.7 per 100,000 people. Centre is 287.4, Jefferson 341.0, Cambria is at 359.1, and Blair is the highest in the area at 440.1 for people over 35-years-old.

So how do you know if you have a potential heart problem?

If your family has a history of heart disease or you have symptoms related to heart issues, it is a good idea to keep track of vital statistics such as blood pressure, blood glucose and cholesterol. Regular visits to your primary care physician can help keep you on top of your heart health.

The good news is most strokes and heart attacks can be prevented by maintaining a healthy lifestyle with eating right, exercising and not smoking.

“A poor diet-one that’s high in salt, refined carbohydrates and saturated fats-can cause high blood pressure and your arteries to become clogged from cholesterol. It also increases your risk for obesity and type 2 diabetes, two major risk factors for heart disease,” according to information provided by Penn Highlands Healthcare.

They suggest “eating mostly whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins” which will assist in keeping both your blood pressure and cholesterol at healthy levels, as well as keep your weight at a reasonable level and lower your risk for diabetes.

It is recommended that you have some sort of moderate exercise, for example, a simple walk, for about 30 minutes for five days a week. However, if you have not made exercise a regular part of your routine, you should check with your doctor before beginning any new or extreme exercise regime.

Lowering stress by relaxing or meditating is also important.

If you suspect you are having a heart attack, you should call 911 as soon as possible.

Symptoms of a heart attack from the American Hearth Association are:

• Chest discomfort: Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes – or it may go away and then return. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.

• Discomfort in other areas of the upper body: Symptoms include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.

• Shortness of breath: This can occur with or without chest discomfort.

• Other signs: Breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness. Women may experience nausea/vomiting.

If someone is having an attack to the point that they are suffering a cardiac arrest

and collapse, are unresponsive, not breathing and have no pulse, it may be necessary to do cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR, until help can arrive.

The key part of CPR is chest compressions, which keep blood flowing to vital organs until a regular heartbeat returns. Breaths of oxygen bring more oxygen into the person during the arrest, according to the Cleveland Clinic’s website.

If no one trained in CPR is available, anyone can do it by putting their hands in the middle of the person’s chest and pushing down while keeping their arms straight for about 20 seconds. A handy way to remember the rhythm of pushing down and letting up is to hum the Bee Gees hit “Stayin’ Alive”.

To add rescue breaths to this, after checking to be sure nothing is blocking their airway, pinch the person’s nose closed while tilting their head back and their chin up. Put your mouth over theirs and blow normal breaths into it so their chest goes up. Do two breaths before going back to doing compressions. Continue until emergency medical personnel arrive and take over.

Another problem caused by heart disease is a stroke.

Stroke symptoms can be remembered by thinking FAST: F=face drooping,

A=arm weakness, S=speech difficulty and T=time to call 911.

“Stroke is an emergency. Every minute counts. Call 911 immediately. Note the time when any of the symptoms first appear,” the AHA suggests.

Other things to look for include sudden:

• Numbness or weakness of face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body.

• Confusion, trouble speaking or understanding speech.

• Trouble seeing in one or both eyes.

• Trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination.

• Severe headache with no known cause.

More information and specifics are available on the American Stroke Association

website, www.stroke.org.