February is well known for being American Heart Health Month, a yearly awareness campaign created to alert people of the risk factors for heart-related illnesses and encourage them to take steps in protecting their heart.

MacIntosh participates in various ways such as helping to educate adults on the disease and preventative ways to potentially reverse this troubling trend. Take control of your heart health with these helpful tips and tricks.

9 Tips for Improving and Maintaining Heart Health

• Breakfast of champions. Don’t skip breakfast! Many people skip breakfast entirely or consume a sugary pastry or cereal, but a healthy breakfast helps us feel full longer. This lessens the chance of overeating later or reaching for quick, unhealthy comfort foods.
  Try — Starting the day with a bowl of oatmeal, this is a great source of protein and cholesterol-fighting fiber.
• Mind your diet. A healthy diet is one of your best weapons to fight heart disease. Consume a variety of nutritious foods from all food groups; a variety of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, skinless poultry and fish, nuts and legumes as well as non-tropical vegetables oils. Limit saturated fats, trans fat, sodium, red meats, sweets and sugar-sweetened beverages. When consuming red meat, compare labels and select the leanest cuts available. Add in a variety of fish at least twice a week, if possible. Lastly, always watch your portion sizes!
  Try — Following Dash (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), research shows that people have fewer occurrences of heart disease when following this style plan.
• Make sleep a priority. Adults often have bad sleep habits. When you don’t get enough sleep, you are more inclined to make bad food choices.
  Try — Averaging 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night.
• Stay active. Find ways to stay active. Discuss senior-friendly forms of exercise with your physician. They can help explore potential options that might be more enjoyable and increase motivation.
  Try — Chair Yoga, an activity that can be performed in the privacy of your own living room or take a 20 minute walk with a significant other or friend every day.
• Limit sodium. Put down the salt shaker. It isn’t uncommon for older adults to rely on convenience foods at meal times. But fast food, frozen dinners and even canned foods can be extremely high in sodium. Sodium and salt can both contribute to high blood pressure. Learn more about sodium and the unlikely places it might be sneaking into your diet, like ketchup, cereal and deli meats.
  Try — Low-sodium spices and fresh herbs when preparing foods, these are great cooking alternatives for taste and less sodium!
• Schedule a physical. If you haven’t had a physical in the last year, we encourage you to schedule one. Medicare will cover one wellness visit each year. This gives your physician an opportunity to check blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar to spot any potential problems.
  Try — Keeping a scheduled wellness visit every year.
• Kick the habit. Today’s generation of seniors were often smokers growing up. If you haven’t done so already, work on trying to quitting.
  Try — Consulting with your primary care physician, they will likely have suggestions to help.
• Limit alcohol consumption. While some experts say the Resveratrol in a glass of red wine can be good for your heart, don’t overdo it. Consuming too much alcohol can lead to high blood pressure and heart disease.
  Try — Limiting to one drink per day and staying properly hydrated.
• Drink green tea. Some experts believe the antioxidants in green tea help keep your arteries flexible which may help to prevent plaque from building up.
  Try — Consuming one glass of green tea sweetened with honey every day.

Utilize the Nutrition Facts Label to Make Healthier Choices

1. Start with the serving information.
Allows proper calculation of consumption for packages containing more than one serving.
– Size of the serving
– How Many servings are included

2. Check Total Calories.
Know how many calories you are consuming when eating a portion or the whole package. This number is typically based on the daily recommended intake of 2,000.  *Suggested calorie intake varies by age, weight, level of physical activity and other health factors. Check with your Primary Care Physician to confirm your ideal daily caloric intake.

3. Limit Certain Nutrients
Compare labels to choose options with lower:
– Added Sugars
– Sodium
– Saturated Fats
– Trans Fat

4. Get Enough of Beneficial Nutrients
Eat foods with nutrients your body needs:
– Calcium
– Choline
– Dietary Fiber
– Iron
– Magnesium
– Potassium
– Vitamins A, C, D & E

5. Understand % Daily Value
% Daily Value (DV), tells the % of each nutrient in a single serving in relation to the daily recommended amount.
–   In order to consume less of a nutrient (sodium or saturated fat), choose foods with lower % DV, 5% or less.
–  In order to consume more of a nutrient (fiber or potassium), choose foods with a higher % DV, 20% or more.

Additional Tips

Maintaining a daily journal of food consumption throughout the day, as well as any exercise completed may help you stay on track.

Visit the Getting Healthy section of the American Heart Association’s website. They have helpful resources ranging from nutrition to physical activity and smoking cessation.

We sat down with a local Heart Specialist about Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) to answer some of your top questions including causes, symptoms, prevention and more. Check out the questions and answers below to learn more about CHF.

What causes Congestive Heart Failure?

