Westchester Health & Life February 2010 by Wainscot Media

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WESTCHESTER

W E S T C H E S T E R H E A LT H

health&life February 2010/$3.95

THE GOOD L I V I N G M A G A Z I N E f r o m W E S T C H E S T E R M E D I C A L C E N T E R

& LIFE ■

FEBRUARY 2010

FRESH START! Advice to help you: • get fit • eat better • fight stress • declutter ... and more

Can you spot the ‘best’ sushi? Our meal at Sweet Grass Grill

health

watch

All about heart health

Cruises: The newest, handiest, healthiest

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‘An aortic repair saved my life’ Fresh start for a tiny heart ■

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4 transplant patients: Where are they now?

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CapriPlus Collection

THE ULTIMATE ITALIAN ART OF CREATING JEWELS

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Contents

42 WESTCHESTER

health&life February 2010 Features

11 Westchester whispers

Resolution solutions!

Eat well, head-to-toe

Romance—with a twist · Love from above · Eat your Green’s · Glide into shape · “What I’m listening to …” · Winners’ circle · Class it up

How to achieve success with 8 popular pledges

6 foods that do your body good

Flash

Captured moments around the county

16 Things we love Health ’n’ beauty booty Our picks for the best

7 fat-beaters Foods and drinks that help your body burn fat—so you can nibble and whittle your middle at the same time

Give ‘peaceful’ a chance

On-the-clock workouts

Can’t picture your life without continual stress? Here’s how you can—and why you should.

In a time crunch? Star trainer Jessie Pavelka suggests 10-, 20-, 30- and 60-minute routines.

38 Escapes /

Sea the world

Want to shake up your cruise routine? Here are three options for a seafaring voyage with a twist.

Departments

look-good/feel-good finds of the New Year

20 Health Watch

A lifesaving aortic repair · Fresh start for a tiny heart · New hearts, new lives · Pinch ticker · Close to the hearts of kids

42 Glorious food

Be sushi-savvy! A quick primer on calorie counts

44 Westchester gourmet

Local flavor A bounty of local Hudson Valley ingredients shines brightly in the fine cuisine prepared at Tarrytown’s Sweet Grass Grill.

46 Where to eat

Your Westchester County

dining guide

4 Welcome letter

52 Be there!

6 Editor’s letter

54 What’s happening

COVER IMAGE : GETTYIMAGES

Local events you won’t want to miss

at Westchester Medical Center

56 Faces of Westchester A hearty toast

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Stacie Calian, DDS, MPH, MS 39 Smith Avenue Mt. Kisco, NY 10549 914.241.8200 www.mountkiscodentist.com 984 N. Broadway, Suite 410 Yonkers, NY 10701 914.476.3838 www.westchestersmiledesign.com

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Welcome LETTER

Cherished hearts FEBRUARY IS AMERICAN HEART MONTH, which focuses on raising awareness about cardiovascular disease, our nation’s No. 1 killer. Approximately 81 million people in the United States have some form of cardiovascular disease, including high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, stroke and heart failure. As you will learn in the Health Watch section of this issue of Westchester Health & Life (page 20), at Westchester Medical Center we care for the most advanced cases of cardiovascular disease in the Hudson Valley. We do this often, and we do it well. Our Heart Center’s comprehensive services range from diagnostic testing to heart transplant, and we partner with cardiologists and primary care physicians to help complete the continuum of care that all patients deserve. For example, our cardiac catheterization labs are among the busiest and best in the Northeast. We perform more than 7,800 procedures annually, including pacemaker implants and cardiac interventions, such as insertion of the Impella 2.5, the world’s smallest heart support system, and we operate well below the benchmark 90-minute “door-to-balloon” time that is crucial to heart attack victims. Every month, approximately 125 patients are transferred to us from hospitals throughout the region. Today, we are one of the few hospitals in the state and the nation to be recognized by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association with their Triple Gold Award for our quality and standard-of-care guidelines for coronary artery disease, stroke and heart failure. Westchester Medical Center is home to some of the nation’s top cardiac surgeons and specialized cardiologists, so if your heart needs advanced care, our Heart Center is the place to go. Happy New Year and happy American Heart Month.

Sincerely,

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MICHAEL D. ISRAEL President and CEO Westchester Medical Center

For additional information about Westchester Medical Center, visit our website at www.worldclassmedicine.com.

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Retired from 35 years of teaching. Given 8 percent chance to live after heart attack. Flown to Westchester Medical Center. Kept alive with breakthrough cardiac assist devices. Daughter married at his bedside in I.C.U. Received heart transplant.

Danced at daughter’s reception.

David Holt, heart transplant patient

Just last year, David Holt suffered a massive heart attack. Faced with only an 8 percent chance of survival, and in desperate need of a heart transplant, he was ﬂown to Westchester Medical Center. Because of David’s dire condition, our doctors used a TandemHeart® device to help his body overcome the shock of the heart attack. Because of this technology, he was able to see his daughter married—right at his bedside in the Cardiac I.C.U. Once he was stable, a ventricular assist device was implanted to give David the time he needed to wait for a donor heart. And six months later, after successful heart transplant surgery, David was thrilled to dance with his daughter at her wedding reception. Westchester Medical Center ranks among the top ﬁve percent in the nation for “coronary interventions” and in the top 10 percent for “overall cardiac care,” according to the Tenth Annual Healthgrades Hospital Quality in America Study. Westchester Medical Center. One hospital, changing countless lives.

877•WMC•DOCS countlesslives.com HEART CENTER

Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital • Heart Center • Cancer Institute • Transplant Center • Neuroscience Center Joel A. Halpern Regional Trauma Center • Burn Center • Behavioral Health Center

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Editor’s LETTER

Starting fresh IF RESOLUTIONS WERE EASY, WE’D ALL BE FIT and trim, with no debts or vices, perfectly organized closets and oodles of quality time to lavish on family. The reality, of course, is that change is hard, unwavering discipline gets tiring and our best-laid January plans are often set aside by March. Still, that’s no reason not to try—after all, success is sweetest when the task at hand is a challenge. If you’re already suffering from some slightly flagging motivation, let us help you get fired up once again. To help you on your journey, we filled this issue with all manner of tips, advice and inspiration. For that “get fit” goal, for instance, we called on star trainer (and big-time hunk) Jessie Pavelka from Lifetime’s TV show DietTribe. To put an end to those “I don’t have the time” excuses, we asked him to design effective workouts you can complete in 10, 20, 30 or 60 minutes. Find his step-bystep plans on page 34. If healthful eating is also on your agenda, check out “Eat Well, Head to Toe,” page 30, where you’ll find foods you can eat to protect brains, bones, breasts and more. And in Glorious Food on page 42, we help you choose wisely at the sushi bar by comparing the calories of several rolls. Those who hope to dial down their stress levels can turn to “Give ‘Peaceful’ a Chance” on page 32, in which we share six strategies to help you relax, and “Sea the World” on page 38, where we describe three different styles of cruises, all sure to help you rejuvenate. Kick your style up a notch with one of the fabulous finds we showcase in “Health ’n’ Beauty Booty,” page 16. Don’t see your goal of choice above? Check out “Resolution Solutions!” on page 28, where we offer a roundup of expert advice on eight common New Year’s vows. Regardless of your plans for self-improvement, we wish you a happy and health-filled 2010!

RITA GUARNA Editor in Chief

Correction: The Jeremy Saxe Foundation, featured in the Flash section of our Holiday 2009 issue, was founded in memory of former Lafayette College student Jeremy Saxe, who died suddenly in 2008.

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WESTCHESTER

health&life FEBRUARY 2010

Westchester Health & Life Staff

editor in chief RITA GUARNA

art director SARAH LECKIE

senior editor TIMOTHY KELLEY

managing editor JENNIFER CENICOLA

assistant editor

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KRISTIN COLELLA

interns PATRICE HORVATH , DIANE SZULECKI

executive vice president, sales & marketing JOEL EHRLICH

publisher SUZANNE TRON

advertising account executives LOUISE DEMMEL , MARY MASCIALE

director, internet & new media NIGEL EDELSHAIN

web editor ANNMARIE MARANO

director of production CHRISTINE HAMEL

marketing manager SEAN GALLAGHER

sales & marketing coordinator ELIZABETH MEE

senior art director, agency services KIJOO KIM

director of advertising services THOMAS RAGUSA

circulation director LAUREN MENA

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editorial contributions: The editors invite letters, article ideas and other contributions from readers. Please write to Editor, Westchester Health & Life, 110 Summit Avenue, Montvale, NJ 07645; telephone 201-571-7003; fax 201-782-5319; e-mail editor@wainscotmedia.com. Any manuscript or artwork should be accompanied by a selfaddressed envelope bearing adequate return postage. The magazine is not responsible for the return or loss of submissions.

advertising inquiries: Please contact Suzanne Tron at 212-756-5049 or suzanne.tron@wainscotmedia.com

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Westchester Medical Center Staff

president & ceo MICHAEL ISRAEL

chairman, board of directors JOHN F. HEIMERDINGER

senior vice president, marketing and corporate communications KARA BENNORTH

director media relations/photography DAVID BILLIG

director, community relations and outreach ISABEL DICHIARA

director editorial information management LESLIE MILLS

director of communications, Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital at Westchester Medical Center ANDREW LAGUARDIA

photo/digital imaging BENJAMIN COTTEN

WESTCHESTER MEDICAL CENTER Valhalla, N.Y. For general information, call 914-493-7000. Visit Westchester Medical Center on the Internet at www.worldclassmedicine.com.

medical

cabinetry

PUBLISHED BY WAINSCOT MEDIA

chairman CARROLL V. DOWDEN

president MARK DOWDEN

executive vice president JOEL EHRLICH

vice presidents AMY DOWDEN NIGEL EDELSHAIN RITA GUARNA SHANNON STEITZ SUZANNE TRON

subscription services: To inquire about a subscription, to change an address or to purchase a back issue or a reprint of an article, please write to Westchester Health & Life, Circulation Department, PO Box 1788, Land O Lakes, FL 34639; telephone 813-996-6579; e-mail lauren.mena@wainscotmedia.com.

Westchester Health & Life is published six times a year by Wainscot Media, 110 Summit Avenue, Montvale, NJ 07645, in association with Westchester Medical Center. This is Volume 6, Issue 1. ©2010 by Wainscot Media LLC. All rights reserved. Subscriptions in U.S.: $14.00 for one year. Single copies: $3.95. Material contained herein is intended for informational purposes only. If you have medical concerns, seek the guidance of a healthcare professional.

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Sunday, April 18, 2010 Lace up and line up! For the Annual “Go The Distance” walk and Family Day to raise funds for Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital at Westchester Medical Center. s Registration Starts at 8:00 am s Walk Starts at 9:30 am s Rain or Shine s Free Parking s Lots of Family Fun!

p: R Hel o t ALKE How SOR A 7 E ON T TH s 3P ER A E T N LU s 6O Event AND un! E M s #O Have F

For More Information: call 914. 493. 5414 or 914.493.2470 www.worldclassmedicine.com/walk s www.mfchwalk.kintera.org

.O 0ETS s .O "ICYCLES OR 3KATEBOARDS s 3TROLLERS AND !SSISTANCE $OGS 7ELCOME

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by Lisa Fields

Westchester WHISPERS YOUR GUIDE TO LOCAL TRENDS, TREASURES, PEOPLE & WELL-KEPT SECRETS

Romance— with a twist

Think of yoga as a one-person thing? You’ll think again when you intertwine with your partner, yoga-style, for Valentine’s Day. At DATE NIGHT PARTNER YOGA (914-424-2298, www.yogajane training.com), couples practice synchronized breathing, eye gazing and twisting into sexy, two-person poses under the tutelage of registered yoga teacher Jane Foody of Yoga Jane Training of Yonkers. Foody teaches the class with her fiance, Jim Cobb, also a yoga instructor. “We both loved yoga and being able to stretch each other out and meditate as a unit,” Foody says. “We figured that other couples would also enjoy it, if they only knew how.” During the 90-minute session, which costs $60 per couple and is designed for all fitness levels, participants will stretch and strengthen while interlacing hands, spooning or forming a heart silhouette together. You’ll also nibble on chocolate-covered strawberries and receive a keepsake photo of yourselves in a yoga pose. “People should come if they want to experience a different kind of date—if they enjoy moving and stretching and getting massages,” Foody says. Just be sure to sign up early: Classes almost always fill up.

SHUTTERSTOCK; ALAMY

Eat your Green’s

Love from above Here’s a gift that lets your Valentine see the world from a different perspective—3,000 feet off the ground. PERFORMANCE FLIGHT in White Plains (914-397-1444, www.performance flight.com) offers a one-hour Experience Flight for $299, which can serve as a sightseeing excursion, a flying lesson or both. The company has 20 state-of-the-art Cirrus aircraft, and its 10 instructors each have at least 2,000 hours of flight experience, says company president Lewis Liebert. Because the planes offer dual controls, students can do as much or as little as they want from their seat, says Liebert. “They’ll participate in the entire flight, from doing the takeoff to trying to land,” he says. “The instructor is guarding the controls and will take over as needed.” Those who’d rather just enjoy the ride can simply listen as the pilot points out various landmarks. Flights might soar over the Hamptons—or over the customers’ own home. “Within 30 seconds, you basically see all of Westchester County,” raves Wesley Archer of Scarsdale, who takes lessons through Performance Flight. “You’re looking out over Long Island Sound, New York City is in the background— and it’s beautiful and surreal.”

