Healthy Heart Lower the

TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR HEART HEALTH

TIPS TO LOWER THE RISK OF CARDIOVASCULAR PROBLEMS

BY BEAUFORT MEMORIAL HOSPITAL

While you can’t change your family history of heart disease, there is still a lot you can do to lower your risk of developing cardiovascular problems.

“The first step to take control of your heart health is to contact your primary care physician,” says Dr. Stephen Fedec, a board-certified cardiologist at Beaufort Memorial Heart Specialists in Okatie and Beaufort. “Determine if you have risk factors for heart disease. If you do, make necessary lifestyle modifications to reduce that risk.”

Once you know your risk factors, there are steps you can take to reduce or eliminate them:

EAT FOR A HEALTHY HEART Focusing on fresh, whole foods helps lower your chances of developing two major heart disease risk factors — being overweight and having high blood pressure.

“The best daily diet for a healthy heart includes fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products, lean sources of protein like beans, fish and poultry, whole grains, and healthy, unsaturated fats,” Fedec said. “Avoid sodium, sugar, and saturated and trans fats.”

Fedec recommends the Mediterranean diet — which includes vegetables, fish and poultry — to all of his patients.

“It’s the only diet that’s proven to reduce risk of stroke and heart attack,” he said.

MOVE MORE Exercise may be the “magic pill” that keeps your heart healthy — it helps keep cholesterol and blood pressure in healthy ranges, and it lowers your risk for heart disease and stroke.

If you need some ideas, start by walking, then add some variety with activities such as running, biking, dancing, kickboxing, water aerobics and swimming — anything that keeps you engaged and moving.

“The best exercise is one you enjoy and will do for at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week,” said Fedec.

GET YOUR ‘SUNSHINE VITAMIN’ Research hasn’t found a lot of support for the idea that vitamins prevent heart disease. However, according to the American Heart Association, there is some evidence that vitamin D might help lower the risk of heart failure.

Vitamin D is a nutrient your body makes from sunlight but one you can also get from foods, including eggs and fatty fish, such as salmon and sardines. But many people aren’t able to meet their needs through food and sunlight alone.

“If you’re concerned about heart failure, talk to your doctor about taking a supplement,” said Fedec.

LISTEN TO YOUR BODY Symptoms of heart disease are not always apparent. They may not reveal themselves at all until you have a heart attack. While most people are aware that signs could include chest and arm pain and shortness of breath, they can also be indigestion, nausea, fatigue and dizziness.

“All too frequently people feel they are slowing down just because they are getting older, said Fedec. “That might very well be the case, but often it is also a manifestation or symptom of heart disease.”

So, if you have a family history, other risk factors, or have any of the above symptoms, see your provider to address these issues.

“We have many treatment options that weren’t available before,” Dr. Fedec says. “While it’s best to prevent heart disease from setting in, when that’s impossible, we can help manage it so people can return to life.”

JJ HAYES IS A STANDOUT BASKETBALL PLAYER FOR HILTON HEAD PREP.

INFLUX OF TALENT

BASKETBALL STANDOUTS MAKE MOVE TO THE LOWCOUNTRY

STORY AND PHOTOS BY JUSTIN JARRETT

During a time when the sports scene in the Lowcountry was quieter than usual, the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic last spring also brought an influx of next-level basketball talent to the area.

As families from urban centers throughout the country began to look for less populated areas where outdoor recreation could provide a respite from the quarantine life, the South Carolina coast became an attractive destination for long-term renters and second-home owners and those looking to make the move full-time.

What started as the former for one family turned into a permanent move, in large part because of basketball. Susan and Jason Hayes decided to leave Atlanta and spend some extended time holing up on Hilton Head last March, which led to the idea of sticking around a little longer.

By June, the Hayes family decided to make it official, and much of that had to do with the relationships their son, JJ, had developed with his fellow ballers on the island — as well as his future coaches.

“When the coronavirus hit, we decided to quarantine here, and I got the chance to meet Coach (Jerry) Faulkner and Coach Les Fertig and look more into going to Hilton Head Prep. I realized what a great fit it would be for me,” said JJ Hayes, a junior who was a standout at Pinecrest Academy and with the Atlanta All-Stars AAU program before transferring to Hilton Head Prep. “Who wouldn’t want to live at the beach? It’s a great opportunity to be here.”

Hayes immediately burst onto the scene. He averaged a team-best 20.6 points to go with 9.1 rebounds, three assists and 1.7 blocks through the Dolphins’ first seven games.

WE ALL JUST WANT TO WIN, AND WE ALL PRACTICE HARD AND WE’RE GETTING CLOSER. WE’RE ALL HAVING A GOOD TIME PLAYING TOGETHER.

WILL MCCRACKEN

WILL MCCRACKEN HAS ADDED FIREPOWER TO HILTON HEAD HIGH’S BOYS BASKETBALL TEAM.

With HHP moving up to SCISA Class 3A this season and competing against Charleston powers such as Porter-Gaud and Pinewood Prep, Hayes has been impressed with the level of competition, even compared to what he saw in Atlanta.

He’s even more impressed with the vast basketball knowledge walking the halls at HHP, where legendary coaches Rich Basirico (the current athletics director) and Bob Sulek (a teacher at the school) are still around the field house along with coaches Faulkner and assistant Fertig, who was on Bobby Knight’s staff at Texas Tech.

“It’s crazy the opportunity you get to be around four guys who are probably Hall of Fame high school coaches,” Hayes said. “Dr. Bob Sulek is my advisory teacher, and I didn’t even realize he was a basketball coach. He talked to me about the game, and his knowledge of the game is so immense. And Coach Basirico is a legendary coach. It’s crazy how many people can be at one small school and you have no idea how much basketball knowledge they have.”

But the avalanche of incoming talent didn’t stop with Hayes.

In September, a buzz started to build that Hilton Head High’s boys basketball team would have a little extra firepower for their second season under coach Chane Brown. Sure enough, Brown and the Seahawks benefited from a homecoming of sorts when Will McCracken, a senior guard who was already committed to play at UNC Wilmington next season, returned to the area after moving away with his family in 2013.

McCracken already had bonds with a handful of his new teammates, including big man Sam Summa and football phenom Jaylen Sneed, so the Seahawks were able to jell quickly.

“It’s been a lot of fun to play with everyone,” said McCracken, who noted coronavirus concerns were a reason his family moved back to the area. “We all just want to win, and we all practice hard and we’re getting closer. We’re all having a good time playing together.”

That has a lot to do with McCracken, who was averaging a team-high 18.1 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks through the Seahawks’ first seven games. He has quickly emerged as one of the area’s best players and enjoys playing in Brown’s system, especially when the Seahawks are able to get out and run.

“It’s more fast-paced, and defense is a really big deal for Coach Brown,” McCracken said. “I love that because I love playing defense. The way he coaches, it’s more up-and-down, don’t sit on the ball at halfcourt; get the ball and go score.”