|
|
|
 |
| GETTING A SECOND CHANCE
|
 |
 |
A guide to a healthier heart |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Advocate Christ Medical Center's goal is to achieve 85 percent or greater compliance with the America Heart Association's Get With the Guidelines program. "The initiative is designed to minimize repeat heart attacks or other life-threatening heart trouble by teaching patients how to care for their cardiovascular health before they leave the hospital, "says Muhyaldeen Dia, M.D., a cardiologist at Christ Medical Center. "It also calls for implementing proven techniques to strengthen heart health." The guidelines include:
- Placing patients on aggressive risk-reduction medications, namely cholesterol-lowering drugs, blood thinners such as aspirin and ACE inhibitors, and/or beta-blockers to reduce hypertension and expand blood vessels.
- Enrolling those who smoke in Christ Medical Center's inpatient smoking cessation program.
- Providing weight management and diet counseling to patients.
- Referring patients to cardiac rehabilitation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
New program teaches the skills
to prevent repeat heart problems
While picking up her sister from Midway Airport in May, Rita Sodipe, 45, suddenly had trouble breathing and was coughing with every breath. Her sister took the wheel and immediately drove her to Advocate Christ Medical Center's emergency department.
A woman dies of heart disease every minute, and Sodipe was determined not to join that statistic. She gave the emergency physicians her medical history, which includes a battle with type 2 diabetes and hypertension since the birth of her second child eight years ago. Tests showed that her blood pressure and blood sugar levels were indeed high.
Doctors performed an angiogram, a special X-ray of the heart's blood vessels, to look for blockages. "The physicians explained that I had heart failure, when a weakened heart has trouble pumping blood throughout the body," says Sodipe. Untreated, heart disease can lead to a heart attack and other complications including heart failure. "I was stunned, but determined to beat it," she adds. Strengthened by her positive attitude, Sodipe got the help she needed from Christ Medical Center.
A new start
Through Christ Medical Center's participation in the American Heart Association's Get With the Guidelines program, Sodipe was given the tools to prevent additional heart trouble from occurring.
"The program is designed to teach heart patients, while they're still in the hospital, how to prevent a second acute episode from happening," explains Fran Flynn, R.N., an advanced practice nurse with a specialty in cardiac care. "Patients leave the hospital empowered to keep their health on track."
The initiative includes administering appropriate medications to protect the heart and having patients enter smoking cessation and weight-management programs, if needed, as well as cardiac rehabilitation. "Women are twice as likely as men to have heart failure or another heart attack within six years of a heart attack," says Muhyaldeen Dia, M.D., a cardiologist at Christ Medical Center. "We want to stop this trend by promoting these initiatives, which studies show will reduce high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity and high blood sugar-all factors that harm the heart."
A brighter future
Sodipe received a second chance at a healthy life, and she embraced it. As part of the program, she learned how to control her diabetes and cholesterol, as well as how to take her medicines correctly. She now follows an 1,800-calorie, low-fat, high-fiber diet created by a Christ Medical Center dietitian. She doesn't smoke or drink, and lost three pounds during her first week out of the hospital, thanks to her new diet and regular exercise.
"I'm determined to see my children grow up," says Sodipe, who has an 8- and 10-year-old. "I left the hospital with a better understanding of how to live longer."
The program recommends keeping levels of LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, below 70 an HDL, or "good" cholesterol, above 45. In addition, blood pressure should be below 120/80.
Like more than 85 percent of patients in the program, Sodipe is meeting her goals. "Christ Medical Center has a special staff dedicated to implementing the Get With the Guidelines program. Our team helps coordinate outpatient risk reduction services to prevent treatment gaps after patients leave the hospital," explains Flynn. Christ Medical Center's program has been so successful that it now teaches other hospitals how to implement it.
Sodipe is living proof that it works. "I'm a single mother with a stressful job," says Sodipe. "If I can change, anybody can. Christ Medical Center showed me how."
|
|
|
|
|