If you’re trying to stick with that “eat healthier” New Year’s resolution, check out MRS. GREEN’S NATURAL MARKETS (914-472-0111, www.mrsgreens.com) in Scarsdale, Mount Kisco, Yorktown Heights, Larchmont, Briarcliff Manor and Katonah. Everything in the stores is natural or organic, including fresh produce, ethnic cuisine, a wide variety of glutenfree and fat-free products—and extraordinary organic chocolates for Valentine’s Day. “We sell healthier snacks, like baked chips and dark chocolates,” says founder Harold Hochberger, who launched the business 18 years ago. “And for parties, our dips and appetizers are a little better for you.” Among the best-selling prepared foods are grilled vegetable– hummus and wraps with goat cheese and grilled vegetables, turkey chili, vegetarian chili, lowcarb spinach quiche cups, citrus-honey-glazed salmon and gluten-free veggie burgers. Faithful customers appreciate the stores’ message, not just the merchandise. “Mrs. Green’s is doing my work for me,” says Maureen Meehan of Larchmont. “Because they sell healthier, less-refined products, I can walk through their aisles without having to read all the ingredients.”

WESTCHESTER

H E A LT H & L I F E

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Westchester WHISPERS

‘What I’m listening to …’

Glide into shape

out one of the several

“For as long as I can remember I’ve had an eclectic taste in music—I like just about every genre,” says Jon Chattman, communications manager for the Music Conservatory of Westchester in White Plains (914-761-3900, www.musicconservatory.org). “I also love to ‘discover’ new artists on my own, reading a lot about them before they make it big.”

rinks around the county

1. “IT’S TRICKY,” Run DMC, from Run DMC:

Who said you can’t act giddy while slimming down? Ice skating burns 400 calories per hour, so the rink can be a place to embrace your inner child while working out. Check

that offer public skating. Because it’s a

Greatest Hits 2. “CRYING LIGHTNING,” Arctic Monkeys,

covered outdoor facility, the MURRAY SKATING CENTER in Yonkers (914-377-6469) replicates the skating-on-apond feel. “It’s the best ice around,” asserts assistant manager Robert Allo. “You don’t have the humidity issues on the ice that you would have in an indoor place.” Public sessions are held Friday evenings, Saturday afternoons and evenings and Sunday

from Humbug 3. “GROOVE IS IN THE HEART,” Deee-Lite,

from The Very Best of Deee-Lite 4. “SEVEN NATION ARMY,” The White Stripes,

from Elephant 5. “INTO THE GROOVE,” Madonna, from

Celebration

afternoons (admission: $7, rentals: $3.50). THE PLAYLAND ICE CASINO in Rye (814-813-7059, www.rye playland.org/icecasino) has a separate rink where small children can practice without distractions. Skate Friday, Saturday or Sunday afternoons or Friday and Saturday evenings (admission: $9, rentals:

6. “STRATFORD-ON-GUY,” Liz Phair, from

Exile in Guyville 7. “FLY ME TO THE MOON,” Frank Sinatra,

from It Might as Well Be Swing

$4). And the WESTCHESTER SKATING ACADEMY in

8. “GALAXIE,” Blind Melon,

Elmsford (914-347-8232) opens its two NHL-approved–size

from The Best of Blind Melon

rinks to the public on Friday evenings and Saturday and

9. “FELL ON BLACK DAYS,”

Sunday afternoons (admission: $10.25, rentals: $4.).

Soundgarden, from A-Sides

Finally, the bubble-covered ICE HUTCH in Mount Vernon

10. “RECKONER,” Radiohead,

(914-699-6786) is something of a hidden gem. “It’s rarely

from In Rainbows

crowded,” says general manager Ed Witz. Sessions are Saturday afternoons only (admission: $8, rentals: $4).

Run DMC

—Kristin Colella

CLASS IT UP You can have it all: Pilates for you, crafts for your kids and gourmet meals for you both, all under one roof. CITIBABES in Scarsdale (914-725-3334, www.citibabes.com) is a new family membership club designed for parents with children under 10. While you work with a personal trainer or attend parenting seminars, your kids can cook, dance, paint or romp in a bustling indoor playground. “We’re trying to create meaningful family experiences,” says spokesperson Kelley McMillan. “It’s a sophisticated space that adults and children can both enjoy.” The playground serves as the Congratulations to the club’s hub, with a gym area, classrooms and a café surrounding it. Regular fitness offerings include winners of our gift-guide kickboxing, yoga and spinning, while adult seminars cover topics such as CPR and anxiety and giveaway: Helen Ingrassia of stress. Most popular among the kids’ classes, meanwhile, are the arts-and-crafts and music programs. Valhalla and Richard Bird of Mount Kisco. “It’s a great addition to Westchester,” says member Faine Esposito of Pleasantville, who often follows play dates for her 18-month-old son with brunch at the cafe. “I can learn about what kinds of toys he likes, so I don’t have to buy everything. And afterward the kids take a nap while the moms discuss life.” Check out the space for yourself at the Valentine’s Day Family Party on February 7 ($20 per family for nonmembers).

Winners’ circle

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FLASH MORE THAN 250 GUESTS—PLUS A FAIR number of their canine friends—gathered at the RitzCarlton in White Plains for the SPCA of Westchester’s seventh annual Top Hat & Cocktails benefit event. Funds raised from the gala will help the organization provide shelter, adoptions and other lifesaving services to area animals. The Ardsley Country Club in Ardsley, meanwhile, was the site of the “New Orleans in New York” gala hosted by the Irvington-based Abbott House. The group provides a wide variety of services to abused, abandoned and neglected children, as well as to developmentally disabled children and adults. More than 100 supporters attended the event, which was highlighted by live jazz from The Matt Garrison Projection.

9 6

1. Nuda and Richard Joseph 2. Nicole Zamzok 3. Simone Havel and Ian Diamond

FEBRUARY 2010

ABBOTT HOUSE GALA 4. Kathi and Gregory Mooney 5. Howard Kraus, Sandy Randell and Seth Nuland 6. James Painter, Jonathan Siegel and Brian Smith

7. Joe Pastore, NBA Hall of Famer Bob Lanier and Pattie Pastore 8. Karen Schatzel 9. Antonius Rivera and Claude B. Meyers

Think you belong in Flash? Send photos from your gala or charity event to Westchester Health & Life, att: Flash editor, 110 Summit Avenue, Montvale, NJ 07645; or e-mail editor@wainscotmedia.com. Include your contact information, a short event description and names of all who appear. (Submissions are not guaranteed to appear and must meet the following image specs: 4x6 color prints or 300 dpi jpg, tif or eps files. Prints must be accompanied by an SASE in order to be returned.)

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Things WE LOVE

Health ’n’ beauty booty

OUR PICKS FOR THE BEST LOOK-GOOD/ FEEL-GOOD FINDS OF THE NEW YEAR 2

5 3

1. Reduce your carbon footprint in style with Feelgoodz recyclable and biodegradable flip-flops, $19.99, made of all-natural rubber that molds to the shape of your feet.

2. Give layered locks extra volume and shine with Redken’s Layer Lift 07 Length Elevating Spray-Gel, $15, featuring new Clean-Feel Technology that helps control frizz. 3. Harsh chemicals, begone! These allnatural towelettes from Organic Wear by Physicians Formula, $9.95 for 25, gently remove makeup and moisturize skin with organic soy and other earth-conscious ingredients. 4. Who knew a water bottle could be so smart? Sportline’s digital HydraCoach, $29.99, keeps your fluid consumption in check by calculating your personal hydration needs, tracking your daily and hourly fluid consumption and more.

5. A blend of lily of the valley, rose damascena, Italian mandarin pink peony and musk, Becker-Eshaya’s b.e. perfume, $65 9

FEBRUARY 2010

for a 51-milliliter bottle, will keep you sweetly scented all winter long. 6. Going nuts with knots? The nutrient-rich Prep by Bumble and Bumble, $17 for an 8-ounce bottle, not only detangles, it gives life to fine tresses and helps styles stay put. 7. Infused with vitamins A, C and E, SkinMedica’s TNS Night Eye Repair, $90, improves the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles by strengthening the delicate skin around your eyes. 8. Used by contestants on NBC’s hit weightloss show The Biggest Loser, Apex’s Bodybugg calorie system, $199, tracks how many calories you consume and burn with a sensor-equipped armband and a customizable Web-based program (6-month subscription included). 9. Notes of mandarin orange, bitter almond, chocolate and Bulgarian rose add a twist of sophistication to Van Cleef & Arpels’ intoxicating Orchidée Vanille perfume, $185. ■

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Health

1/18/10

Watch

10:12 AM

Page 20

W H AT ’ S N E W I N M E D I C I N E A N D H O W Y O U C A N S TAY W E L L

In recognition of American Heart Month, the entire Health Watch section in this issue of Westchester Health & Life is devoted to heart health and cardiac care.

Architect Michael Bean of Garrison was all smiles as he returned to work last June, having recovered from an aortic dissection that could have been fatal.

A lifesaving aortic repair EVERY MINUTE COUNTS WHEN THERE’S A TEAR IN THE BODY’S MAIN ARTERY

MICHAEL BEAN, AN ARCHITECT WHO LIVES in Putnam County, was about to head for the train to his New York City office on October 8, 2008, just as he would on any other Wednesday. But he suddenly felt ill. “I got dizzy and light-headed,” remembers Bean, now 56. “I felt as if I would fall over. My wife says my face got very pale.” His wife, Roseann, drove him to their local community hospital, where doctors took a computed tomography (CT) scan and immediately determined Bean was in grave danger. He had suffered an aortic dissection: The inner lining of his aorta, the large artery that carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body, had torn. Blood was leaking into the vessel walls instead of getting to his internal organs, some of which were already shutting down from lack of blood flow. “They said I was real sick and they had to get me to another hospital by helicopter,” Bean says. At that 20

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other hospital, Westchester Medical Center, experienced surgeons waited to whisk him into the operating room. “An aortic dissection is an absolute emergency,” says David Spielvogel, M.D., Director of Heart Transplant at Westchester, who performed Bean’s surgery. “In fact, these patients don’t go to the emergency room or the intensive care unit; they go directly to the O.R. The difference between life and death is how fast you get them there.” Dr. Spielvogel knows. Westchester has performed about 75 such lifesaving procedures in the past five years. Aortic dissection usually occurs in the thoracic (chest) portion of the artery, but may also happen in the abdominal portion. When a split or tear develops, it creates two channels: one in which blood continues to travel, and a second or “false” channel in the aorta’s wall. In many cases dissection results from high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, trauma to the chest, hereditary

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Aortic dissection: TWO FAMOUS CASES

Spielvogel. Bean was on dialysis for months to help his weakened kidneys. His bowel and liver also were impaired. His gallbladder had to be removed. He was in • The first well-documented victim of this condition the intensive care unit—and in and out of consciouswas Great Britain’s George II, grandfather of the ness—for seven weeks. king against whom the American colonists One factor that helped him through this ordeal was rebelled. He died from it in 1760. his relative youth. “At 54, he was younger than many • In February 2006, renowned heart surgeon Michael patients with aortic dissection,” says Dr. Spielvogel. “He DeBakey, M.D., became the oldest person ever to had more reserve with which to weather these problems.” undergo successful surgery for dissection—surgery Released on December 8, 2008, Bean was placed he himself had invented a half-century earlier. under the care of Anthony Pucillo, M.D., Director of the Dr. DeBakey returned to health—and work— Cardiac Catheterization Lab at the medical center. For the before his death in 2008 just two months shy of his next few months, Bean suffered from some of the compli100th birthday. cations that frequently accompany this condition and surgery. He was often short of breath. Twice he needed conditions such as Marfan syndrome or the presence of fluid drained from around his heart. And echocardioan aneurysm—a ballooning of the aorta. Bean had an grams showed his heart was still weak. aneurysm of the ascending aorta. “I saw him in April 2009 and his heart was His case was unusually severe, says Dr. functioning poorly,” says Dr. Pucillo. “I thought Spielvogel. The dissection traveled to where the we might have a chronic heart-failure case here.” aorta attaches to the heart (the root) and involved Dr. Pucillo treated Bean with medicathe aortic valve and coronary arteries. “He also tions designed to increase blood flow— suffered a complication called malperfusion,” angiotensin-coverting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors Dr. Spielvogel says. “That means the dissection and calcium channel blockers—and monitored cuts off blood flow to various organs. It could be his status monthly. By August, his heart had to the heart, brain, spinal cord, viscera or lower improved dramatically. “It was almost back to extremities. He had a lack of flow to his bowel David Spielvogel, M.D. normal,” the doctor says. “He was eating better, and kidneys, and his kidneys shut down.” had regained some weight and had no shortness Fortunately, surgeons like Dr. Spielvogel of breath.” can repair a dissection if it’s caught quickly Bean went back to work in June and now enough. “If we can get the patient on a heartsays he feels good. He has words of praise for the lung machine in time to get blood flowing to the “wonderful” nurses and support staff at the body, the outcome is usually quite good,” he says. medical center. He remains on some medicaAfter Bean was put on the heart-lung tions and needs to avoid strenuous exercise, but machine, Dr. Spielvogel and his team did what’s otherwise can live a normal life. “I just take it called a Bentall procedure to repair part of the easy,” he says. He spends lots of time with wife Anthony Pucillo, M.D. dissected aorta and graft replacements for the and his three children, ages 17, 19 and 21. aortic valve, the aortic root and the entire ascend“He is a very lucky guy,” says Dr. Spieling aorta. The procedure took about six hours. During vogel. “Time is of the essence, and many patients with one 20-minute period, all blood circulation had to be this condition die while waiting to be transported, or in stopped to perform the suturing, so Bean was put into transit on the way to the O.R. But very few die if they get deep hypothermia. The heart-lung machine cooled his here in time.” ■ body temperature to about 60 degrees to preserve tissue in the brain and other vital organs while they were being To find out more about the treatment of heart distemporarily starved of blood. ease at Westchester Medical Center, call 1-877The procedure was a success. “But Michael was WMC-DOCS or visit www.worldclassmedicine.com. still very sick because his organs had failed,” says Dr.

