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Partners
for progress: 2BigHearts Teams with Rush
University Medical for healthy hearts
The 2BigHearts Foundation, in conjunction with the
respected Rush University Medical Center,
offered another in a series of free
women’s heart screenings February 24,
2007. Screenings are held to help women
assess their risk of developing
cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular
disease is the number-one killer of women,
yet it often goes overlooked. Such was the
case with Gigi Clarke and Sally Czechanski,
two Chicago area sisters who died tragically
within minutes of each other following
severe cardiac events. Jim Clarke of Long
Beach, IN, Gigi’s devoted husband,
established the 2BigHearts Foundation in the
sisters’ memory to raise awareness of
heart disease in women.
A
total of 300 women signed up for the
screening; 156 women received the screening,
which included an echocardiogram, an ECG,
fasting blood sugar, lipid panel,
height/weight/blood pressure, evaluation of
waist circumference and BMI, health risk
assessment, and an exit consultation with a
cardiologist or nurse practitioner.
Women
are often so busy looking for signs of other
diseases like osteoporosis or breast cancer
that they dismiss the symptoms of heart
disease. They believe that it’s strictly a
man’s disease. Nothing could be further
from the truth! More women die each year of
cardiovascular disease than all cancers
combined. But the good news is that 80% of
cardiovascular disease can be prevented!
The
Foundation strives to increase awareness of
the issue of heart disease in women and
works with the health care community to
educate women and families about the causes
and prevention of heart disease in women.
“By
telling the story of my wife and her sister,
I hope to stress that a similarly tragic
scenario is completely avoidable with proper
heart health education,” Jim Clarke
explains. “Had we known about their
condition, both Gigi and Sally could have
sought treatment that might have saved their
lives.”
Some people who develop cardiomyopathy may have no
signs or symptoms in the
early
stages of the disease. As part of the
2BigHearts screening at Rush, participants
will undergo an echocardiogram. By using
sound waves, or ultrasound, to
non-invasively create images of the heart, a
doctor can view the size of the heart and
its motions as it beats.
Participants also received an electrocardiogram (ECG).
In this noninvasive test, electrode patches
are attached to the skin to measure
electrical impulse from the heart. An ECG
can show disturbances in the electrical
activity of the heart, which may identify
abnormal heart rhythms and areas of injury.
The
screening focused on risk factors for women,
which include high blood pressure, high
total and LDL cholesterol, low HDL
cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, being
overweight, being physically inactive, age
(55 and older), and family history.
“I tell patients who have several
risk factors that they need to know their
own bodies and how they feel when there’s
nothing wrong,” says cardiologist Anabelle
Volgman, MD, medical director of the Rush
Heart Center for Women. “If there is a
change, such as unexplained extreme fatigue,
it may be a sign that there is something
wrong and they should seek medical help,”
Many women ignore
symptoms of cardiovascular disease because,
unlike the classic severe chest pain men
often describe, women’s symptoms tend to
be more
nonspecific
– fatigue, nausea and shortness of breath.
Women are urged to call 9-1-1 if there is
sudden chest discomfort or extreme fatigue
that lasts more than a few minutes.
To reduce the
risk for heart disease, Dr. Volgman suggests
a heart-healthy diet and regular exercise to
help maintain a healthy weight and avoid
diabetes. Smokers need to quit. If blood
pressure and cholesterol can’t be
controlled through diet and exercise alone,
medications can help. Prevention is
important because more women than men die
within the first year after a heart attack.
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