Amy's Blog

The Experts Are In

   It was billed as a kind of state of the union on heart health, and I think it delivered. Yesterday's first Heart Summit at Saint Thomas Hospital brought together more than one hundred men and women, all with a common interest; heart health.  The speakers were the cardiolgists and heart surgeons who are on the front lines of heart disease and they gave the audience alot of solid information to digest.

  Among the experts; Dr. Don Chomsky, whose specialty is heart failure and transplantation.  He told us about a fascinating new treatment called aquapheresis.  This process removes water from the bloodstream. He said to think of as "mechanical diuresis."  With this procedure, Dr. Chomsky explained they have complete control over the rate and volume of fluid removed from a patient. A 71 year old woman was treated with aquapheresis and they successfully removed 53 pounds of fluid from her body!  Dr. Chomsky said this technique is only being done at Saint Thomas in Middle Tennessee.  Another device being used with great success for heart failure patients is the LVAD pump.  The wife of one patient who recently received the pump says it's given him an entirely new lease on life, with the ability to walk nearly a half mile and not be short of breath!

Dr. James Baker specializes in electrophysiology; abnormalities in the heart beat. He spent time showing the crowd how to use an AED, or automatic external defibrillator. You see these in airports and many other public places today.  He wanted to demonstrate how easy they are to use.  He doesn't want folks to be intimidated to operate one if someone should collapse in front of them.

 Drs. William Edwards and JimBob Faulk are with the Surgical Clinic at Saint Thomas. Their specialty is vascular disease which is so tied into our heart health. They talked about aneurysms, the carotid artery and peripheral artery disease.

   We heard about heart valve disease from Dr. Dante Graves. He also talked about the use of echocardiography, or heart imaging.  I hate to leave anyone out because all the physicians had such valuable information they shared with us, including Dr. Mark Aaron, Dr. William Coltharp and Dr. Howard Walpole. I really appreciate their time and dedication to educating us about the nation's number one killer.   

    When it comes to diet,  plenty of sobering information about what we're putting in our bodies-like way too much salt and fat!  Dietician Kitty Fawaz gave us the low down on the southern diet we all love and how we really need to cut back on the back fat:)  Denny Porr is an expert on fitness and one of the most startling stats he shared with us;  our lifestyle has a 70 percent impact on our health. Anotherwords, WE have the CONTROL  over much of what happens to us through our habits.  We CAN start with small changes;  please consider putting down the cigarettes if you smoke.  Try to exercise, even if it's only a few minutes each day, and try to incorporate fruits and veggies in your diet and don't eat fried foods that clog your arteries.

    With this nice break in the winter weather, try to get some fresh air, take a walk and spread the word to your family and friends.       

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