SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2015
DECATUR, ILLINOIS
February marks the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women movement to bring awareness and take action to end heart disease and stroke in women. One in three women die of heart disease and stroke, but 80 percent of cardiac events are preventable with education and lifestyle changes. Learn more about the movement at GoRedForWomen.org and join in locally during American Hearth Month and for future heart health events.
Herald&Review
REHABILITATIVE THERAPY
The long struggle back Patients, caregivers face challenges, but there is help, hope
Nuclear pharmacist Eric Lester demonstrates the preparation of PET pharmaceuticals in the Center for Advanced Molecular Medicine at Decatur Memorial Hospital.
Tests provide assurances, early warnings EMILY STEELE H&R Staff Writer
Herald & Review photos, Jim Bowling
Walter Howard walks up and down Decatur Memorial Hospital’s Cardiac Rehab as part of his workout for phase III of his heart attack recovery. EMILY STEELE H&R Staff Writer
DECATUR – The artist's hands that hold the paintbrush are no longer as steady as they used to be and sometimes stray outside the lines, but after having a stroke less than a year ago, it's a miracle that John Lee can hold the brush at all. So much was uncertain when Lee's family first found him unconscious on the floor after a suffering a stroke at age 61. The first hours and days after a heart attack or stroke are focused on caring for the immediate crisis. But if crisis is averted, family members are faced with the difficult task of finding a long-term solution for a parent, spouse or sibling who may be no longer able to take care of themself. At Decatur Memorial Hospital, creating a care plan that extends beyond the hospital setting starts as soon as a patient's heart attack or stroke is identified. "Most times people aren’t back to baseline when they leave the hospital," said Karen Schneller a nurse with the DMH Heart & Lung Institute. "The care needs to continue.” Beyond immediate care, the hospital provides transportation, dietitian consultations and expert advice on issues ranging from living wills to making the home safe for someone after a heart attack or stroke. “There's some very practical information from what kinds of shoes to wear and Mary Rohman observes as his brother John removing rugs,” Lee creates a picture during an activity sesSchneller said. sion at the St. Mary’s Adult Day Services. Lee Education is key. is a stroke survivor that uses the Adult Day After surgery and Services as a care option for at home before they go home, a patients. discharge planner meets with the patient and their family to discuss at-home nursing, assisted living facilities, medical equipment and ongoing physical therapy. Rehab therapy starts as soon as the patient is able. “When I came in here, I could barely walk," said heart attack survivor Walter Howard. Now he does laps through Cardiac Rehab at Decatur Memorial Hospital. Howard, who also has Parkinson's disease, is in phase III of rehab after having a heart attack last year. “They call them widow makers," Howard said of his blocked artery. "If you don't catch it in time, it'll put you down for good." He was taken to DMH and doctors put in a stent. Howard went to a niece's birthday party the next day and spent the next month taking it easy at home before coming in to Cardiac Rehab to get his heart back into shape. There, nurses monitor the heart rate of everyone in the room and guide patients through how and how long to use each of the
DECATUR – A family history of heart disease alone is often not enough determine if a heart attack is inevitable. But for those looking for some peace of mind, area hospitals offer several tests for people with a family history of heart disease, multiple risk factors or early symptoms. The risk of heart disease starts increasing for men at age 35 and women at age 40, according to the American Heart Association. Some heart defects, such as congestive heart failure or congenital heart disease, are preventable or can be improved with less costly lifestyle changes. One of the initial steps is identifying and reducing risk factors such as being overweight or obese, high cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure, being a smoker and family history. From there, a doctor can recommend the following noninvasive tests:
Heart score
Respiratory therapist Jackie Allsop checks Howard’s oxygen level and heart rate between his exercises.
One of the first tests that can be done is a heart score offered in Decatur by St. Mary's and Decatur Memorial hospitals. “Some have strong family history, and they’re worried” said Dr. Theodore Addai with Prairie Heart Institute at St. Mary's Hospital. “We really don’t have enough information to Addai put them on the treadmill, that’s where the calcium score comes in.” The coronary calcium scan or heart score screening checks for the buildup of calcium in plaque on the walls of the heart's arteries, an early indicator of heart disease.
Cardiac PET/CT Dr. Madhu Jyothinagaram, a cardiologist with the DMH Heart & Lung Institute, is the director of nuclear cardiology for the hospital and has a special interest in nuclear imaging of the heart, specifically the Cardiac PET/CT perfusion. Patients need a doctor's referral for the test, which uses low-level radioactive PET isotopes to show the flow of blood in the heart. The isotopes are active for a
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Howard walks on the treadmill during his cardiac rehab.
machines. Phase I is for hospitalized patients, phase II an individualized outpatient exercise program for about three months and in the final phase patients graduate to monitoring their own progress under supervision of staff. After 30 days at Cardiac Rehab, Howard said he turned the corner and is now at 90 percent of where he was before the heart attack. "Without it I wouldn't be nearly as good as I am now,” he said. Long-term care for stroke victims often requires a variety of therapy to address speech and balance issues, something Lee's family learned firsthand. Mary Rohman was finishing a late-morning visit to the house where Lee and her parents live on June 6. She remembers commenting on how they hadn't seen her brother yet, which was unusual. They heard his beloved dog, Puppy, yelp and found Lee unconscious on top of the pet. Doctors didn't know if Lee would ever speak or walk again, let alone paint, and told the family he would probably have to go in a
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National Wear Red Day Friday, Feb. 6, is National Wear Red Day to raise awareness about heart disease being the No. 1 killer of women. Join the movement by sending in photos of your red wear on that day to be included in an online gallery highlighting Central Illinois' commitment to preventing heart disease. Show off your red by posting a photo on our Facebook page or Tweet @heraldandreview with the hashtag #GoRedSelfie or email to esteele@herald-review.com.