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The Secret To Preventing Heart Disease Can Be Found In Your Town

Photo credit: Nikki Kurt
Photo credit: Nikki Kurt

From Woman's Day

When it comes to preventing heart disease, knowledge is power. It's vital to know your numbers, like your blood pressure, cholesterol (including the HDL "good" and LDL "bad" kind) and triglycerides. At the same time, it's also important to know that you don't have to fight heart disease alone. To help you take action, it's crucial to tap into your community-whether that's asking a friend to join you on walks, getting your sister to send you some of her favorite nutritious recipes or even attending health fairs or heart health screenings at your church or civic center.

"Community to me has meant women coming together for one understanding-that we have to take time for ourselves to be healthy," says Toni Carey, cofounder of the nonprofit Black Girls RUN! and a member of the Woman's Day and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) panel, which discussed how community-based programs are making a difference in the battle against heart disease.

"It's important to view heart health as not just the absence of heart disease but really as physical, social and mental well-being," says George Mensah, MD, a keynote speaker at the event, and director of the Center for Translation Research and Implementation Science (CTRIS) at the NHLBI. And a greater well-being is exactly what your community can provide. Find out how to best access your community so you can improve your heart health with these tips straight from people working to decrease the disease at the local level.


A fitness-focused nonprofit says…you only need to find one person

Photo credit: Nikki Kurt
Photo credit: Nikki Kurt

Forming a healthy community doesn't have to be a daunting task. "To create community it only takes two people-that's a community," says Carey. "For anyone who wants to create a community-it could be your mom, your sister, your best friend-just starting a dialogue and keeping each other accountable is so important," she notes. Carey talks to her mom every day, and asks her questions like: Are you going to go on a walk today? What did you eat for dinner? When's the last time you went to the doctor? Those check-ins remind them both that their health should be a priority.

"I think we have to be there for one another a little bit more, whether that is on a very large scale like Black Girls RUN! or your church or your book club-it's really easy to do, it's just about owning the responsibility to make change happen wherever you are," Carey adds.

And once one member of your group starts on a healthy path, it spreads. Take, for example, a member of Black Girls RUN! in Baltimore, who joined when she learned from her doctor that she weighed 300 pounds, had type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and other markers for heart disease. She's lost 85 pounds since then, and started running marathons and half marathons. Those around her noticed a change, including her 20-year-old younger sister who was recently diagnosed with pre-diabetes. "Role modelling can spread like wildfire-her little sister saw what was happening and decided to started running too, and just completed her first half marathon. How cool is that?" asks Carey.


A local doctor says…don't stop making appointments after you've had children

Photo credit: Nikki Kurt
Photo credit: Nikki Kurt

Health issues in pregnancy like preeclampsia and gestational diabetes aren't just red flags when you're giving birth-they also signal that you could be at risk for heart disease down the line, which is why continually going to your doctor is key.

"If I can start working with someone at 25 to prevent heart disease so that it doesn't occur at age 50, that's great," says Connie Graves, MD, medical director of perinatal services at St. Thomas Health Systems in Nashville and a panelist member. "We need to look at pregnancy as a continuum and not just an isolated life event," she says.

Dr. Graves works together with cardiologist Stacy Davis, MD, to make sure that women who have heart issues in childbirth receive continued cardiac care, rather than losing touch until the woman has a major heart issue decades later.

"I got a call from Dr. Davis one day and she said, 'I have to talk to you about a patient-she's 53 and had preeclampsia and gestational diabetes. She left the healthcare system after having babies, and she presented today in heart failure.' And I thought, What can we do to keep that from happening?" Dr. Graves recalls.

At your next checkup, Dr. Graves suggests that when your doctor asks "How was your pregnancy?" instead of answering generally, like "Great, I have three healthy kids," give a more detailed answer. Be sure to include whether you have had any complications like gestational diabetes or preeclampsia.


A business in your community says…take advantage of what's around you

Photo credit: Nikki Kurt
Photo credit: Nikki Kurt

Taking care of your heart health is easier when you can address many aspects of your health during a medical visit. CVS MinuteClinic just recently launched a partnership with the American Heart Association to help more women keep tabs on their heart health stats.

At the panel, Angela Patterson, DNP, chief Nurse Practitioner Officer of MinuteClinic, Vice President of CVS Health and a panelist member told the story of a 47-year-old Texas woman who visited one of their MinuteClinics. "She said she just didn't feel right-she had weakness, shortness of breath and a little bit of dizziness," says Patterson. After a health assessment and a physical exam, the woman was identified as having seriously elevated blood pressure and an irregular heart rate-something that hadn't been previously diagnosed. "The woman was rushed to an acute care facility, where she learned she was having a heart attack, and went into surgery that night," says Patterson.


A heart health researcher says…take part in a trial for better care

Photo credit: Nikki Kurt
Photo credit: Nikki Kurt

If you're at risk for heart disease, or if you've had a serious heart event, your doctor may suggest that you take part in a clinical trial at your local hospital. And while that may sound time consuming or risky, taking part in a trial actually could put you at an advantage.

"You're not a guinea pig-you are going to get better care in a clinical trial," says Ileana L. Piña, MD, MPH, associate chief for academic affairs in cardiology at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx and a panelist member. "At our hospital you have a coordinator or a 'guardian angel' keeping tabs on you, calling you, making sure you have somebody to reach, which is different than in a big health system, where it's hard to get a human being on the phone." This way, no part of your cardiac care falls through the cracks.


A faith-based health organization says…look at your church fliers

Photo credit: Nikki Kurt
Photo credit: Nikki Kurt

Chi Eta Phi Sorority Inc., a nursing sorority that focuses on community screenings, including those for heart health, reaches people through Facebook and Instagram, but where they find most of their patients is through a more back-to-basics method.

"To reach out in a community, our nursing society puts information about screenings in all the church bulletins in the area," says Priscilla Murphy, the 1st Vice President of Chi Eta Phi Sorority Inc. and a panelist member. Murphy encourages people to read those fliers that may end up in your recycling bin, and notes that you'd be surprised to see what health fairs and offerings are located around your town.

"Our group likes to set a prescient-every third Sunday is a health screening," says Murphy, so people get used to the schedule. Check out your local community center to see if any free health fairs or screening opportunities are happening in your town-then put the date in your calendar. "We like to keep it simple," says Murphy. And it's working.

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