Antelope Memorial Hospital Promotes Heart Health

With February being American Heart month, the staff at Antelope Memorial Hospital is urging people to adopt a healthy lifestyle.

“Heart disease is the biggest killer of both women and men in the U.S.,” said Carol Anderson, APRN and cardiac rehab director of Antelope Memorial Hospital. “However, living a healthy lifestyle helps to keep your heart strong and efficient. This includes eating a healthy diet, maintaining an ideal weight and exercising regularly. Plus, both men and women should monitor their blood pressure and cholesterol levels as well as choose not to smoke.”

Managing your stress levels is also important in caring for your heart, added Anderson. Try out a variety of different forms of exercise to reduce stress and stay in shape. Find one or more types that you enjoy and will stay with. Plus, spend more quality time for relaxing with your family. Laughter is also a good heart medicine for greatly reducing stress and the risk for heart attack.

To prevent heart damage, it’s also important to recognize the early signs of a possible heart attack, Anderson said. Once damage is incurred, the heart’s pumping ability can be reduced, forcing it to work harder overall.

Women are more likely to have nausea, fatigue, indigestion and shoulder aches rather than classic chest pain, added Anderson. Regardless of your gender, if you suffer from pain in your chest, shoulder, neck or jaw, notify your health care provider immediately. Shortness of breath and nausea that develops quickly are also signs of a possible heart attack. If you are having a heart attack, the faster you can get to the hospital, the less damage will occur to your heart. Every second counts.

In the event of a heart attack, participating in a personalized cardiac rehab program afterwards is very beneficial. At its center is an exercise program that gradually increases the workload on the heart and lungs. Over time, it helps improve cardiac conditioning.

Cardiac care education is also considered very important. The education includes heart disease, risk factors, diet, lifestyle changes, developing an emergency plan, signs of impending problems and simply talking. In addition, the program includes an emotional support system which is very important for patients in maintaining mental wellness.
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For more information, contact the AMH Cardiac Center at 402.887.6270 or your AMH health care provider at 877.887.5440.