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Thanks to successful minimally invasive treatments for two congenital heart defects, Austin Palmer is a healthy 5-year-old today.

Fresh start for a tiny

HEART TODAY, PEDIATRIC CARDIOLOGISTS CAN CORRECT MANY HEART DEFECTS WITHOUT MAJOR SURGERY

AUSTIN PALMER WAS A “MIRACLE BABY.” That’s what his parents, John and Cyndi Palmer of Newburgh, called him when he was born on Easter Sunday 2004 at Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie. After two miscarriages and an infant born prematurely who died at birth, they were parents at last. The next morning, though, Cyndi noticed that the backs of Austin’s hands were black. Tests showed that the level of oxygen in Austin’s blood was far too low. An echocardiogram revealed a condition called pulmonary valve stenosis. The valve that controlled blood flow between his heart and lungs was not opening properly, so not enough blood was being oxygenated before it traveled to the rest of Austin’s tiny body. He also had an atrial septal defect (ASD), a hole between the two upper chambers of his heart. 22

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The ASD was not critical, but Austin needed a pediatric interventional cardiologist to perform an immediate procedure to open the pulmonary valve. Specialists like this aren’t normally found at community hospitals, so Austin and his parents were taken by ambulance to the Hudson Valley’s only pediatric cardiac catheterization lab, at Westchester Medical Center. “We went from total joy to learning our miracle baby had a heart condition and then rushing to the best neonatal intensive care unit in New York,” says Cyndi Palmer, 36, a payroll accountant. “We were crushed.” The Palmers arrived at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital at Westchester Medical Center around midnight and were met by Markus Erb, M.D., Director of Pediatric Interventional Cardiology. “He was wonderful,” says Cyndi. “He took another echocardiogram, then explained everything in detail so we could understand it. He told us Austin would need a procedure that day.” “When he said ‘procedure’ I thought he would have to open Austin’s chest,” says John, an athletic trainer who is also 36. “But Dr. Erb said, ‘No, it’s not surgery. I do it in the cath lab.’” These days, interventional cardiologists like Dr. Erb use the latest technology to identify and treat children’s heart conditions assuring minimal discomfort for the kids. Dr. Erb enters the vessels in the groin area with a needle and then threads his tools through blood vessels and into the heart. Guided by real-time X-rays, he can perform a number of procedures on heart abnormalities caused by disease or, as in Austin’s case, genetic birth defects that previously would have required openheart surgery. “A wide range of abnormalities may be present at birth,” he says. “Valve problems like Austin’s are among the most common. Sometimes we know before birth if they’re coming, and sometimes we don’t know until the babies are born ‘blue’”—that is, showing skin discoloration from lack of oxygen, as Austin did. Other common pediatric defects include transposition of the major arteries. “The arteries come off the wrong chambers of heart so that the blood goes from the body to the body and the lungs to the lungs without mixing,” the doctor says. “That requires a lifesaving procedure, in which we open the wall between the atria—the top chambers—so that blood and oxygen can mix.”

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An ASD like the one Austin had is another birth After his last procedure defect often seen. “We can close it with a device such as a in May, Austin recovered plug made of titanium/nickel alloy, which can expand to quickly and was back cover the hole,” he says. to playing T-ball and That these sometimes lifesaving procedures can be entertaining his little done in a minimally invasive way in infants and young brother within a week. children may be surprising. But Dr. Erb says that many interventional heart procedures performed on adults were actually pioneered in children. “Most of this started with kids: balloons to open valves and arteries, closing holes in the heart—these were pediatric innovations,” he says. In Austin’s case, Dr. Erb used a balloon to force open the pulmonary valve, much as a balloon angioplasty opens a clogged artery in an adult heart patient. He left the ASD open because that problem can’t be repaired in infants weighing less than 25 pounds. (Sometimes the holes close by themselves.) He also soothed the parents’ fears. “Dr. Erb kept telling us, ‘Austin is going to be fine. You are not going to lose this child— he will go home with you,’” says Cyndi. “He called him Austin Powers after the movie character.” The roughly two-hour procedure went perfectly. “Afterward we got obsessed watching his oxygen levels on the monitor,” Cyndi says. “Dr. Erb said, ‘Stop looking at that! That’s my job. You focus on Austin Powers.’” Austin’s oxygen levels steadily improved, and he was released in 10 days. He took a beta-blocker medication to help his heart for six months and saw Dr. Erb back playing with his new brother, 16-month-old every three months until he was 1. He continued with Carson, who was born with no heart defects. yearly visits until this spring, when Dr. Erb decided that Now Austin needs his ASD, which had not only yearly checkups to healed, needed to be closed. Many interventional heart monitor the pulmonary In May, Austin revalve. At some point it may turned to the cath lab, procedures now performed need to be re-ballooned if where Dr. Erb inserted an on adults were actually the opening doesn’t grow Amplatzer Septal Occluder. with his body. Otherwise, pioneered in children. It consists of two discs of Austin should be fine. wire mesh connected by a “Dr. Erb said he may not be able to climb Mt. middle “waist” and three polyester discs sewn inside the Everest, but everything else is unlimited,” says John. ■ mesh. The discs fit over and cover both sides of the hole; over time, new heart tissue grows over the discs, effectively sealing the hole for good. Austin spent one night in the hospital. “An adult would go home, but because he was only 5 we wanted to keep him quiet and calm so the plug would not dislodge,” Dr. Erb says. The boy recovered quickly. “Within a week he was playing T-ball,” John says. And he was

To find more information about the treatment of babies’ and children’s heart problems at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital at Westchester Medical Center, please call 1-877-WMC-DOCS or visit www.world classmedicine.com/MFCH.

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Paul Brand

David Holt

New hearts, new lives FOUR TRANSPLANT RECIPIENTS ARE MAKING THE MOST OF THEIR SECOND CHANCE

WE THINK OF HEART TRANSPLANTS AS A modern marvel. But their purpose isn’t to flex medicine’s technological muscles. It’s to restore very sick people to active, fulfilling lives. “That’s what a heart transplant program is all about: making people healthy so they can go back to the things they once enjoyed—or perhaps to something new,” says Warren D. Rosenblum, M.D., Associate Medical Director, Heart Failure, Heart Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support at Westchester Medical Center. To find out about life after a heart replacement, Westchester Health & Life caught up with four transplant recipients: PAUL BRAND, 65, TUCKAHOE TRANSPLANT: JUNE 6, 2007

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DAVID HOLT, 63, VALLEY COTTAGE TRANSPLANT: APRIL 9, 2008

In August 2008, we reported how a transplant brought retired special-education teacher and educational administrator David Holt back from what one clinician called an 8 percent chance of survival. His daughter Eden, now 28, got married at his bedside. (“We weren’t sure I’d be around much longer,” he recalls.) And his daughter Jacqueline, now 24, was inspired to become a nurse after seeing the care he received. Today, Holt has returned to teaching, in a sense. The Transplant Support Organization in Westchester, a group that supports all types of transplant patients, asked him if he was interested in helping to educate high school students about organ donation and transplants. “Because I’d been a teacher, it was a natural fit,” he says. He now gives talks in health classes in four Rockland

JUPITER IMAGES

“I was scared as hell before my operation,” says realtor and loan officer Paul Brand of the dramatic heart-andkidney transplant we described in our October 2007 issue. But Brand knew that his transplant could turn out to be more of a beginning than an end. “When I still had tubes in my arm, I decided I wanted to start some kind of heart group—something to breed hope,” says Brand. He helped launch a support group for heart-transplant recipients and their families, a group that now has 27 members. “We meet with patients and their families, and they say, ‘You had a

transplant?’” he reports. “That’s what I want—for them to look at me and realize there’s a future for them too.” Brand will be on medications for the rest of his life, like all heart-transplant recipients, but his days are active and full. He has long been back at work, and when he’s not busy at the office he enjoys movies, Broadway shows, ball games and time with his two children and three grandchildren. And over the holidays he took a Panama Canal cruise with his wife, Mickey.

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John Newton

school districts, and also does public speaking on organ donation and transplants for the statewide New York Organ Donor Network. Holt and his wife, Stefany, took a cruise to Alaska this summer and are planning a trip to Spain next year. Best of all, he got to dance with Eden at her postponed wedding reception in October 2008. “Life is great,” he says. “Every morning, I thank God and thank my young donor and his parents. I don’t know much about them, but their gift gave me my life.” JOHN NEWTON, 54, WANTAGE, N.J. TRANSPLANT: JANUARY 25, 2009

“I died a few times, and they brought me back,” says John Newton of the several heart attacks he had during a decade of heart problems. Westchester Health & Life’s February 2009 issue reported that a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) was complementing his ailing heart. Then a new heart became available. “The Super Bowl was a week after my transplant, and I was in the ICU, pissed off because I couldn’t be with my friends watching it,” he says. “Except for the tubes sticking out of me, I was raring to go.” He went home a week after the game and recovered with remarkable speed. In August he was able to return to work as a vice president for Fujinon, an optical systems company. “They’ve been incredibly supportive,” he says. “They Warren D. even put a hand sanitizer dispenser outRosenblum, M.D side my office to help me avoid infection,

Barbara Wedlick

because my immune system is still suppressed.” Though Newton still tires easily, he says he’s been “more active in the last six months than I was in the previous 10 years.” He’s thankful, and so is his family— wife Maria; son Cesar, 29; and daughter Adrianne, 25. And he especially enjoys his grandson, Noah, now 8. “A year ago he was helping to change the batteries on my heart pump,” says Newton. “Now we can throw the ball around.” BARBARA WEDLICK, 63, NEW CITY TRANSPLANT: NOVEMBER 15, 2009

Before Barbara Wedlick’s transplant operation, she was on a left ventricular assist device for 18 months. While waiting for a donor organ, Wedlick met David Holt and Paul Brand at their support group meeting. “I was at a down point, and they really lifted me up,” she recalls. Now she wants to do the same for others. When she can, she plans to join their group and visit schools in her area to talk about transplantation. “I also want to get back to the lifestyle I had with my husband, David,” she says. The two have enjoyed biking around Cape May and plan to travel around the U.S. And she’ll spend time with her two granddaughters (children of her son, Michael) and her sister, Irene, who was with her daily during her stay at the medical center. “Heart problems affect the whole family,” says Wedlick. “Now we all just want to enjoy life again.” ■ To find out more about heart transplantation at Westchester Medical Center, call 1-877-WMC-DOCS or visit www.worldclassmedicine.com/transplant.