CHF represents symptoms caused by injury to the heart. The injury causes the heart muscle to function abnormally, where it either becomes weakened or stiff. In either case, symptoms are similar. There are a large number of medical problems that may produce this heart injury. In the United States, the most common cause is coronary artery disease and injury to the heart muscle from a heart attack. Chronic, poorly controlled high blood pressure is another common cause. CHF may run in families and thus have a genetic component as well as association with certain types of infections (usually viruses) of the heart muscle (called myocarditis). CHF can also be caused by certain drugs, particularly those used to treat certain types of cancer. Excessive alcohol consumption may also injure the heart and cause CHF. In many cases, it is not clear what caused the problem, and in these cases, the CHF is idiopathic. The term cardiomyopathy is used to describe the disease of the heart muscle, and CHF (congestive heart failure) represents the symptoms resulting from the cardiomyopathy. A person can have cardiomyopathy without having symptoms of CHF.

What are the symptoms of CHF?

“CHF” identifies a set of symptoms that include shortness of breath with activities, or sometimes at rest, difficulty breathing while lying down (orthopnea), fluid retention such as ankle swelling or abdominal bloating, increased palpitations, chest pressure or heaviness, progressive fatigue, poor appetite, sudden awakening at night with shortness of breath (PND), palpitations, and syncope (passing out).

How do you recognize the symptoms?

The symptoms may occur suddenly or occur very gradually over months. When sudden onset occurs, the patient will often easily recognize that there is a problem and thus seek medical attention. When symptoms progress very gradually, there may be a delay in seeking medical attention. Sometimes, the symptoms may be confusing and lead to several possible diagnoses. CHF may be confused with other conditions, such as pneumonia or other types of lung disease.

How is CHF diagnosed?

CHF is usually diagnosed in a patient presenting with the typical symptoms and findings on the physical exam. The most common test utilized to identify the underlying heart problem causing CHF is the echocardiogram. There are certain blood tests that may also suggest CHF. A “BNP” test may be used to differentiate shortness of breath caused by lung disease versus heart disease. A significant elevation in BNP (which is a blood test) strongly suggests that a patient’s breathing symptoms are secondary to heart disease / CHF.

How can someone prevent Congestive Heart Failure?

Since CHF is commonly secondary to problems like poorly controlled hypertension, coronary artery disease, and obesity, several preventive measures are encouraged. These include a heart healthy diet, maintenance of optimal cholesterol levels, avoidance of obesity, treatment of high BP, to name a few. Any risk factors for the development of coronary artery disease should be managed, including tobacco usage. Regular exercise is encouraged. However, there are instances where Cardiomyopathy cannot be avoided (genetic cause, chemotherapy, valve problem) and in these situations, early recognition and institution of appropriate treatment, at an early phase of the disease, is important.

What is the outlook for people with CHF?

The outlook for this condition depends on many factors. Most important is the underlying cause of the CHF, and the degree of symptoms. Many patients with CHF are very well managed with medications. Sometimes devices are required to manage arrhythmia. In some cases (the minority of cases), the condition advances to the point where heart transplantation may be warranted. There is a very broad spectrum of treatment possibilities – and outcomes.

What are the different types or degrees of severity for CHF?

CHF is classified as stage A-D, with stage A being those at risk for CHF (i.e., they have coronary artery disease), stage B is evidence of heart muscle problems but no symptoms, stage C is symptomatic CHF, and stage D is symptoms despite optimal medical and device therapy. Patients are also classified according to NYHA class – with class I being asymptomatic and class IV symptoms at rest.

Are there any medications to avoid or diet changes to be made when dealing with CHF?

For most patients, the major medications to avoid are NSAID’s (such as ibuprofen). These medications will worsen kidney function and symptoms of CHF. A low sodium diet is almost always recommended, and sometimes, a fluid restriction is recommended. My recommendation is to discuss any new medication with the physician before taking it.

Falls among Ohio seniors continues to be the leading cause of disability in older adults, and one of the top ten reasons seniors end up in the emergency department of a local hospital. Here are a few fall prevention tips to help prevent your senior loved ones from falling this winter.

Preventing Falls in Columbus Area Seniors

• First things first, ensure they have proper footwear – boots and shoes with good tread so they can get traction on snowy sidewalks and drives.
• Enlist the help of a snow removal company to keep their sidewalks and driveway cleared if you aren’t able to. It’s dangerous for older adults to try to manage this task on their own.
• Consider investing in a treadmill for them to use on days when the weather is just too bad. Walking is a great way to age successfully, but central Ohio winters often make doing so outdoors more challenging.
• Take time to review their medication list for side effects that might cause dizziness. It is an often overlooked cause of falls among seniors.

• Have a plan in place for helping to get their groceries, as well as for getting any trash taken out before the worst of the snow flies. Doing so will allow them to stay safe inside their home when the winter winds blow.

It may also be helpful to speak with their primary care physician about ordering a home safety assessment and balance test. A physical therapist can conduct both of these to identify any potential problems.