HEALTH ON TIME Cardiac - Summer 2015

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cardiac HEALTH ON TIME SUMMER 2015

The Heart-Lung Connection HEART DISEASE CAN AFFECT YOUR LUNGS AND VICE VERSA. HERE IS WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW.

IT’S NO COINCIDENCE that your heart is located right between the major lobes of your lungs. The heart-lung function (“cardiopulmonary” function) is crucial to human life, and failures in the system can cause big problems. Your heart pumps blood throughout your body, but blood must first go through your lungs. In the lungs, blood picks up inhaled oxygen, which will feed all the cells in your body. When the blood returns to your lungs, carbon dioxide gets released and exhaled, and the blood goes back into your heart to start the trip all over again. On top of all that, your heart and lungs have direct blood vessel connections that feed each other.

For most people, this complicated “plumbing” system works fine. However, blockages or breakdowns within the system are a serious matter. Here are a few of the most common cardiopulmonary problems. Congestive heart failure (CHF). CHF means the heart is damaged and weakened and does not pump blood throughout your body as efficiently as it should. Of course, this affects lung function as well. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD is usually diagnosed when you have a combination of two diseases: chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Chronic bronchitis means lung tissue stays inflamed and irritated, and emphysema causes lung tissue to lose elasticity. The combination diminishes breathing function, which can affect the heart. Pulmonary hypertension. Also known as pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), this condition involves abnormally elevated blood pressures in the blood vessels that directly connect the heart and lungs. There are various causes for PAH, including narrowed

Georgia Regents University 1120 15th St., AD 1114 Augusta, GA 30912

Renetta DuBose

Like many diseases, the risk factors for cardiopulmonary diseases fall into two categories: factors you can control and those you cannot control. Understanding both types can help you to avoid or lessen the chances that you will suffer from cardiopulmonary diseases. Since your heart and lungs are so closely connected, the major risk factors for heart and lung diseases overlap significantly. For example, smoking is a major risk factor for most heart and lung diseases, and quitting smoking is the No. 1 way to reduce your risks for all these diseases. However, your genetic makeup is something you cannot control, and genes are increasingly being shown to play a prominent role in many diseases, including heart and lung diseases. Therefore, if you have a family history of heart or lung disease, it’s even more important that you talk to your doctor and educate yourself about the best lifestyle choices for your individual circumstances. or inelastic blood vessels. Left untreated, it can cause heart failure. Healthy cardiopulmonary function is important to your overall health. If you have heart or lung disease, make sure you understand its effects on the other organ.

The Cardiovascular Center 15th Street is now open! See inside for more information!

Reporting from the Heart IT’S NOT EVERY DAY that you see a heart. Let me correct that: It’s not every day that you see a heart beating, stop beating, and then start beating again. This is a testament to the amazing work of GRHealth’s Heart &

CAN CARDIOPULMONARY DISEASES BE PREVENTED?

BY RENETTA DUBOSE, DIGITAL JOURNALIST, WJBF NEWS CHANNEL 6

Cardiovascular team. There are powerful hands at work, which I have witnessed during open heart surgery at Georgia Regents Medical Center. Interestingly, these patients had no idea they were living with heart disease. I was introduced to the heart of 53-year-old Wayne Curtis of Augusta on February 23, 2015. He was undergoing triple bypass surgery, and News Channel 6 cameras were inside the operating room, Blockage in the artery with his consent, to document what I believe was nothing short of a miracle. Heart surgeons Drs. Vinayak Kamath and Vijay Patel, along with a fierce medical team, uncovered two

additional blockages, which resulted in quintuple bypass surgery. Doctors removed a vein from Mr. Curtis’ leg and put it in a heparin solution to prevent clots. They stopped his heart with the help of perfusionist Bryan Boden. They sewed the vein into the heart, allowing the blood flow through the heart to be redirected away from the blockages. Mr. Curtis lived. Fifty-nine-year-old Nancy Payne received cardiac catheterization for her 70 percent blockage and is keeping fit with GRHealth’s Cardiac Rehabilitation program. While exercise and clean eating help, if that fails due to a family history of heart disease, GRHealth will have talented hands ready to help.

For more information, visit grhealth.org/cardio. GRU-017

NONPROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID GEORGIA REGENTS UNIVERSITY


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