A Hearty Life

Goodbye- time to move on

Kendra James, RN — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:33:34 +0000

My time here at A Hearty Life is finished. I am moving on to go back to work full time as a nurse. I am both excited and sad. I have looked forward to being able to do this for a long time- but it is a big change.

I have enjoyed the time I have had with you- especially your questions and comments. I wish you all continued success, happiness, health and smiles. Please welcome the next writer with a big hello and open arms. Take care and stay heart healthy!

Kendra

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Very small particles in the air can cause heart disease

Kendra James, RN — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:06:24 +0000

We have all read in the past that diesel fuel fumes and particles can attribute to heart disease and increases plaques in the cardiac tissue. But now UCLA researchers have concluded that the smallest, eensy weensy, teeny tiny little particle from vehicle emissions may be be the one that packs the biggest punch.I know, it is a little hard to wrap your brain around this one right? Now we can’t even walk down the street without the ghostly whispers of our arteries hardening form plaque. Depressing…

The scientists identified a way in which pollutant particles may promote hardening of the arteries — by inactivating the protective qualities of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, known as “good” cholesterol.

We are talking really tiny particles, nanoparticles that are the size of a virus or molecule — less than 0.18 micrometers, or about one-thousandth the size of a human hair. For now these particles are too small to be captured in a filter, thus enter new technology!

via Science Daily

Tags: cardiac disease, heart-disease, nanoparticles

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Women- take care of yourself!

Kendra James, RN — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 16:11:05 +0000

We as women have to take better care of ourselves! I know there is so much to do and take care of, besides you, but it is so important. Just look at what the numbers are saying… I am just as guilty as the next women, I take care of everyone first and then forget about me but as I grow older I am realizing how important this is.

The trend among women was more alarming, with hypertension rates in the 1990s reversing and beginning to increase, researchers said. Between the early 1990s and early 2000s, the prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension in adult women increased from 17 percent to more than 22 percent. At the same time, the rate of hypertension in men decreased from 19 percent to 17 percent.

Tags: blood-pressure, heart-health, womens-health

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Quick question…

Kendra James, RN — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:15:22 +0000

I am curious….

Have you started your holiday shopping?

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Disney World did my heart good….

Kendra James, RN — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 20:53:48 +0000

We are back from Disney and I would like to say thanks to the bazillion- yes that is a word- miles of walking during the 5 days at the Disney parks… I actually lost a pound or two on vacation! Imagine that. I was sure that I would see the scale move in the wrong direction, but I lost 2 pounds. I sure did eat ice cream and more snacks then usual. It is not every day that you take the kids to Disney World right?

It was so much fun and the girls had to walk a ton as well. We did rent a 2 person stroller and the kids took turns riding but they still walked about 6-8 hours a day. Our favorite park was the Magic Kingdom followed by Hollywood studios followed by Animal Kingdom then Epcot. Although I think that the Animal Kingdom was a close third.

I rode all the rides and was brave! It took much determination and will power to get on all the roller coasters and motion filled rides but like I said… it will be a while before we return so I lived it up! I have pics to share as soon as I get them loaded on to the computer.

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Sexy Sunday… it is heart healthy!

Kendra James, RN — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 20:51:42 +0000

Sex is heart healthy! Here are the top 3 hearty reasons to incorporate sex into your weekly exercise regimen…

1. Orgasms boost your circulation, helping the body rid itself of harmful toxins. Regular sex can even keep your heart healthy and lower your risk of heart attack.

2. Sex uses every muscle group, gets the heart and lungs working hard, and burns about 300 calories an hour.

3. It’s fun!

Okay, that last one isn’t clinical but it is true! Now go get that heart pumping, haha.

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Cute little hearty quiz shared again….

Kendra James, RN — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 20:31:22 +0000

I was so impressed with my 5 year old- at the time- when we did this and since I am nearing the end here at AHL- I am sharing this with you yet again. We will call her Siddy for short…. So here we go. Her cardiac I.Q. quiz is on…1. Ok, Siddy… what does your heart do?