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Pinch ticker THE TANDEMHEART PUMPS BLOOD WHEN AN AILING HEART CAN’T

TWO YEARS AGO, A WESTCHESTER COUNTY high school teacher passed out in front of his class, the victim of a life-threatening heart arrhythmia. By the time he arrived at Westchester Medical Center, his heart had virtually stopped pumping, his vital organs were shutting down and his chances for survival seemed slim. Indeed, if this episode had happened just a few months earlier, he most likely would have died. But he was lucky—he became the first patient at Westchester to be saved by a remarkable new device called the TandemHeart. TandemHeart is the brand name of a product known generically as a percutaneous ventricular assist device. Percutaneous means “through the skin”; the TandemHeart is inserted through a minimally invasive nick in the skin, rather than through open surgery. It helps out the left ventricle, the main pumping chamber, which for whatever reason—heart attack, viral infection or injury—is no longer doing its job adequately. Interventional cardiologists like Martin Cohen, M.D., working in the catheterization lab rather than in an operating room, thread a catheter up through a small puncture in a vein in the groin all the way to the heart’s left atrium (the top chamber). The catheter contains a set of small plastic tubes called cannulas, which are inserted into the the patient to connect his or her circulatory system to a pump that remains outside the body. The TandemHeart takes over some of the heart’s function of pumping blood. A shorter-term fix than the left ventricular assist device (LVAD), it’s good for no more than two or three days, says Dr. Cohen. But while it’s in place, it can increase blood flow up to a rate of 4 liters per minute—almost as much as a healthy heart can pump. This lets the heart rest and recuperate while maintaining normal blood flow to other parts of the body and to the heart itself. “We use it as a bridge to allow the rest of the body to recover,” says Dr. Cohen. “Then, when the patient is more stable, we can begin whatever permanent treatment he or she may need. Sometimes, the short rest is enough for the heart to recover on its own.” 26

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As for that teacher, “he now has an implanted defibrillator and he’s doing great,” says Dr. Cohen. (A defibrillator is a device that assists the rhythm of an otherwise well-functioning heart.) One of the first institutions in the country to use the TandemHeart, Westchester Medical Center has had as many as four of the new devices working at one time. The recent seasonal flu outbreak (not the H1N1 flu) sent four patients into cardiac shock, including a 6-foot, 3-inch football player. “This was a big, strapping kid in good health, but the flu did a number on his heart,” says Dr. Cohen, who notes that the boy’s mother had had a heart transplant some years earlier, which may indicate some congenital weakness. “The TandemHeart gave him time to fight off the flu, and he fully recovered. “The people we are putting this device in are too sick for major surgery, and without it the majority of them would not survive the night,” says the doctor. “The TandemHeart is a real lifesaver.” ■

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Close to kids’ hearts PEDIATRIC ECHOCARDIOGRAPHERS NEED BOTH TACT AND TECHNICAL SAVVY

MICHAEL SCOTTON Pediatric echocardiographers like Michael Scotton use sonogram technology to take moving images of a child’s heart. These highresolution movies allow pediatric cardiologists to visualize a patient’s beating heart noninvasively, making possible both accurate diagnosis and postsurgical monitoring. Scotton, 39, became interested in medical imaging when he had X-rays after a car accident. “A family friend who was a cardiologist thought I’d like working with ultrasound better than X-ray,” he says. He had previously studied audio electronics, so sonography, which uses sound frequencies, was a natural progression. He attended the New York University ultrasound program in 1996, and obtained a position at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital at Westchester Medical Center in 2001. “I love working with kids,” says Scotton. “It’s nice to help diagnose a disease that they can get help for. Children don’t deserve to start off life with untreated heart problems.” Scotton, raised in Scarsdale, now lives in Mahopac with his wife, Elizabeth. He is training to become a licensed skydiver, having become enamored with skydiving after taking a jump with some of his coworkers last year. “I was always into planes but never flew, and this is as close to flying as you can get,” he says. CRYSTAL GREGUROVIC One thing Crystal Gregurovic, 27, of Fairview, N.J., knew when she was growing up was that she someday wanted a career in healthcare. Her older sister, Kelly, is a cardiac sonographer who works with adult patients. “She showed me the ropes,” Gregurovic says, adding that after completing a

two-year sonography training program at Eastwick College in Ramsey, N.J., “I even did an externship with Kelly at New York’s St. Vincent’s Hospital, where she works.” She joined the staff of Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital at Westchester Medical Center in 2004, first working with adults. “I kind of fell into pediatrics, but I like it better,” she says. “Children are so innocent. To see them come in sick and later leave healthy, that brings a smile to my face.” Gregurovic, who is single, enjoys working out, playing with her Chihuahua, Tiger, and helping Kelly, who had triplets last September. “I’ve been there a lot lately,” Gregurovic reports. “Believe me, she needs help!” AMY DEVEAU In her 23 years at Westchester Medical Center, Amy Deveau has seen exponential improvements in technology. “The machinery is more sensitive now—we can see much more than we could when I started,” says Deveau, 43. What hasn’t changed is her sensitive approach to caring for patients, who can be as young five days old. “Some are on the way home from the hospital after their birth,” she says. “The newborns eat or sleep through it, so they are easy.” The toddlers and preschoolers are tougher to keep still during the 10- to 30-minute procedure, she admits, but this is a challenge for which she and her colleagues are prepared. “We have Elmo movies on TV, and we coach Mom and Dad how to help out,” says Deveau. “It’s very gratifying to help the kids feel better when they’ve been scared.” Deveau, a single mother of two daughters, ages 20 and 15, enjoys her team at work. “It’s like working with a family,” she says. The Mahopac resident even joined a recent skydiving expedition with fellow echocardiographer Michael Scotton. “It was a blast,” she says. ■ WESTCHESTER

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F R E S H S TA RT by Kristin Colella

Resolution solutions! VOW THIS WILL BE THE YEAR YOU’LL FINALLY STICK TO YOUR NEW YEAR’S GOALS OF SELF-IMPROVEMENT? DON’T GO IT ALONE—TAKE THIS ADVICE FROM THE EXPERTS ON HOW TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS WITH 8 POPULAR PLEDGES.

Resolution: Work out regularly Strategy: Follow these steps from the Mayo Clinic (but get your doctor’s OK first): Assess your fitness to gage future progress by measuring things like your pulse rate after a 1-mile walk and the time it takes to complete that walk. Create a workout schedule that each week incorporates at least 5 hours of moderate or 21⁄2 hours of vigorous aerobic activity, and two 20- to 30-minute strengthtraining sessions. Start slowly, gradually increasing your routine’s intensity. Re-assess your fitness after six weeks, and again every three to six months. (Need more guidance? See page 34.)

Resolution: Break your tech addiction Strategy: Can’t stop checking e-mail and Twitter? If technology is affecting your work or personal relationships, it’s time to cut back, says Gary Small, M.D., professor of psychiatry at the UCLA Semel Institute and author of iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind. Keep a log of how much time you spend online daily, then shave a few minutes off each day. Set aside specific times for tasks like checking e-mail, so they won’t haunt you throughout your day. And devote more time to offline activities, such as meeting friends for coffee.

Resolution: Get out of debt Strategy: Keep a diary of your daily expenses for one to two months to help determine whether your expenses exceed your income, says Evan S. Branfman, associate financial adviser with Ameriprise Financial Services Inc. in Melville, New York. If you’re spending too much, look for ways to cut back. Plagued by credit card debt? Try calling your credit card company to negotiate a reduction in interest rates, says Branfman. If your debt woes seem too overwhelming to handle yourself, consider scheduling a consultation with a financial adviser.

Resolution: Lose weight Strategy: First get your doctor’s approval, then consider meeting with a dietitian to develop an exercise and calorie plan, says Andrea Spivack, a registered dietitian with the Albert J. Stunkard Weight Management Program at the University of Pennsylvania. Keep a food journal and surround yourself with supportive people and motivating items, such as fresh fruit. Also make yourself accountable, adds Spivack, whether to a dietitian, a group leader or a friend who’s expecting you at the gym.

Resolution: Declutter your home Strategy: Start by choosing one specific area to tackle at a time and gathering all necessary supplies, such as garbage cans and recycling bins, says Laura Leist, president of the National Association of Professional Organizers. Next, sort through all items in that area, eliminate what you no longer need and purchase and install any additional containers or shelves you think the area requires. Once you’ve successfully organized your space, keep clutter in check by repeating this process every few months.

Resolution: Improve your posture Strategy: “Poor posture causes a tremendous strain on the spine,” says chiropractor Cynthia Vaughn of the Austin Chiropractic Center in Austin, Texas. When standing, avoid slouching by keeping the center of your ears directly above the center of your shoulders, says Dr. Vaughn. At the office, sit with your buttocks and the small of your back pushed into the back of your chair, and keep your feet flat on the floor with your knees at a 90-degree angle to the floor (adjust chair height if necessary).

Resolution: Stop running late Strategy: Start preparing for your workday the night before, from selecting your outfit to making your lunch, says Atlanta-based personal productivity expert Peggy Duncan, author of The Time Management Memory Jogger. If you’re still running late, set an earlier wake-up alarm to give yourself more time to get ready. To avoid tardiness to appointments and social engagements, record the dates and times of all your commitments in an agenda book or an electronic calendar. ■

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HEIDI SCHMIDT

Resolution: Quit smoking Strategy: Meet with your doctor to determine the best treatment option for you, such as over-the-counter nicotine replacement therapies or prescription medications, says the National Cancer Institute. Once you begin treatment, remove all tobacco products from your home, car and work; avoid situations that trigger cravings; find new hobbies to occupy your time; and write down your reasons for quitting, reviewing them whenever temptation strikes. Reward progress with a massage or dinner out— but remember your greatest reward is a healthier life!

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EAT WELL, HEAD-TO-TOE 6 foods that do your body good—in some surprising ways Eyes Eat this: SWEET POTATOES Here’s why: They’re a great source of beta-carotene, an antioxidant that promotes eye health and can help prevent cataracts. Did you know? A sweet potato also contains almost twice the recommended daily allowance of vitamin A, which is essential to vision.

Breast Eat this: SALMON Here’s why: Salmon is a rich source of vitamin D, and research indicates that boosting your intake of this vitamin can lower your breast-cancer risk. Did you know? Salmon also contains omega-3 fatty acids, which may add to that cancerfighting benefit (experts aren’t yet unanimous) and which otherwise amount to a health-effects home run, benefiting arteries, blood pressure, brain, eyes, metabolism, muscles and more.

Bones

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Eat this: APPLES Here’s why: They contain a flavonoid called quercetin that has been shown in studies of mice to protect brain cells against injury from oxidation. High apple consumption has also been linked to lower-than-average rates of one kind of stroke. Did you know? Apple-juice studies suggest that apples also may heighten the brain’s production of a key neurotransmitter called acetylcholine, improving memory.

Heart Eat this: STRAWBERRIES Here’s why: They reduce inflammation in the arteries and increase levels of the heart-healthy vitamin folate in the blood. Did you know? Strawberries can help whiten teeth! They contain malic acid, which acts as an astringent, buffing away discoloration from notso-pearly whites. Combine a mashed strawberry with a half-tablespoon of baking soda and apply the mixture to your teeth, leaving it on for five minutes, then brushing away with toothpaste. (Just don’t do this more than once a week—you risk damaging tooth enamel.)

Stomach Drink this: GREEN TEA Here’s why: It may fight stomach cancer: A recent study found that women who drank five or more cups of green tea a day were 20 percent less likely to develop the disease. Did you know? Generally, green tea has just one-third to one-half the caffeine of black tea.

ROBIN G. LONDON 2008

Eat this: BROCCOLI Here’s why: It’s not only strong in bone-strengthening calcium, it’s also loaded with vitamin C, which is essential for the maintenance and repair of bones. A cup of broccoli boasts more than twice the recommended daily allowance of C—more than is found in an orange. Did you know? Broccoli also contains two phytonutrients that may help the body fight cancer—one by suppressing tumor-cell growth, the other by clearing the system of cancer-causing substances.

Brain

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Fresh START

7 fat-beaters Talk about the best of both worlds: Researchers have discovered that certain foods and drinks actually help your body burn fat more efficiently—so you can nibble and whittle your middle at the same time. Here are 7 such items and their claims to fame:

ATSUSHI TOMIOKA

What: GREEN TEA Why: This soothing brew contains epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), one of a group of antioxidants called catechins. Research indicates that catechins increase energy expenditure and fat-burning, and may help control weight. A 2007 review of research on the subject concluded that consuming five to six cups of green tea per day does indeed have metabolic benefits. Calories per serving: 0 calories per cup

What: BLUEBERRIES Why: A recent University of Michigan study suggests that the phytochemicals in blueberries influence the genes that control how we process glucose, thereby helping our bodies store and burn fat more effectively. Calories per serving: 84 calories per cup

What: OLIVE OIL Why: Olive oil is high in monounsaturated fatty acids—a type of healthy fat recently found to help shrink the accumulation of belly fat. Opt for extravirgin, the least-processed form of the oil, which contains the most antioxidants. Calories per serving: 119 calories per tablespoon

What: OATMEAL Why: High in fiber, oatmeal helps your body burn calories by boosting your metabolism. In 2008, a Penn State University weight-loss study reported that people whose diets were rich in whole grains lost significantly more abdominal fat than those who ate only refined grains. The whole-grain group also had a big reduction in C-reactive protein levels, a heart-disease marker. Calories per serving: 159 calories per cup

What: CHILI PEPPERS Why: They get their heat from a component called capsaicin, which has been shown to suppress appetite and boost metabolism. One Dutch study reported that subjects ate fewer calories and rated themselves as more satisfied when they consumed capsaicin half an hour before each meal. Calories per serving: 19 calories for each pepper

What: AVOCADO Why: This fruit is another excellent source of abdominal fat– reducing monounsaturated fatty acids, which in a study reported in Diabetes Care were shown to curb “central body fat distribution.” Avocados also boast betasitosterol, a plant-based fat that may lower cholesterol. Calories per serving: 80 calories for 1⁄4 avocado

What: ALMONDS Why: Researchers believe that the body may not fully absorb the fat in almonds and that the cell walls of the nuts may act as a barrier against fat. Besides lowering cholesterol and reducing the risk of heart disease, almonds can lessen food cravings by making you feel fuller. Calories per serving: 163 calories per ounce

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FRESH START by Jennifer Cenicola

Give ‘PEACEFUL’ a chance CAN’T PICTURE YOUR LIFE WITHOUT CONTINUAL STRESS? HERE’S HOW YOU CAN—AND WHY YOU SHOULD

A pressure-filled life is about as American as apple pie and Friends reruns—so much so that many of us wear our stress as a badge of honor, accepting the cranky impatience, throbbing headaches and sleepless nights as the price we pay for how in-demand our time is. But the possible long-term effects of stress (a weakened immune system, blood clots, high blood pressure and heart disease among them) are nothing to boast about—or flirt with. So in this issue’s “fresh start” spirit, we offer 6 ways to ease your troubled mind—and, in the process, do your body good.

