Vim & Vigor - Summer 2011 - Parrish Medical Center - (Page 35)

Can Stress Break Your Heart? I’m Up. I’m After the morning surge, your heart settles into its normal routine, lubdubbing away at 60 to 80 beats per minute, a rate that remains fairly steady throughout your morning rituals—until breakfast. During digestion, the heart sends extra blood to the gastrointestinal system. The heart rate rises and remains higher until the food leaves the stomach, typically three to four hours later. A large or high-fat meal can take six hours to digest. Give your heart a break: By chewing your food well, eating smaller meals and drinking plenty of liquids, you can speed digestion and reduce your heart’s workload. OK, so what about that jolt of caffeine you need to get going? Here’s some good news. Nickens says caffeine raises your heart rate and blood pressure slightly but doesn’t put you at increased risk for heart disease. “Unless you have problems with arrhythmia, there’s no reason to take it out of your diet,” she says. People who suffer palpitations or have been diagnosed with a heart rhythm disorder should avoid the stimulant, she says. Up. Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, also called broken heart syndrome, is a condition brought on by sudden severe stress, such as the death of a loved one. Its symptoms are similar to those of a heart attack, during which an artery is blocked, but upon examination, arteries are found to be clear. Instead, part of the heart becomes enlarged when sudden, temporary weakening of the muscle causes it to fill with blood. “The heart muscle balloons out and lessens blood flow to the body, causing some of the same symptoms as heart attack,” says Myrna alexander Nickens, M.D., a spokeswoman for the american Heart association. “It doesn’t occur that often, but I think it’s becoming more common because of our stressful lives.” although the condition is rarely fatal, it must be treated promptly. Recovery takes about a week. Bystander CPR greatly increases heart attack survival rates. Go to parrishmed.com/ calendar and click “CPR and First Aid” and learn about classes offered at Parrish Medical Center. Sign Up for CPR and Save a Life classes Vim & Vigor • SUMM ER 2011 35 http://www.parrishmed.com/calendar http://www.parrishmed.com/calendar

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Summer 2011 - Parrish Medical Center

Vim & Vigor - Summer 2011 - Parrish Medical Center
Contents
Tasty Tips
Opening Thoughts
Community Calendar
What’s New?
Navigating the Healthcare Waters
Girl Talk
Say What?
Action Plan
Like This? Try That!
On the Cover
A Day in the Life of Your Heart
Unexpected Heroes
Get in Gear
A Real Lifesaver
Extras, Extras
Community Health
Thriving With Diabetes
Foundation Focus
Ask the Expert

Vim & Vigor - Summer 2011 - Parrish Medical Center