“Beats. It runs your body by the veins and blood”

2. How big is your heart?

“As big as this.” (she put her fist up) “Daddy’s must be bigger then yours cause he is taller and has a bigger fist.”

3. Does your heart ever take a brake?

“Yes, when I sleep. Wait, it does… it has to. No it can’t. I don’t know mommy?”

4. What is a heart attack?

“Your heart gets a boo boo and you have to take needles.”

5. What keeps your heart healthy?

“Fruits and veggies. Running, walking and all exercise. When you love people. And raisins make it healthy!”

She is so darn cute sometimes. She did pretty good. That’s what you get when you have a nurse for a mommy. Haha.

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Registry for athletes with AICD’s

Kendra James, RN — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:28:16 +0000

If you have a heart-zapping defibrillator implanted in your chest, you’re not supposed to compete in sports any more intense than bowling or golf. Lots of patients ignore those guidelines, trying everything from school basketball teams and community tennis leagues to running marathons and rock climbing — although no one knows if the life-saving implants work as well under that kind of stress.

Many of these athletes will now take part in a nationwide registry to see once and for all if this is a validated risk. Do the athletes need more “shocks” to the heart than other persons that would watch from the sidelines? Can the implanted defibrillators withstand a direct hit to the chest? This registry will hopefully be able to give us more answers.

With more and more ICD’s being used to combat fatal heart beats in younger patients, I think that a registry is a welcome idea. In my opinion, this is pertinent information that needs to be examined further!

via Associated Press, SFGate.com

Tags: basketball_teams, combat_fatal, community_tennis, defibrillator, defibrillators, fatal_heart, heart_beats, marathons, rock_climbing, school_basketball, sfgate, shocks, sidelines, validated, zapping

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CPR- no mouth needed!

Kendra James, RN — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 07:25:07 +0000

* Chest compression alone nearly doubled the chances of a good neurological outcome in patients at greatest risk (those that stopped breathing, which accounted for 90 percent of those in the study).
* The good outcomes were most likely if the rescue attempt began within four minutes of the collapse.
* Mouth-to-mouth ventilation provided no real benefit.
* Those given compressions alone survived as often as those given traditional CPR (chest compressions plus rescue breaths).

What do you think about this? This follows new research that shows mouth to mouth is not necessary for survival of cardiac arrest. This was studied due to the fact that when an average bystander witnesses someone go down from cardiac arrest, they are not super psyched about swapping spit with the unknown.

This was reported in the Harvard Women’s Heath Watch, which stressed the background and importance of the development: This new approach isn’t widely known or usually taught to the public because, up to now, there hasn’t been enough evidence to achieve broad endorsement.

Researchers are now insisting that there is ample evidence that shows the “new” approach to be superior from a neurological point of view and will help provide more volunteers that will assist in cardiac resuscitation now that mouth to mouth is eliminated.

They do warn not to forget your traditional CPR for drowning victims and such. I personally carry a shield with me in my purse, so I can pop it over someones mouth if mouth to mouth is ever needed. I learned my lesson the hard way. After 10 minutes of administering CPR, the helpless bystander that I was resuscitating vomited in my mouth. Yeah, it was so gross, but he lived!

via The Bulletin Philadelphia

Tags: ample_evidence, bystander, cardiac_arrest, cardiac_resuscitation, chest_compression, chest_compressions, collapse, cpr, drowning_victims, evidence_that, harvard_women, learned_my_lesson, mouth_to_mouth, neurological_outcome, new_approach, rescue_attempt, stopped_breathing

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Bringing a heart back to life…

Kendra James, RN — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 20:48:32 +0000

This is flippin’ amazing!!! I know it is in its very beginning stages and it is just rats in the lab, but still… Researchers say they have brought dead hearts back to life. That is right, they began beating again right in the laboratory. This discovery may one day lead to customized organ transplants for people!!!

Taylor and colleagues used a process called decellularization to wash away existing cells from the hearts of dead rats while leaving the basic collagen structure intact. They injected this gelatin-like scaffold with heart cells from newborn rats, fed them a nutrient-rich solution and left them in the lab to grow. Four days later, the hearts started to contract.

What do you think about this research? Are you for or against?

via Comcast.net

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