FEBRUARY 2010

quieting the sympathetic nervous system (responsible for our “fight-or-flight” response) and amping up the parasympathetic nervous system (which slows heart rate and breathing and improves blood flow), notes the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a division of the National Institutes of Health. The result: more day-to-day serenity. Techniques vary widely, but most involve finding a comfortable position in a quiet spot, then either focusing on your breathing or repeating a mantra. You might begin with just five minutes a day, gradually working up to 20 minutes or more. A wide variety of getstarted manuals can be found at your local bookstore.

SHUTTERSTOCK

TAKE A MEDITATION BREAK. Whether or not you’re seeking spiritual enlightenment, a few calming moments of silence can have a wonderful soothing effect. The jury’s still out on just how health-promoting meditation is, but some studies have found it reduces blood pressure, heart rate and cholesterol levels. A recent report published in the American Journal of Hypertension, for instance, found that people at risk for hypertension who practiced 20 minutes of meditation daily lowered their blood pressure significantly and reduced by 52 percent their risk of developing hypertension in the future. Experts suspect that meditation brings benefits by

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SMELL THE ROSES. It’s not just their pretty petals that cause flowers to brighten your mood—their fragrance may actually calm tensed-out nerves. In Japanese research published last year, mice exposed to stress-inducing situations had lower levels of neutrophils and lymphocytes—two types of stress-related immune cells—when they sniffed linalool, a scented compound found in blooms. They also showed reduced activity in more than 100 genes linked to the stress response. With additional research, this demonstrated physiological reaction may add credence to the therapeutic claims long made by proponents of aromatherapy.

PUT THE KETTLE ON. You’ve probably heard that a spot of hot tea can soothe frazzled nerves—now there’s research to support the claim. British investigators (of course) divided 75 men into two groups, one of which sipped black tea daily for six weeks, while the other drank a caffeinated placebo. After this period, the men were asked to complete a stressful task. Researchers took blood samples an hour later and found that the tea drinkers had lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol, indicating that they recovered from the stress more quickly than did the teafree group.

GET SOME EXERCISE. It’s welldocumented that physical exertion can help alleviate stress, so why not try something new? Setting a goal for yourself can help you stay motivated, and Cool Running’s “Couch to 5K” plan (go to www.c25k.com and click “Cool Running”) is a great place to start. Designed for the nonrunner, this nine-week program eases you in (you’ll do

no more than 60 seconds of jogging at first), but gradually gets you race-ready for a 5K competition. Those with more of a techie leaning might opt for iFitness, a $1.99 iPhone app that offers detailed instructions (in pictures, text and video) on some 230 exercises. Choose the area of the body you want to target, and pick the move you like best; design your own workouts by combining individual exercises into different routines. Just slip your phone into your gym bag and you’re ready to go! (Be sure to consult with your doctor or other healthcare professional before embarking on a new exercise program.) CHUCKLE. There’s good reason why your mood improves when you’ve been giggling over 30 Rock or scanning The Onion’s headlines. The Mayo Clinic reports that laughter has a positive impact on your stress response, leading to a more relaxed feeling. Chuckles can also stimulate your heart, lungs and muscles and even ease stomachaches, thanks to their positive effects on digestion. Personally, we love any medical advice that deems watching Animal House (Bravo’s top pick on its “100 Funniest Movies of All Time” list) time judiciously spent.

GO HIGH-TECH. Sure, venting on your cell phone or zoning out to your iPod might make you feel better, but what about a handheld device designed to help you chill? HeartMath’s emWave Personal Stress Reliever ($199) has a sensor that measures your stress levels based on breathing and changes in heart rhythm. The device then guides you through reducing your stress via breathing exercises and other techniques. A colorful display shows your progress as you go so you can adjust as needed. ■

WESTCHESTER

H E A LT H & L I F E

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F R E S H S TA R T by Kristin Colella

On-the-clock WORKOUTS IN A TIME CRUNCH? STAR TRAINER JESSIE PAVELKA SUGGESTS 10-, 20-, 30- AND 60-MINUTE ROUTINES ON LIFETIME’S HIT REALITY SHOW

DietTribe, personal trainer Jessie Pavelka helps five real-life friends lose weight while juggling jobs, family and other struggles. It’s a premise many of us can relate to, as our own busy schedules leave little time—and motivation—for exercise. But the truth is you don’t have to set aside large chunks of time to reap the benefits of fitness: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, exercising in shorter bursts throughout the day still does your body good. So Westchester

Health & Life asked Pavelka to design workout routines of four different lengths to give you a chance to choose what works best for you. (Remember: Always check with your physician before starting an exercise routine.)

10-MINUTE WORKOUT

• Walk for 1 minute at a moderate to fast pace. • Jog or sprint for 1 minute. • Repeat this pair of steps four more times. Kick it up a notch! “If you’re in good shape, challenge yourself by increasing speed and incline,” says Pavelka.

FEBRUARY 2010

GREG SCHWARTZ/LIFETIME TELEVISION

“Even though 10 minutes isn’t a lot of time, you can still get your blood pumping and your heart rate up,” says Pavelka. “For great results, try interval training on a treadmill.”

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20-MINUTE WORKOUT “Here’s a quick routine you can do on your lunch hour that helps burn fat and build muscle,” says Pavelka. “You can do these exercises practically anywhere—all you need are some dumbbells and yourself! If you’re a beginner, start off with light weights that aren’t too taxing, and feel free to take short breaks between exercises.” • DO 3 SETS OF SQUATS (15–20 REPETITIONS PER SET, PICTURED LEFT): Stand with your legs shoulder-width apart. Keeping your chest up, bend your knees and lower your behind as if you’re sitting in a chair. Do not let your knees jut out past your toes. Return to a standing position. Repeat. • DO 3 SETS OF PUSH-UPS (15–20 REPS/SET): Lie chestdown on the floor with your hands flat on the ground beneath your shoulders, your legs straight and your toes tucked under. Keeping your body straight, press into your hands to raise your torso and legs off the ground, then bend your elbows to lower yourself back toward the floor, stopping before your body reaches the ground. Repeat. • DO 3 SETS OF LUNGES (15–20 REPS/SET, PICTURED BOTTOM LEFT): Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Step forward with your right leg, bending your knees until both legs are at approximately 90-degree angles. Push up with your right leg to return to the starting position. Repeat with the left leg.

PHOTOGRAPHY: DEREK WIESEHAHN; LOCATION: KINETIC PT OF RAMSEY; MODEL: LAUREN COZZA

• DO 3 SETS OF BENT-OVER ROWS (15–20 REPS/SET): Standing with your knees slightly bent and your feet about shoulder-width apart, hold a dumbbell in each hand. Keep your arms fully extended so the dumbbells hang straight down. Bend forward at your hips so your chest is leaning over your feet. Keeping your torso stationary, bring your elbows straight back to approximately a 90-degree angle, so that the dumbbells stop at your sides. Return to start position and repeat. • DO 3 SETS OF SIDE LUNGES (15–20 REPS/SET): Stand with feet together facing forward, hands on your hips. Place your right foot out to the side, away from your body, bending your right knee as you do so. Keep your chest up and make sure that your knee does not extend past your toes. Push into your right leg to return to the starting position, then repeat with your left leg. • DO 3 SETS OF SHOULDER PRESSES (15–20 REPS/SET): Sit on a bench or chair and hold a dumbbell in each hand. Bend your elbows and raise your hands up to shoulder height so the dumbbells are positioned next to your ears. Keeping your back straight, push the dumbbells up until your arms are extended overhead. Lower the dumbbells to shoulder height. Repeat. Kick it up a notch! As you get stronger, try forgoing breaks between exercises—for example, going from squats straight into a set of push-ups, says Pavelka.

continued

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F R E S H S TA R T

30-MINUTE WORKOUT Incorporate a mix of cardio and strength training in your half-hour routine by starting with the 10-minute workout described, and then immediately following it with the 20-minute routine, the trainer says. KICK IT UP A NOTCH! “If things start to get too easy, consider using heavier weights and increasing the number of sets and repetitions,” says Pavelka.

60-MINUTE WORKOUT “If you have time to enjoy a full hour’s workout, here’s one that I do for myself and my clients that combines intense cardio with some good resistance training,” says Pavelka. “The routine may be strenuous for some, so if you don’t get through all the exercises at first, just keep working at it.” You can take a break between circuits, he adds; just aim for each circuit to take about 10 minutes. Start with stretching and 5 to 10 minutes of walking to warm up. CIRCUIT 1: • DO 3 SETS OF SQUATS (15–20 REPETITIONS PER SET): Stand with your legs shoulder-width apart. Keeping your chest up, bend your knees and lower your behind as if you’re sitting in a chair. Do not let your knees jut out past your toes. Return to a standing position. Repeat. • DO 3 SETS OF PUSH-UPS (15–20 REPS/SET, PICTURED TOP RIGHT): Lie chest-down on the floor with your hands flat on the ground beneath your shoulders, your legs straight and your toes tucked under. Keeping your body straight, press into your hands to raise your torso and legs off the ground, then bend your elbows to lower yourself back toward the floor, stopping before you reach the ground. Repeat. • DO 3 SETS OF JUMPING JACKS (15 REPS/SET, PICTURED RIGHT). CIRCUIT 2: • DO 3 SETS OF LUNGES (15–20 REPS/SET): Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Step forward with your right leg, bending your knees until both legs are at approximately 90-degree angles. Push up with your right leg to return to the starting position. Repeat with the left leg. • DO 3 SETS OF BENT-OVER ROWS (15–20 REPS/ SET): Standing with your knees slightly bent and

FEBRUARY 2010

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your feet about shoulder-width apart, hold a dumbbell in each hand. Keep your arms fully extended so the dumbbells hang straight down. Bend forward at your hips so your chest is leaning over your feet. Keeping your torso stationary, bring your elbows straight back to approximately a 90-degree angle, so that the dumbbells stop at your sides. Return to start position and repeat. • DO 3 SETS OF EXPLOSIVE VERTICAL JUMPS (10–15 REPS/SET, PICTURED RIGHT). CIRCUIT 3: • DO 3 SETS OF DEAD LIFTS (12–15 REPS/SET): Stand with your feel shoulder-width apart, grasping a barbell or other weight with an overhand grip. Squat down until your hips are even with your knees, keeping your chest up and your heels down at all times. Come to a brief stop when the weight reaches the floor. Slowly lift back to standing position, pushing up with your thighs and pulling up with your back. Repeat. • DO 3 SETS OF BICEP CURLS (12–15 REPS/ SET): Stand holding a set of dumbbells at your sides. Bending your elbows, raise both hands to your shoulders, your palms facing in. Slowly lower arms to the starting position. Repeat. • DO 3 SETS OF SIDE-TO-SIDE JUMPS (10–15 REPS/SET). CIRCUIT 4: • DO 3 SETS OF STEP-UPS (12–15 REPS/SET): Step onto and off of a platform, such as a step stool or a park bench. • DO 3 SETS OF TRICEP KICKBACKS (12–15 REPS/SET, PICTURED RIGHT): Hold a dumbbell in each hand and bend over at the waist so that your torso is at a 45- to 90-degree angle to the floor. Bend your arms and pull your elbows up to torso level. Keeping your elbows in place, straighten your arms out behind you, then bend them back to the starting position. Repeat. • DO 3 SETS OF CRUNCHES (15–20 REPS/SET). End with 5 to 10 minutes of walking to cool down. Kick it up a notch! Incorporate interval training into the mix (see 10-minute workout) for an extra boost of cardio, says Pavelka. ■

WESTCHESTER

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ESCAPES

The 303-foot waterslide aboard the Carnival Dream

Sea the world The ships are inspiring, the destinations idyllic, the rejuvenating setting perfect for a mental “fresh start”—and yet ... after a while, the sumptuous cruises that once left us awed start to seem a bit similar. Want to shake up your serene routine? Here are three options for a seafaring voyage with a twist.

THE NEWEST

FEBRUARY 2010

the four-deck–high, 303-foot–long, corkscrew-shaped waterslide—part of a huge WaterWorks Aqua Park. Four “scenic whirlpools” cantilever out over the sea, and the Cloud 9 Spa, at 23,750 square feet, is, we were told, the Carnival fleet’s largest and most elaborate wellness center. While kid-free sections are common on cruise ships, we liked the fact that Dream’s two-level sanctuary, dubbed “Serenity” and boasting a full bar and two whirlpools, didn’t charge us extra. Onboard trivia games and an art auction offer sun-free diversion, and the comedy club hosts six different comedy shows nightly for four nights of every seven-day cruise.

