Right now, millions of students across the country are participating in physical activities at their schools – a basketball or soccer game, football and cheerleading practice or gym class. What if one of them had a life-threatening cardiac emergency? Would the school be prepared?

Sudden cardiac arrest strikes more than 340,000 Americans each year, including children and teens, usually without warning. Heart conditions tend to go undetected and often manifest themselves during physical activity. In the event of a cardiac arrest, a quick response and the early use of an automated external defibrillator (AED) are critical to improving the chances of survival.

According to the American Heart Association, early use of AEDs – portable devices that analyze the heart’s rhythm and deliver an electric shock to reestablish a normal heartbeat -could raise the chance of survival by 20 percent or more.

“Nearly 95 percent of cardiac arrest victims die – usually because defibrillation occurs too late,” said Dr. Vincent Mosesso Jr. of the National Center for Early Defibrillation based at the University of Pittsburgh. “Every minute that passes before returning the heart to a normal rhythm decreases the chance of survival by 10 percent. Patients who receive CPR [cardiopulmonary resuscitation] and a defibrillator shock within three minutes of going into sudden cardiac arrest have the best odds of survival.”

Unfortunately, many schools aren’t equipped with AEDs.

For that reason, Duracell and Zoll Medical Corp. have teamed up to help inform parents and educators about the importance of being prepared for these critical situations.

“Through this campaign, we want to work with communities across the country to provide their schools with the tools necessary to help save lives,” said Kara Salzillo, manager of brand communications for Duracell.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Tags: american heart association, automated external defibrillator, zoll medical corp

According to the American Heart Association, nearly five million Americans are living with heart failure and 550,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. Heart failure is a serious condition that often is misunderstood. The questions below are intended to help clear up some misperceptions about this condition and its complications.

Q. What is heart failure?

A. Heart failure does not mean that your heart has stopped or is about to stop. It is a serious condition in which the heart doesn’t pump blood through your body as well as it should.

Your heart still beats, but it pumps less nutrient- and oxygen-rich blood to the rest of your body. Because of this, heart failure can make you feel tired or weak. Heart failure also can cause swelling and fluid buildup in your legs, feet and even your lungs. Fluid buildup in your lungs often is referred to as “congestion,” which is why heart failure is sometimes called “congestive heart failure (CHF).” At times, patients may require hospitalization to treat a worsening, or an acute episode, of their heart failure symptoms.

Q. What are the symptoms of heart failure?

A. Some symptoms of heart failure include shortness of breath, frequent coughing, increased heart rate, heart palpitations (your heart may feel like it is racing), fatigue, weakness, swollen ankles and legs, loss of appetite and weight gain. Patients who experience acute episodes of their heart failure symptoms also may have extreme shortness of breath that leaves them gasping for air. Since they may have fluid buildup in their lungs, they may feel as though they are drowning.

Q. How are acute episodes of heart failure treated?

A. There are some common intravenous (IV) drugs that are commonly given to patients in hospitals to treat acute episodes of heart failure. They include diuretics, inotropes and IV vasodilators.

Please talk to your healthcare professional for more information.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Tags: congestive heart failure, heart failure symptoms, symptoms of heart failure

Healthy heart awareness is coming up in February. Do you really know if you have a healthy heart? How do we know? We only know after something happens. We always think it cant happen to us.

Having a healthy body gives you a healthy heart. So here are some tips to keep your body healthy.

1.You need to take a really good vitamin. What does that mean? Expensive? No. I mean a vitamin that does dissolve in your body so your body benefits the vitamins in it. I only know of one vitamin that is fructose compounded that benefits our bodies by absorbing 95% of the vitamins, instead of just passing through our bodies.

What is fructose compounding? Fructose is a natural fruit sugar your cells crave and it is easily absorbed in the bloodstream. This process is designed to pre-bind a fructose molecule to a mineral so the mineral wont bind with nutrients in the digestive system. The fructose compounded mineral are designed to be absorbed more easily into the bloodstream and delivered to your cells and thus to your tissues, organs and the rest of your body. Thus making you body healthy.

2.Exercise You need to keep your body moving. We are suppose to walk at least 10,000 steps a day. The best way to monitor that is to have a walking monitor that can be clipped to your belt or pants. Then keep track of how many steps you take and then if they are aerobic. Which will get you heart pumping. When you get your heart pumping you are getting your body moving and getting your body in better shape all around.

