Your heart and blood vessels supply every cell in your body with oxygen and nutrients. Taking care of your heart is important. You can control risk factors such as high blood pressure, tobacco usage, high blood cholesterol, physical inactivity, obesity, and diabetes. Join Gina Gomez, MD on Thursday, February 25th from 6:00 – 7:00 pm for a presentation / discussion Healthy Heart at RFGH Community Health Education Center, 31 Commercial Street, Skowhegan. Please call 858-2318 to pre-register for this FREE program. Topics include: risk factors, what numbers mean, prevention, heart disease, action steps and resources.

High blood cholesterol: One of the major risk factors for heart disease is an unhealthy blood cholesterol level. Blood cholesterol is a soft, waxy, fat-like substance and is composed of three blood fats:

What Dietary Changes Can I Make to Lower My Cholesterol?
* Broil, bake, boil, microwave, or steam instead of frying. If you do fry, use olive oil or canola oil due to lower amounts of saturated fat.
* Get into the habit of reading labels. Especially look at the amount of total fat and saturated fat in the foods that you eat.
* Eat fat sparingly. High fat foods can raise cholesterol.
* Eat smaller portions of high fat foods.

Cut back on:	Choose:
Red meat, such as hamburgers or steak	Skinless poultry, fish, beans, or lean meats that are baked or broiled
Regular hard cheese	Low fat or nonfat cheese
Creamy salad dressing	Fat-free or low-fat dressing
Regular potato chips	Low or nonfat baked chips, pretzels, or air popped popcorn
Eggs	Egg whites or egg substitutes such as Egg Beaters
Whole milk or 2% milk	1% or nonfat milk
Ice cream	Low fat frozen yogurt or sherbet
Butter, sauces, salt	Herbs, spices, lemon juice
Regular popcorn	Low fat popcorn
Sour cream or mayonnaise	Plain low fat yogurt, low fat cottage cheese, or low fat or fat-free sour cream and mayonnaise

Additional risk factors for heart disease you can do something about include high blood pressure, or hypertension, cigarette smoke, being overweight, lack of regular exercise, diabetes, and stress.

Physical Inactivity: Regular physical activity helps reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke. You can gain health benefits from doing moderate-intensity physical activity for a total of 30 minutes a day on most days. One should check with their healthcare provider before starting a vigorous exercise program or if you have been inactive for some time.

High Blood Pressure: It's called the "silent killer" because it contributes to many heart attacks and strokes and usually has no symptoms. It makes your heart work harder than normal, which makes both the heart and arteries more prone to injury. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), high blood pressure are readings of 140/90 mm Hg or greater that stay high over time. Normal readings are less than 120/80. The AHA encourages people with high blood pressure to follow their healthcare provider's instructions and to stay on your medication.

Tobacco Smoke: People who smoke have a much higher risk of having a heart attack or stroke. And, constant exposure to other people's smoke increases your risk! When you stop smoking, your risk starts to drop. Need help with tobacco cessation? Call it Quits! Call the Maine Tobacco Helpline at 1-800-207-1230. Call the Community Health Educator at 474-5121, ext. 318 for 1:1 support and education, or contact Somerset Heart Health at 474-7473 and ask about the Quit and Win program.

Diabetes is controllable, but having it greatly increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. Many people with diabetes also have high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol and are overweight. Diabetes is a disease that affects the way the body uses food. It is characterized by the inability to produce or properly use insulin, a hormone that helps control blood sugar levels. More and more Mainers are being diagnosed with diabetes. Careful management of diabetes makes it possible to lead active and long lives. The following are ways to start managing diabetes:

• • Diet and exercise are important for everyone, and essential for those managing diabetes.
  • Some people with diabetes need medication to help keep their blood sugar "normal". Medication may include insulin injections, diabetic pills or both.
  • Managing stress is very important for those with diabetes. When people are experiencing stress, hormones are released that act to raise one's blood sugar.
  • Often the doctor will have you have a type of blood test to see how well you are managing your diabetes. The test is called A1C. It measures the average amount of blood sugar over the past three months.
  • People with diabetes are encouraged to self monitor their blood sugar on a regular basis.
  • People with diabetes are encouraged to ask about getting an annual flu shot as people with diabetes have an increased risk of serious complications from influenza and pneumonia.
  • Ask your doctor about the RFGH Diabetes Self Management Training program or call our Certified Diabetes Educator at 474-5121, ext. 261 for more information.

Overweight and Obesity: If you have too much fat, especially in the waist, you are at higher risk for high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, high blood fats, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.

Upcoming at RFGH

• • Weigh to Go is an 8-week weight loss series, taught by RFGH dietitians, which emphasizes permanent weight loss through healthy choices. Over the past year, participants completing the program have lost an average of 5 pounds per person over the 8 week period. Such weight loss can reduce blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes risk, risk for heart disease, cancer and more. For more information & to reserve space, please call 858-2318. The program has just started!
  
  • Need help with tobacco cessation? Call it Quits! Call the Maine Tobacco Helpline at 1-800-207-1230 or call the Community Health Educator at 858-2318 for 1:1 support and education, or contact Somerset Heart Health at 474-7473 and ask about the Quit and Win program.

Controlling your risk factors may decrease your risk for a heart attack or stroke!
Listed below are warning signs of a heart attack or stroke. Call for help immediately if you experience any of these, do not wait.

Know the warning signs of a stroke and heart attack:

STROKE	HEART ATTACK
Sudden weakness or numbness of the face, arm or leg on one side of the body. Sudden dimness or loss of vision, particularly in one eye. Loss of speech, or trouble talking or understanding speech. Sudden, severe headaches with no known cause. Unexplained dizziness, unsteadiness or sudden falls, especially along with any of the previous symptoms.	Chest discomfort in the center of the chest that may feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain. Discomfort or pain in one or both arms, the back, the neck, jaw or stomach. Shortness of breath, often coming along with chest discomfort. Other signs like breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.
Not all of these warning signs occur with every heart attack or stroke. Heart attack and stroke are Medical Emergencies. Call 9-1-1 immediately. Stay calm. Be prepared to describe the emergency. Give your name and address where help is needed. Stay on the phone until help arrives or the 911 operator tells you to hang up.

Additional Resources: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Health Information Center
American Stroke Association 1-888-4-STROKE www.StrokeAssociation.org
American Heart Association 1-888-MY-HEART wwww.american.org