ANDY NEWMAN/CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES/HO

This is way more exciting than that new-car smell. Setting sail on a new vessel is a special treat for cruisegoers, and some of the new ships launched in recent months or due to debut in 2010 offer an array of eyepopping attractions. We can report, for example, that November’s U.S. debut of the 3,646-passenger Carnival Dream (1-800CARNIVAL, www.carnival.com) was great fun. The largest this cruise line has ever built, the ship is encircled by a half-mile, open-air promenade deck with lanai seating, and at night a large circular dance floor’s jumping. Fun abounds on the two-deck miniature golf course and

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Young ones will delight in Camp Carnival, a 5,000-square-foot fun zone with areas for three different age groups, starting at age 2. Tweens can cut loose in Circle C— a special area for 12- to 14-year-olds with a video jukebox, a DJ, a dance floor and Internet stations. Older teens, meanwhile, can chill out in Club 02—with its soda bar, music-listening stations and a state-of-theart sound and lighting system—then hit the arcade next door or unwind with the special youth spa program. We enjoyed movies at the outdoor Seaside Theatre with an LED screen and a 70,000-watt sound system (you can watch from poolside, or from the pool itself). And 15-minute outdoor laser shows created dazzling blue, green and red light effects set to the music of Styx, Rush, Van Halen, Boston and Pink Floyd. “Your Choice Dining” is a new option being rolled out fleetwide. In addition to early and late assigned seating, passengers can opt into “Your Time” open seating from 5:45 to 9:30 p.m. And as for the food on this cruise—the mouthwatering Wasabi sushi bar; the to-die-for muffins at the Ocean Plaza café; the Mongolian Wok ... well, don’t get us started. Year-round, the Dream departs from Port Canaveral, Florida, alternating between seven-day cruises to the eastern Caribbean (Nassau, St. Thomas,

Fish lovers will find the ship’s sushi buffet a Dream indeed.

St. Maarten, from $509 per person, double occupancy) and the western Caribbean (Cozumel, Mexico; Roatán, Honduras; Belize; Costa Maya, Mexico, from $479).

THE HEALTHIEST “Holistic Holiday at Sea: A Voyage to Well-Being” aboard the Costa Fortuna: Learn about vegetarian eating from bestselling author T. Colin Campbell; get a physician’s perspective on mind-body medicine with Neal Barnard, M.D.; gain yoga insights from renowned master Yogi Amrit Desai—these are just a small sampling of the impressive 120 classes available on this

MORE NAUTICAL NEWBIES CELEBRITY’S EQUINOX Debut: August 2009

ROYAL CARIBBEAN’S OASIS OF THE SEAS

NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE’S NORWEGIAN EPIC

Passengers: 2,850

Debut: December 2009

Claim to fame: special AquaClass rooms offer a variety of spa-like amenities

Passengers: 5,400

Scheduled to debut: July 2010 Passengers: 4,200

ANDY NEWMAN/CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES/HO

Departs from: Fort Lauderdale for Caribbean cruises Travels to: the Caribbean in winter, early spring and fall (a 10-night “Ultimate Caribbean Cruise” to St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Barbados, Dominica and St. Maarten starts at $1,199); in summertime, the Mediterranean and Holy Land (1-800-647-2251; www.celebritycruises.com).

Claim to fame: “The largest cruise ship on Earth,” with seven themed “neighborhoods” Departs from: Fort Lauderdale Travels to: the eastern Caribbean (St. Thomas, St. Maarten and Nassau, starting at $1,049 for a seven-day cruise) and western Caribbean (Labadee, Haiti, and Mexico’s Costa Maya and Cozumel, starting at $919 for a seven-day cruise; 1-877-394-8130, www.royalcaribbean.com).

Claims to fame: An “ice bar” in which the bar, walls, tables, stools and life-size sculptures are solid ice; performances by the Blue Man Group in the 685-seat Epic Theater. Departs from: Miami Travels to: the eastern Caribbean (St. Thomas, St. Maarten and Nassau, seven-day cruises starting at $879) and western Caribbean (Mexico’s Costa Maya and Cozumel, and Roatán in Honduras, seven-day cruise starting at $949; 1-866-234-7350, epic.ncl.com).

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ESCAPES

Indulge your mind and body

Health tips abound at a

aboard the Crystal Symphony.

“Holistic Holiday at Sea”

is the Caribbean, which accounts for 38% of all itineraries.

FEBRUARY 2010

THE HANDIEST Skip the “trip before the trip” with these local ports:

Manhattan Cruise Terminal Hudson River, between West 47th and West 43rd streets (enter at West 55th Street and 12th Avenue) Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Gem, Norwegian

Jewel and Norwegian Dawn: Each features a dozen

restaurants and a host of other amenities: Jewel has an underground teens’ club, while Gem boasts a mood-lit bowling alley (1-866-234-7350, epic.ncl.com). • 7-Day Bahamas and Florida Round Trip: The Gem departs February 13, 20 and 27; March 6, 13, 20 and 27; and April 3. The Jewel sails April 24; May 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29; June 5, 12, 19 and 26; and July 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31. • 7-Day Bermuda Round Trip: The Dawn departs April 11, 18 and 25; May 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30; June 6, 13, 20 and 27; and July 4, 11, 18 and 25.

Celebrity Cruises’ “Celebrity

• 10-Day Eastern Caribbean Round Trip: Departure on

Life”: No cruise line has a

the Gem is set for February 3.

monopoly on helping you relax and get healthy, but Celebrity (1-800647-2251, www.celebritycruises.com) is certainly making it a priority. All of the fleet’s ships feature a new “Celebrity Life” program, which seeks to replicate a spa experience at sea. From personal training to step classes to “stress-buster” seminars to a “Nutritional Plan for the Cruise and Beyond,” wellness 40

options abound. You can also learn about acupuncture and acupressure, treat yourself to facials and other skincare offerings or unwind with a couples massage. Travelers aboard the new Equinox can enjoy the aromatherapy steam room with heated ceramic loungers and “a pillow menu featuring Swedish Isotonic, body and hypo-allergenic pillows.”

Carnival Miracle and Glory: Highlighted by an 11-story atrium with a ruby-red glass ceiling, the Miracle promises a distinctive experience—or go for the 214-foot waterslide on the Glory (1-800-CARNIVAL, www.carnival.com). • 6-Day Bermuda Cruise departs April 15 on the Miracle. • 8-Day Eastern Caribbean Cruise: The Miracle departs April 21 and 29; May 7, 15, 23 and 31; June 8, 16 and 24; July

COURTESY OF CRYSTAL SYMPHONY; COURTESY OF HOLISTIC HOLIDAY AT SEA

cruise, offered March 21 through 28 by Miami-based nonprofit A Taste of Health (828-749-9537, www.ataste ofhealth.org). Other topics include natural foods and macrobiotic cooking, Zen meditation, massage, Pilates and reflexology. But don’t worry—there’s also time aplenty to dine on organic foods, swim and snorkel in the crystal-clear Caribbean, lounge in saunas and Turkish baths, and take in the elegant furnishings and 5,000 works of art aboard the 890-foot vessel. The voyage leaves from Fort Lauderdale and docks in St. Thomas, San Juan and Grand Turk; accommodations start at $1,199. “Sun and Spirit” on the Crystal Symphony: Stretch your mind and body alike on this weeklong journey, which leaves Los Angeles on December 5 and docks in Mexico’s sunny Baja Peninsula ports of Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlán and Puerto Vallarta (1-888-722-0021, www.crystal cruises.com). “Guest instructors and speakers focus on yoga, Pilates, tai chi and general fitness on board and ashore,” says the cruise line. Speakers had not been named at press time, but Crystal offers a “Walk on Water” program that uses resistance training to build muscle strength. Other amenities aboard the 922passenger Symphony include comedy The and music entertainment and a most popular “computer university at sea.” cruise destination Bookings start at $2,165.

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2, 10, 18 and 26; and August 3, 11, 19 and 27. • 4-Day Canada/New England Cruise: The

Glory departs June 10 and 24; July 8 and 22; and August 15 and 19. • 5-Day Canada/New England Cruise: The

Glory departures June 14, 19 and 28; July 3, 12,

About 10% of Americans have taken cruises in the past three years.

17, 26 and 31; and August 9, 14, 23 and 28.

• 5-Night Bermuda Cruise departs April 10 and 24; May 8 and 22; June 5 and 19; and July 3, 17 and 31. • 9-Night Bermuda and Bahamas Cruise departs April 15, June 10 and July 8. • 9-Night Bermuda and Caribbean Cruise

departs April 29, May 13 and 27, June 24 and July 22.

Holland-America’s ms Veendam: This Dutch vessel fea-

Celebrity Summit: This 965-foot ship features a theater,

tures the intimate, reservations-only Pinnacle Grill and

a casino, 24-hour Internet access and other extras—and it

The Retreat, “a private, resort-style pool experience” (1-

travels to points north as well as south (1-800-647-2251,

877-932-4259, www.hollandamerica.com).

www.celebritycruises.com).

• 7-Day Bermuda Cruise departs April 25; May 2, 9, 16

• 7-Night Bermuda Cruise departs April 25; May 9, 23 and

and 30; June 6, 13, 20 and 27; July 4, 11, 18 and 25; and

30; June 6, 13 and 27; July 11 and 25; and August 8 and 22.

August 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29.

• 7-Night Bermuda and New England Cruise departs

SHUTTERSTOCK; “FAST FACTS” SOURCE: FLORIDA-CARIBBEAN CRUISE ASSOCIATION

May 2, May 16 and June 20

Cape Liberty Cruise Port

• 7-Night Canada and New England Cruise departs July

Bayonne, exit 14A on New Jersey Turnpike, and accessible by Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas: This busy vessel features an ice-skating rink, a rock-climbing wall— and a state-of-the-art oceanographic and atmospheric science lab (1-877-394-8130, www.royalcaribbean.com).

4 and 18; and August 1, 15 and 29.

• 9-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise departs February 5

800-PRINCESS, www.princess.com).

and 26; and March 19.

• 9-Day Eastern Caribbean Round Trip departs May 9,

• 12-Night Southern Caribbean Cruise departs

June 5, June 14 and July 11.

February 14 and March 7.

• 9-Day Eastern Caribbean Islander Round Trip departs

• 13-Night Southern Caribbean Cruise departs March 28.

May 18 and 27; June 23; and July 2, 20 and 29. ■

Brooklyn Cruise Terminal Pier 12 in the Red Hook neighborhood Caribbean Princess: This vessel features a spa, “movies under the stars” and formal and casual dining options (1-

Manhattan Cruise Terminal

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Glorious FOOD

Be sushi-savvy! It’s got to be healthy, right? A little bit of fish, a tiny smattering of rice, all rolled up in some seaweed—what could go wrong? In fact, sushi can be one of the healthiest dining-out options there is, nonfattening yet rich in heart-protective omega-3 fatty acids. But as the once-exotic Japanese food has become ubiquitous in the U.S., new varieties have been developed—some with ingredients that have nutrition gurus crying foul. These days, sushi’s calorie count varies widely, with some choices decidedly diet-unfriendly. Here’s a quick primer: FAST FACT 1 tablespoon of soy sauce provides more than one-third of your daily requirement of sodium.

THE GOOD

THE BAD

1. CALIFORNIA ROLL (rice, nori, avocado and imitation crab)

4. PHILADELPHIA ROLL (nori, rice, smoked salmon, lettuce, cream cheese and sesame seeds) Per roll: CALORIES: 360 FAT: 11 grams CARBS: 35 grams FIBER: 0 grams PROTEIN: 13 grams

Per roll: CALORIES: 255 FAT: 7 grams CARBS: 38 grams FIBER: 5.8 grams PROTEIN: 9 grams

2 2. TUNA (MAGURO) ROLL (tuna, rice and nori)

Per roll: CALORIES: 184 FAT: 2 grams CARBS: 27 grams FIBER: 3.5 grams PROTEIN: 24 grams

3. SALMON SASHIMI (just raw fish, no rice) Per 1-ounce piece: CALORIES: 52 FAT: 3.1 grams CARBS: 0 grams FIBER: 0 grams PROTEIN: 5.6 grams

5 6

5. EEL AND AVOCADO ROLL (nori, rice, avocado and unagi—fresh-water eel) Per roll: CALORIES: 372 FAT: 17 grams CARBS: 31 grams FIBER: 5.8 grams PROTEIN: 20 grams 6. SHRIMP TEMPURA ROLL (shrimp, rice, nori, frying oil, tempura batter) Per roll: CALORIES: 508 FAT: 21 grams CARBS: 64 grams FIBER: 4.5 grams PROTEIN: 20 grams

DID YOU KNOW? That hot green sushi condiment that clears your sinuses is called wasabi, but in the U.S. chances are it’s not the genuine spice made from the wasabia japonica root. horseradish, mustard and food coloring that the Japanese call “seiyo wasabi,” or Western wasabi.

