Be heart health clinic

 I would like to share the moments of "Be Heart Healthy" clinic day...... 

Hi friends! I have exciting moments to share with you! Since February is a heart month, the pharmacy where I am working, conducted a "Be Heart Healthy" clinic (A small set up in front of the pharmacy with information broachers etc..,).  It was actually conducted on February 21^st, 2007, exciting thing is, I was in charge of the clinic. So, I would like to share the experiences with you all.

 I would like to share the moments of "Be Heart Healthy" clinic day...... 

Hi friends! I have exciting moments to share with you! Since February is a heart month, the pharmacy where I am working, conducted a "Be Heart Healthy" clinic (A small set up in front of the pharmacy with information broachers etc..,).  It was actually conducted on February 21^st, 2007, exciting thing is, I was in charge of the clinic. So, I would like to share the experiences with you all.

  This Heart Clinic is basically to counsel patients and provide some information to increase the understanding of their Heart Health Risk.  During the Clinic hours (6 hours) we have to,

Assess and estimate the total risk for having a non-fatal heart attack or death due to heart disease over the next 10 year period:

     The assessing tools are adapted from the most current Canadian guidelines as published by the Canadian Cardiovascular Society in late 2006. The following risk factors were taken into account while estimating overall heart health risk....

• Age and gender
• Weather or not the patient smokes
• The patient's cholesterol levels
• The patient's blood pressure

Discuss the risk factors that are used to determine heart health risk:

• The first risk factors are age and gender.  These are the only risk factors that we can't do anything about.  On average, men have higher risk for heart disease at a younger age than women.
• If the patient is smoker, his/her heart health risk increases greatly compared with non-smokers because smoking changes the lining of the arteries and allows more cholesterol to deposit in the artery walls.
• High total cholesterol levels lead to increased deposit of fat in the walls of the arteries, a high level of HDL, good cholesterol, helps to take fat out of the blood stream.
• High blood pressure can damage the lining of the wall of the arteries and quicken the progress of heart disease.  Bringing blood pressure under control will reduce the ten-year risk for heart disease.

Discuss what can be done to reduce heart disease risk:

• Activities that include healthy diet such as, don't skip meals especially breakfast, boost your fiber intake with more fruits and vegetables and whole grains, cut down on fat and use low-fat cooking methods etc...
• Be physically active which can strengthen your heart, help control your weight, and manage stress.
• Monitor your Blood Pressure and Cholesterol level regularly, especially if high blood pressure or high cholesterol runs their family.
• Maintain a health weight as extra weight increases the strain on the heart and contributes to high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels.
• Limit Alcohol and avoid Tobacco, however, alcohol in moderation won't hurt most people, but there is no safe level to exposure to tobacco.
• Manage stress either by exercising, counseling and/or by medication.

I also discussed lot more about "warning signals of stroke and heart attack, provided "Body Mass Index (BMI)" chart to determine whether patient's weight is in healthy range, recommended to add "Omega-3" in their diet etc.,it was really a nice experience talking to people, especially seniors, about their health conditions, sharing their thoughts....So, I thought why don't I share with you what I did during the clinic. I hope you enjoyed to reading it. Be honest!!!!!!!

We conduct clinics like this, of course with different issues, often. If you enjoyed this, I would like to share all my future events, if any.

   Thank you for sharing, have a very nice day.