Heart Month Recognized with Various Events
Holzer Health System has a variety of events planned to recognize National Heart Month in February. A Blessing of the Heart event at our Gallipolis location will be held on Tuesday, February 11 at 12noon in the Holzer Cardiovascular Services area. This event provides a prayer ceremony for all in attendance, including community members and staff, to stress the importance of taking care of our hearts not only throughout February, but all year long.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. More than 600,000 Americans die of heart disease each year. Several steps can be taken to reduce your risk for heart disease, including: quitting smoking/not smoking, maintain a healthy weight, eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly, and prevent or treat your other health conditions especially high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes.
In addition to the Blessing event, Holzer is hosting a Holzer Cardiac Day at the Gallipolis campus, which is an education day for staff as well as providing screening opportunities for our communities. This will be held on Friday, February 14, and will include a Continuing Medical Education event, “Timing is Everything: Advanced Heart Failure and Transplantation in 2020”, presented by Brent Lampert, DO, FACC, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. In addition, the community is welcome to join us for a public screening event on February 14 from 2pm to 4pm. The event will include information on How to Shop Heart Healthy on a Budget, Blood Pressure screenings, Body Mass Index measures, and Vein Screenings, which require a pre-registration due to limited space.
Vein screenings are free for all individuals and include a brief questionnaire about medications and medical conditions that could increase the risk of venous disease, simple ultrasound scan to measure critical vein function and identify vein blockages that contribute to venous congestion, and an examination for signs of chronic venous insufficiency, varicose veins and other conditions that could contribute to venous problems. Screening participants receive a results sheet that they can share with their primary care provider. The whole process takes about 15-20 minutes. Those with abnormal findings are encouraged to contact their physicians directly and will receive disease-appropriate educational materials.
Common symptoms of vein disease include:
- Leg pain, even at rest
- aching
- fatigue, heaviness in legs
- throbbing, burning, stabbing pain in legs
- cramps, swelling, itching of legs
- restless legs
- numbness
Holzer offers services that can improve venous diseases, such as: vein mapping, management of chronic venous insufficiency, compression therapy, management of deep vein thrombosis, and treatment of varicose veins and spider veins. To see if you can benefit from these services or to register for the screening on February 14, call 740-446-VEIN (8346).
Holzer Cardiovascular Services has assembled a staff of the region’s most qualified team of cardiac physicians, nurses, and other clinical staff. Using the most technologically advanced cardiac equipment and procedures, Holzer is devoted to delivering the very best in cardiac care. Our providers manage a variety of heart and vascular conditions including: Coronary Artery Disease (hardening of the arteries), Cardiac Arrhythmias (irregular heartbeat), Heart Valve Disease, Heart Conditions associated with Diabetes, Lung Diseases, Vein and Vascular Disease. Services include: cardiopulmonary testing, cardiac catheterization, electrophysiology/heart rhythm management, peripheral vascular disease, vein center, cardio/pulmonary rehabilitation, and pulmonary services.
For more information on the event, or Holzer services, call 1-855-4-HOLZER or visit www.holzer.org.