FEBRUARY 2010

ATSUSHI TOMIOKA

Instead, it’s a cheaper, easier-to-handle mixture of

W E N

W YO AC SP

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Westchester GOURMET

by Amanda Prost

Local flavor

FEBRUARY 2010

CHRISTOPHER BARTH

EVER CONSIDER BECOMING A “LOCAVORE”? Our favorite dish was one we actually were a bit One visit to Sweet Grass Grill in Tarrytown and you just hesitant to order—after all, you often pay a hefty price may. The idea here is to showcase the bounty of the for just so-so pasta. But one bite into the homemade Hudson Valley, making optimal use of as many local pappardelle and we were in carb heaven. The soft, wide ingredients as possible. Think of neighbor Blue Hill at noodles were topped with a perfectly poached egg— Stone Barns, but in a more accessible environment. pierce it gently with a fork, and the golden yolk runs That casual-but-classy personality is evident the out, mixing with braised chunks of beef and bitter moment you enter the cozy restaurant, which is greens. Pistachios and slivers of black olives cut anchored by a dark wood bar and accented with exposed through the dense, rich flavor. The disappointment of brick. Its blond wooden tables eschew tablecloths and the night: a side dish of Brussels sprouts. Contrasted their formality. with the entrées, the bulbs seemed a bit boring and, Noshing on the warm foccacia studded with careven worse, overcooked. away seeds, we perused the menu’s seasonal takes. Our We were also not wowed by our first dessert, a first choice seemed a must: scallops served with fresh bread pudding served with a rich cream sauce and fresh vegetables and chunks of salty pancetta in a brown butter pear slices. “Bread pudding” has myriad iterations, and sauce. Indeed, the two plump mollusks were seared just this one was more of a moist cake—good, but not quite right, with a crisp crust and moist intethe warmly spiced treat we expected. rior. Our second starter took standard Yet all was forgiven with our second Sweet Grass Grill croquettes, a tapas favorite, and gave sweet ending: Dense, homemade 24 Main Street, Tarrytown, 914-631them gourmet flair with the addition of apple cider donuts with a crunchy 0000; www.sweetgrassgrill.com Berkshire pork. The crunchy exterior sugar glaze were perhaps the best Hours gave way to a creamy concoction we’ve tasted, putting the farm-stand Lunch: 11:30 a.m.–4 p.m. daily accented with the savory meat. version to shame. Dinner: Monday and Sunday, A similar crunch made a star All in all, the pleasurable fare 5–9:30 p.m.; Tuesday through Thursday, 5–10 p.m.; Friday appearance in one of our main dishes, at Sweet Grass Grill is a fine homage and Saturday, 5–10:30 p.m. the Scottish salmon fillet. A bed of to the abundance of fresh flavors harspaghetti squash made for a mild counvested in our area. We left fully enamWhat you should know • Entrées range from $16 to $30 terpoint to the oily fresh fish, but the real ored of the locavore approach, and • Major credit cards accepted treat of this entrée was the skin—seared hopeful that other eateries might try • Reservations recommended to a crisp, concentrated yumminess. it too. ■

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where TO EAT

If you’ve got a craving, there’s a dining establishment in Westchester County (or nearby) that will satisfy it. Tur n to this listing next time you want a wonderful meal out.

OPUS 465 Contemporary cuisine in an

featuring contemporary American cuisine. • 1 Bridge St., Irvington-on-Hudson • 914-591-5888

unpretentious environment. • 465 Main St., Armonk • 914-273-4676

LARCHMONT

BEDFORD

PLATES New American menu with Italian,

BISTRO TWENTY-TWO Romantic setting for

French and Asian accents. • 121 Myrtle Blvd., Larchmont • 914-834-1244

French bistro fare. • 391 Old Post Rd. (Rt. 22), Bedford • 914-234-7333

MAMARONECK

ARMONK

ZEPHS’ Global soul food. • 638 Central

GUADALAJARA Festive Mexican including

LE PROVENCAL BISTRO French fare with flair. • 436 Mamaroneck Ave., Mamaroneck • 914-777-2324

favorites like fajitas. • 2 Union St., Briarcliff Manor • 914-944-4380

ZITOUNE Festive Moroccan eatery. • 1127 W.

BRIARCLIFF MANOR

Boston Post Rd., Mamaroneck • 914-835-8350 TERRA RUSTICA Classic Italian with salads,

pastas and seafood. • 550 N. State Rd., Briarcliff Manor • 914-923-8300

a contemporary American flair. • 26 N. Division St., Peekskill • 914-739-6380

M I L LW O O D

Avenue, Peekskill • 914-736-2159

PORT CHESTER F.I.S.H. Mediterranean take on seafood. • 102

Fox Island Rd., Port Chester • 914-939-4227 THE WILLETT HOUSE Fine steakhouse • 120 Willett Ave., Port Chester • 914- 939-7500

RYE LA PANETIÈRE Contemporary French cuisine. • 530 Milton Rd., Rye • 914-967-8140 WHITBY CASTLE American cuisine. • 330 Boston Post Rd., Rye • 914-777-2053

C H A P PA Q U A

SCARSDALE

CRABTREE’S KITTLE HOUSE An award-

MERITAGE New American cuisine in a chic

winning wine cellar complements American fare. • 11 Kittle Rd. (off Rt. 117), Chappaqua • 914-666-8044

Manhattan-style setting. • 1505 Weaver St., Scarsdale • 914-472-8484

SLEEPY HOLLOW DON EMILIO’S AT LOBO’S CAFÉ Vibrant,

WASABI Relaxed atmosphere serving sushi,

upscale Mexican eatery. • 57-59 King St., Chappaqua • 914-238-2368

CORTLANDT MANOR

sashimi and hot dishes. • 279 N. Broadway, Sleepy Hollow • 914-332-7788 SPACCARELLI’S RISTORANTE

view of the Hudson River. • 28 Bear Mountain Bridge Rd., Cortlandt Manor • 914-739-5000

Neighborhood eatery emphasizing Abruzzese cuisine. • 238 Saw Mill River Rd., Millwood • 914-941-0105

C R O T O N FA L L S

MOHEGAN LAKE

PRIMAVERA Regional Italian cuisine. Try the

BELLA VITA Italian spot known for home-

jumbo shrimp parmigiana or grilled Scottish salmon. • 595 Rt. 22, Croton Falls • 914-277-4580

made pumpkin ravioli. • 1744 E. Main St., Mohegan Lake • 914-528-8233

MONTEVERDE Fine Continental menu with a

CROTON-ON-HUDSON OCEAN HOUSE New England–style seashore

fare including steamers, grilled wild salmon and fried clams. • 49 N. Riverside Ave., Croton-onHudson • 914-271-0702

DOBBS FERRY TOMATILLO Authentic Mexican fare featuring

in-season local ingredients. • 13 Cedar St., Dobbs Ferry • 914-478-2300

HASTINGS-ON-HUDSON HARVEST-ON-HUDSON Mediterranean cuisine, with river views. • 1 River St., Hastings-on-Hudson • 914-478-2800

IRVINGTON

MOUNT KISCO

SOUTH SALEM LE CHÂTEAU Classic French dishes in a Tudor mansion built by J.P. Morgan. • Rts. 35 and 123, South Salem • 914-533-6631

TA R R Y T O W N EQUUS RESTAURANT French fare served at Castle on the Hudson. • 400 Benedict Ave., Tarrytown • 914-631-3646 SWEET GRASS GRILL Creative local fare. • 24

COCO RUMBA’S Nuevo Latino menu spot-

Main St., Tarrytown • 914-631-0000

lighting seafood and exotic drinks. • 443 Lexington Ave., Mount Kisco • 914-241-2299

THORNWOOD

CITY CHOW HOUSE Asian-Latin fusion

ABIS JAPANESE RESTAURANT Traditional Japanese cuisine plus steakhouse hibachi. • 14 Marble Ave., Thornwood • 914-741-5100

cuisine in a modern setting. • 1 Radisson Plaza, New Rochelle • 914-576-4141

AZZURRI Mediterranean fare served in a

SPADARO Inspired Italian cuisine. • 211 East

Tuscan villa atmosphere. • 665 Commerce St., Thornwood • 914-747-6656

NEW ROCHELLE

Main Street, New Rochelle • 914-235-4595

NORTH SALEM JOHN-MICHAEL’S AT PURDY’S HOMESTEAD Inspired modern fare set in a

Colonial home. • 100 Titicus Rd., North Salem • 914-277-2301

TUCKAHOE AN AMERICAN BISTRO Bright eatery featuring quesadillas, lamb and chicken. • 296 Columbus Ave., Tuckahoe • 914-793-0807

WEST HARRISON

known for provocatively named sushi rolls. • 4 W. Main St., Irvington • 866-933-5478

VOX French bistro serving eclectic fare from foie gras to burgers. • 721 Titicus Rd., North Salem • 914-669-5450

AQUARIO Brazilian and Portuguese cuisine specializing in seafood. • 141 E. Lake St., West Harrison • 914-287-0220

IRVINGTON-ON-HUDSON

PEEKSKILL

WHITE PLAINS

RED HAT ON THE RIVER Upscale eatery

DIVISION STREET GRILL Food with

BLUE Asian-influenced American fare

FLIRT SUSHI LOUNGE Japanese eatery

FEBRUARY 2010

Whysmart do kids featuring osso bucco. • 99 Church St., White Plains • 914-220-0000 MORTON’S, THE STEAKHOUSE Chicago-

based steakhouse. • 9 Maple Ave., White Plains • 914-683-6101 ZANARO’S Authentic Italian cusine. • 1

Mamaroneck Ave., White Plains • 914397-9400

YONKERS ZUPPA RESTAURANT & LOUNGE

Innovative Italian with homemade pasta. • 59 Main St., Yonkers • 914-376-6500 ■

WHERE TO EAT BY CUISINE

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Eastchester Nanuet Scarsdale 914-722-6100 845-624-6800 914-946-7800 Westport, CT Yorktown Heights 203-226-4900 914-245-8882 SKCW1006 AMERICAN: An American Bistro, Tuckahoe • Crabtree’s Kittle House, Chappaqua •

Division Street Grill, Peekskill • JohnMichael’s at Purdy’s Homestead, North Salem • Meritage, Scarsdale • Morton’s, The Steakhouse, White Plains • Ocean House, Croton-on-Hudson • The Olde Stone Mill, Tuckahoe • Red Hat on the River, Irvington-on-Hudson • Sweet Grass Grill, Tarrytown • Whitby Castle, Rye • The Willett House, Port Chester ASIAN: Abis, Mamaroneck and Thornwood • Flirt Sushi Lounge, Irvington • Wasabi, Sleepy Hollow

CONTINENTAL: Monteverde, Cortlandt Manor • Opus 465, Armon FRENCH: Bistro Twenty-Two, Bedford •

Equus Restaurant, Tarrytown • La Panetière, Rye • Le Château, South Salem • Le Provencal Bistro, Mamaroneck • Vox, North Salem ITALIAN: Bella Vita, Mohegan Lake •

Primavera, Croton Falls • Spaccarelli’s Ristorante, Millwood • Spadaro, New Rochelle • Terra Rustica, Briarcliff Manor • Zanaro’s, White Plains • Zuppa Restaurant & Lounge, Yonkers MEDITERRANEAN: Azzurri, Thornwood • f.i.s.h., Port Chester • Harvest-on-Hudson,

Hastings-on-Hudson MEXICAN: Don Emilio’s at Lobo’s Café,

Chappaqua • Guadalajara, Briarcliff Manor • Tomatillo, Dobbs Ferry

MULTI-ETHNIC: Aquario, West Harrison • Blue, White Plains • City Chow House, New Rochelle • Coco Rumba’s, Mount Kisco • Plates, Larchmont • Zephs’, Peekskill • Zitoune, Mamaroneck

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S P E C I A L A DV E RT I S I N G S E C T I O N

While friends and the Internet might be a good source for some information, when it comes to personal and family-related healthcare issues, we all feel better speaking with local experts who can directly answer and address our needs. Westchester Health & Life assembled some of the leading healthcare professionals in the area to answer some of the most commonly asked health-related questions for our readers’ benefit. Of course, the circumstances of your case can be quite different, so your best course of action is to call or make an appointment with these experts directly.

medical Q&A Straight answers to those lingering healthcare questions

As the founder of the WAG Makeover event, and part of the “Extreme

Makeover” team as seen on ABC-TV, Dr. Magid has created the beautiful smiles of television and stage personalities, and some of your Westchester and Fairfield county neighbors. Their smiles just look so natural, you can’t tell. But, a beautiful smile is only as youthful as its surroundings. As dentists trained in the use of dermal fillers for lips and oral-facial augmentation using painless dental injections, Drs. Kenneth and Sabrina Magid can bring their expertise in this area, as well as their knowledge of cosmetics and facial proportion to create a more youthful and beautiful new you.

Why should I choose ] Q a cosmetic dentist for my lip and oral-facial augmentation?

MedQ&A_SS_0210final.indd 53

Dr. Kenneth Magid, D.D.S. Dr. Sabrina Magid, D.M.D. Advanced Dentistry of Westchester 163 Halstead Avenue l Harrison, NY 914.835.0542 l www.adofw.com Westchester Magazine “Top Dentists” Consumer Research Council List of “Top Cosmetic Dentists” Listed in “Westchester’s Leading Plastic Surgeons and Cosmetic Dentists” Professor of Esthetics NYU College of Dentistry

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{ Medical Q&A }

Snoring is certainly not sexy. And, I see patients

in my sleep practice on a daily basis who have this problem,

S P E C I A L A DV E RT I S I N G S E C T I O N

and who have undiagnosed sleep apnea. But, there are oral appliances that are fitted into the mouth to alleviate sleep apnea, so both you and your partner can get the sleep you need. The cost of the devices may be covered by your insurance if you are properly diagnosed with sleep apnea. We have testing equipment that can determine how many times an hour you stop breathing and that can track your oxygen levels every second of the night Our practice treats headache, temporomandibular, and sleep disorders, as well as providing complex

comprehensive dentistry.

I can’t get any sleep because my partner snores so loudly. I have heard of devices that can be inserted into the mouth during sleep to stop the snoring. Can you tell me about them?

We work as detectives to understand if your complaint is related to sleep disorders, muscle tension and trigger points, compressed nerves, craniosacral, auto immune disorders, headaches, or other head and neck disorders, which are usually never associated with a dentist. I’ve studied breathing-related sleep disorders for the last twenty years, and to help patients, I co-invented the NORAD appliance that significantly reduces snoring by positioning the patient’s tongue and jaw so that the airway stays open.