3.Food We need to eat more vegetables and less processed foods. We need to get back to making dinners instead of using processed foods that are easy and quick. I fall into that category. Im in the process of retraining myself in making better choices for my family. Life is busy and its just easier to use pre-made meals. Tip: On Sunday make it family cooking day. Get everyone in the kitchen and make 5 dinners for the week. Put in the freeze when cooled. Then during the week pull out dinner from the freezer and leave in fridge to thaw while at work. It is something to get used to but it makes Sundays very memorable.

These are simple changes but they could save you or someone you love from something very serious. It only takes a few good changes and you can have a better healthier life.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Tags: 10 000 steps, fruit sugar, heart awareness

Here’s some news you can take to heart: Experts say more than 70 million Americans currently live with a cardiovascular disease. And coronary heart disease is a leading cause of premature, permanent disability in the U.S. workforce.

Fortunately, there are practical steps you can take to reduce the health threat posed by heart disease.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, much of the burden of heart disease and stroke could be eliminated by reducing major risk factors: high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, tobacco use, diabetes, physical inactivity and poor nutrition.

For example, studies suggest a 10 percent decrease in total cholesterol levels may reduce the development of coronary heart disease by as much as 30 percent.

Twenty-five years ago, the treatment for heart attacks was simply bed rest. Today, doctors have medicines that can stop a heart attack in midstream as well as other high-tech treatments.

And more good news is on the way. According to a survey by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), there are 146 new medicines currently in development to treat heart disease and strokes.

To help Americans get the information they need to fight heart disease and strokes, PhRMA has launched a new multimedia national health education campaign.

“Coronary vascular disease impacts one in every three Americans and is the number one killer according to the American Heart Association. It’s important for patients to know that there are steps they can take today that can reduce their chances of developing these killer diseases tomorrow,” said Billy Tauzin, president and CEO.

PhRMA’s public service health information campaign stresses the importance of consulting with health care providers, as well as visiting helpful Web sites that provide information on preventing and treating coronary disease.

“PhRMA members and their scientists want to help Americans find answers to their questions about heart disease and strokes,” said Tauzin. “I hope everyone will take a moment to visit these sites and get the information they need to learn how to treat and ultimately prevent these killers.”

Popularity: 2% [?]

Tags: american heart association, high blood cholesterol, national health education

The exercise benefit you may want from exercise may differ greatly from the exercise benefit someone else wants but some things remain the same.

Strong Heart
A strong heart does not have to work so hard so you are less likely to have a heart attack. Regular exercise also increases your HDL (good) cholesterol and helps lower your total cholesterol. Exercise also helps lower your blood pressure. Your lungs will also benefit from exercise as they become better conditioned so that activities such as climbing stairs will not make you out of breath.

Any exercise tip you use needs to be simple yet smart enough so you can use the exercise tips to quickly and easily adapt your exercise habits to continue to push ahead and reach your health, fitness, and physical appearance goals and still have the time for a great family life.

Exercise tip for an exercise benefit:
Get a baby jogger. You don’t have to run or jog, walking at a fast pace will do just as good, but you should get a baby jogger they’re much easier and smoother than a regular stroller for this;

Increased Self-Esteem:
Gaining control of your body size and weight through fitness is an amazing way to increase self-esteem. You look better and are more confident which empowers you in everything you do. You will find that the self-discipline required and learned through regular exercise spills over into other areas of your life and you will be better able to make other necessary and desireable changes

Start by talking with your doctor. This is especially important if you haven’t been active, if you have any health problems, or if you’re pregnant or elderly.

Exercise Makes Your Heart Happy
You may know that your heart is a muscle. It works hard, pumping blood every day of your life. You can help this important muscle get stronger by doing aerobic (say: air-o-bik) exercise.

Balance Ball
You’ve seen them lying around the gym, but you’ve never really known what to do with them. At first, you may have thought they looked “girly,” but then you probably saw some of the most muscular guys at your gym using them. Balance ball is a great way to get great abs! We urge you to find out more about balance ball exercises!

Popularity: 2% [?]

Tags: elderly exercise, exercise habits, good cholesterol