Michael L. Gelb, DDS, MS The Gelb Center for Headache, TMJ and Sleep Disorders

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At the Gelb Center, we also

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Your problem is most likely caused by an

overused muscle, which oftentimes does not respond well to traditional physical therapy. Overused muscles and other soft tissues often suffer from pulls, tears, collisions, microtraumas or hypoxia (which means the muscle is not getting enough problems causes the body to produce tough, dense scar tissue in the affected area, and the scar tissue binds up and ties down the tissues

{ Medical Q &A }

oxygen). Each of these

S P E C I A L A DV E RT I S I N G S E C T I O N

that need to move freely. As the scar tissue builds up, muscles and nerves become damaged, resulting in pain and weakness. However, there is an option called Active Release Technique (ART), a patented, state-of-the-art treatment that evaluates, then quickly and permanently resolves, the condition. ART gets to the root of the problem, first with an evaluation of the texture, tightness and movement of muscles, fascia, tendons, ligaments and nerves. The abnormal tissue is then treated by combining precisely directed

tension with specific patient

I have tried physical therapy and I am not getting any results for my chronic muscle and joint pain. What else can I do?

movements involving stretching and massaging to free the soft tissue. There are over 500 specific moves as part of the unique ART protocol, each one designed for a very specific problem. Headaches, back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, shin splints, shoulder pain, sciatica, plantar fasciitis,

MedQ&A_SS_0210final.indd 55

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1/14/10 11:36:31 AM

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Be THERE FEBRUARY February 13—Usher in the Year of the Tiger by crafting traditional Chinese pieces at CHINESE

FREE

NEW YEAR FOLK ARTS CELEBRATION, 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at

Pelham Art Center in Pelham. Call 914-738-2525 or visit www.pelham artcenter.org for more information.

MICHAEL BOLTON March 17—See this Grammy Award–winning vocalist—the booming voice behind “When a Man Loves a Woman,” “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You” and

February 13 to 15—Come see

other hits—8 p.m. at the

the spectacle that is the ROYAL HANNEFORD CIRCUS, featuring acrobats, animals, trapeze artists and more, 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. at the Westchester County Center in White Plains. Tickets: $22.50 and $28.50. Call 914-9954050 or visit www.westchester gov.com or more information.

Paramount Center for the Arts in Peekskill. Tickets: $45 to $75. Call 914-7392333, ext. 26, or visit www.paramountcenter.org for more information.

February 14—Give your

Valentine the moon and sky at ROMANCE UNDER THE STARS at

the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., featuring a cocktail hour with open bar, chocolate-covered strawberries and hors d’oeuvres, followed by an astronomer-led program of romance tales from the past. Tickets: $75. Call 212-7695200 or visit www.amnh.org/ programs for more information.

February 14—Enjoy some old-

time tunes with your sweetie at ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF

Call 1-877-840-0457 or visit www.tarrytownmusichall.org for more information.

FAMERS PAY TRIBUTE TO TONY D, an energetic concert in

February 28 to June 13—Take

which The Drifters, Harvey Fuqua & The Moonglows, The Legendary Teenagers and more honor “Golden Oldies” concert promoter Tony DiRienzo, 2 p.m. at the Tarrytown Music Hall in Tarrytown. Tickets: $34 to $75.

the kids to THE ART OF CONTEMPORARY PUPPET THEATER, an exhibition featuring hand puppets, gigantic rod puppets and puppet performance videos, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m.

BAKELITE IN YONKERS: PIONEERING THE AGE OF PLASTICS February 6 to June 6—Take a glimpse back at the start of a 20th century revolution at a lively exhibition featuring more than 300 objects at the Hudson River Museum children, FREE for museum members. Call 914-963-4550 or visit www.hrm.org for more information.

FEBRUARY 2010

SHUTTERSTOCK

in Yonkers. Admission: $5 for adults, $3 for seniors and

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Sundays at the Katonah Museum of Art in Katonah. Admission: $5 for adults, $3 for students and seniors, FREE for members and children under 12. Call 914232-9555 or visit www.katonah museum.org for more information.

MARCH March 7—Browse pottery, toys, furniture and other treasures from approximately 60 dealers at the CROSS RIVER WINTER ANTIQUES SHOW, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at John

Jay High School in Cross River. Appraisals available 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. ($5 per item). Admission: $7, FREE for children under 13. Call 914-273-4667 or visit www.cord shows.com for more information.

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TURNS OF THE CENTURIES: PIANO PANOPLY March 28—Enjoy this concert featuring a vast array of solo piano works by Haydn, Beethoven and more, 4 p.m. at the Rosen House Music Room of the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts in Katonah. Tickets: $40. Call 914-232-1252 or visit www.caramoor.org for more information.

dominance, 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday at the Irvington Town Hall Theater in Irvington. Tickets: $20 for adults, $14 for seniors and students. Call 914591-6602 or visit www.irvington theater.com for more information. ■ SEND EVENT LISTINGS TO:

Westchester Health & Life, 110 Summit

March 26 to 28—Enjoy a per-

Avenue, Montvale, NJ 07645; fax 201-

formance of THE 25TH ANNUAL

782-5319; e-mail editor@wainscot

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media.com. Listings must be received

the Tony Award–winning musical about youngsters vying for word

four months in advance of the event and must include a phone number that will be published.

FLEMENCO VIVO CARLOTA SANTANA March 7—Experience a colorful, passionate performance by this premier flamenco and Spanish dance company, 3 p.m. at the Emelin Theatre in Mamaroneck. Tickets: $40. Call 914-698-0098 or visit www.emelin.org for

SHUTTERSTOCK

more information.

WESTCHESTER

H E A LT H & L I F E

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What’s HAPPENING SUPPORT GROUPS For more information, visit www.worldclassmedicine.com. ■ Hepatitis

C Support Group

Meets every other Wednesday, 6–8 p.m., in the Cedarwood Hall conference room on the first floor. Call 914-493-7641 to learn more. ■

Living With Multiple Sclerosis

For information, call the Behavioral Health Center Outpatient Department at 914-493-2621. ■

Radiation Medicine Support Group

Meets every Wednesday, 11 a.m.–noon, in the Department of Radiation Medicine conference room. Call 914493-8561 for additional information. ■

■

M.D., will help you learn about the risk factors for heart attacks, exploring the realities and myths. Explore the treatment options available for a heart attack, including the advanced interventions that can help save your life. ■ “The Advanced Practices to Manage and Treat Heart Failure”

Wednesday, February 24, 6:30–8 p.m. Alan Gass,

M.D., and David Spielvogel, M.D., will discuss the latest advances in the treatment of heart failure, including lifestyle changes, new therapies and support programs for patients and families. They will also explore the medical and surgical treatment options for heart-failure patients through Westchester’s advanced heart-failure program.

Stroke Support Group

Meets the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month, 6–7:30 p.m. Call 914-493-1573 for more information. Weight-Loss Surgery Support Group

Meets twice monthly at 6 p.m. at the Medical Arts Atrium, 19 Bradhurst Avenue, Suite 1700, Hawthorne.

at W e s t c h e s t e r M e d i c a l C e n t e r

MARCH ■

Weight-Loss Surgery Seminar

Thursdays, March 11 and 25, 4:30–6:30 p.m. If you are overweight, you may be a candidate for bariatric (weightloss) surgery. Here, expert bariatric surgeons explain the latest minimally invasive surgical procedures.

LEARNING FOR LIFE Learning for Life is Westchester’s series of free seminars held in the Media Center in the Taylor Care Building. Parking is available in front of the building and in the adjacent parking lot. To learn more or register, visit www. worldclassmedicine.com or call 1-877-WMC-DOCS. FEBRUARY ■

Weight-Loss Surgery Seminar

Thursdays, February 11 and 25, 4:30–6:30 p.m. If you are

overweight, you may be a candidate for bariatric (weightloss) surgery. Here, bariatric surgeons explain the latest minimally invasive surgical procedures.

FEBRUARY 2010

SPECIAL EVENTS ■

“Go the Distance” Kickoff Breakfast

Saturday, February 6, 9:30 a.m. Join the team and “Go the Distance” for Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital. Call 914493-2575 to learn more. ■

“When You Wish Upon a Star”

Saturday, March 6, 6 p.m. An evening of art and music to

benefit the Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Department of Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital. For more information, call 914-493-2575. ■

“Go the Distance”

Sunday, April 18. Join us for a walk and family fun day to

benefit pediatric programs and services at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital. Let’s all continue to fulfill Maria’s wish “for the health and well-being of all the children of the world.” To learn more, call 914-493-2575. ■

JUPITERIMAGES

4-Part Series on Cardiovascular Disease: ■ “Coronary Artery Disease in Women” Wednesday, February 3, 6:30–8 p.m. Linda Cuomo, M.D., will provide an overview of the epidemiology, diagnosis and management of coronary artery disease in women—in particular, how the disease is different in women and how this affects treatment and diagnosis. ■ “Mortality in Our Midst” Wednesday, February 10, 6:30–8 p.m. Sateesh Babu, M.D., will discuss a common malady of the elderly: peripheral artery disease, or PAD. Symptoms—including slow-healing wounds and leg pain that doesn’t go away—are often mistaken for something else. People with diabetes have a very high incidence of PAD, so it’s important to be screened to avoid serious complications. PAD increases risk for heart attack and stroke, but it’s easily diagnosed using simple, painless, noninvasive procedures, and in many cases it can be managed with lifestyle changes and medication. ■ “How to Avoid a Heart Attack—and What to Do if You Have One Anyway” Wednesday, February 17, 6:30–8 p.m. Richard Kay,

JG<:@8C GIFDFK@FE

WESTCHESTER MEDICAL CENTER

in the news

Physician Appointed To FEMA National Advisory Committee David Markenson, M.D., Medical Director and Vice President for Disaster Medicine and Regional Emergency Services at Westchester Medical Center, has been appointed to the Federal Emergency DAVID MARKENSON, M.D.

Management Agency (FEMA) National Advisory Council (NAC). The

NAC was established to act as an advisory committee for FEMA administrators to help ensure effective and ongoing coordination of federal preparedness, protection, response, recovery and mitigation for natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other manmade disasters. The committee is comprised of emergency managers,

PICTURED FROM L TO R, AT THE RIBBON CUTTING: VICKI SMETAK, M.D., NORWALK HOSPITAL PEDIATRICS, INTERIM CHAIR AND CHIEF; LEONARD NEWMAN, M.D., CHAIRMAN, PEDIATRICS, NEW YORK MEDICAL COLLEGE; MICHAEL GEWITZ, M.D., PHYSICIAN-IN-CHIEF, MARIA FARERI CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL; ERVIN SHAMES, CHAIR, NORWALK HOSPITAL BOARD OF TRUSTEES; NORWALK MAYOR RICHARD MOCCIA.

Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital Launches New Partnership Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital at Westchester Medical Center

disaster experts and law enforcement leaders from state and local

recently began a partnership with Norwalk Hospital, providing

governments as well as other experts from the private sector and

advanced care in the areas of pediatric cardiology, pulmonology,

focuses attention on the development and revision of the national

and gastroenterology, among others, to the hospital in order to

preparedness goal, the national preparedness system, the National

make high-quality specialty care easier and more convenient for

Incident Management System, the National Response Plan, and

Norwalk-area parents and children. Pediatric specialists from Maria

other related plans and strategies.

Fareri Children’s Hospital will see patients in Norwalk Hospital’s new Pediatric Subspecialty Center. Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital

Westchester Medical Center Receives Gold Performance Achievement Award

at Westchester Medical Center is the advanced care pediatric

Westchester Medical Center has received the American

Connecticut.

facility for New York’s Hudson Valley region and Fairﬁeld County,

Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines -Stroke Gold Westchester Medical Center’s commitment and success in

One Hospital, Changing Countless Lives

implementing a higher standard of stroke care by ensuring

Heart transplant patient David Holt

that stroke patients receive treatment for at least 24

was given an eight percent chance

months according to nationally accepted standards and

of survival after his heart attack.

Performance Achievement Award. The award recognizes

recommendations.

Teenager Brittany Beckmann survived cancer and is now studying to become an oncologist. Dr. Andrew Haas is able to train for triathlons again after a traumatic accident a couple of years ago. Little Tommy Black now has a healthy heart. What do all of these patients have in common? They were treated at Westchester Medical Center or our Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital, and they represent just a few of the countless lives changed by our extraordinary doctors, nurses and staff. Want to read more about them and others like them? Visit www.countlesslives.com to discover miraculous stories of hope, healing and new life, all found at Westchester Medical Center.

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A hearty toast During a recent meeting, members of the Westchester Medical Center Heart Transplant Support Group—all wearing hats displaying the date of their transplants— toasted organ donors everywhere (with nonalcoholic cider). Pictured (left to right), Hector Rivera,

Paul Brand, 06/26/07; Barbara Wedlick, 11/15/09; Shelley Guinyard, 7/1/08; Jack Galasso, 9/20/09; and David Holt, 4/9/08. 56

FEBRUARY 2010

BENJAMIN COTTEN, WMC

4/7/07; Gretcha Brice-Rivers, 9/18/07;

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