Posted on by: Jackie A. Thayer

We Need a National Institute of Climate Change and Health

If there was any lingering doubt that climate change threatens human health and well-being, this year put it to rest. Wildfire smoke aggravated heart disease and lung disease up and down the West Coast and across the country. A record-breaking hurricane season killed and injured people from North Carolina to Texas, and left tens of thousands homeless and at risk of PTSD and other mental health problems. Oppressive heat across the Southwest imperiled outdoor workers and athletes, the elderly and the poor, and people with underlying health problems, with risks ranging from heatstroke to heart attacks and even death.

2020

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Posted on by: Jackie A. Thayer

After open-heart surgery, Amy Grant chases her dreams to help heal others

Vince Gill got scared late last year when he started to get short of breath walking up stairs.

So the 63-year-old country star went through a series of heart health tests with his cardiologist.

The results surprised Gill and his wife, Christian/pop star Amy Grant: Gill’s heart and major blood vessels were clear and in good shape, cardiologist John Bright Cage reported.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but your heart is fantastic,” the doctor told him. “You’re quite simply just fat and out of shape.”

After their laughs died down, Cage turned toward Grant.

“Hey, let’s check you out.”

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Posted on by: Jackie A. Thayer

Women need to ‘sit less, walk more’ for heart health, studies find

According to the researchers, women who spent more than 9.5 hours a day sitting or lying down had a 42% higher risk of developing heart failure during the nine years after first assessing sedentary time through the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study. This finding was evident even after accounting for physical activity levels and heart failure risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity and heart attack.

Both papers relied on data collected from participants in the Women’s Health Initiative. Taken together, they send a powerful message: “Sit less, walk more for heart health,” said Michael LaMonte, a research associate professor

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Posted on by: Jackie A. Thayer

The latest news on the coronavirus pandemic

By The Associated Press

SEATTLE — Health officials in Washington state said the number of people who were hospitalized to receive treatment for the coronavirus has reached a record high.

KOMO-TV reports there were 762 people receiving hospital care for the virus in Washington as of Saturday.

At the Swedish First Hill campus of Seattle’s Swedish Medical Center, 10 coronavirus patients were admitted within a span of five hours Wednesday.

Leaders from hospitals statewide met last week to consider strategies to ensure they have room to care for COVID-19 patients as the hospitalization rate climbs.

Washington State Hospital Association CEO

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Posted on by: Jackie A. Thayer

AHA News: People With Depression Fare Worse in Heart Health Study | Health News

By American Heart Association News, HealthDay Reporter

(HealthDay)

FRIDAY, Nov. 20, 2020 (American Heart Association News) — Heart disease and depression are interwoven, and a new study is helping unravel that connection by linking depression with poorer scores on seven important measures of heart health.

The research included more than 4,000 people taking part in a national survey who had been screened for depression using a basic questionnaire. Participants were evaluated for weight, smoking, diet, physical activity, blood sugar, cholesterol and high blood pressure – measures known as the American Heart Association’s Life Simple 7.

After adjusting for factors

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Health workers plead with Hoosiers, ‘Stay home for Thanksgiving’ | News

INDIANAPOLIS — Hospital representatives, nurses and doctors shared their heart-wrenching stories from the front lines in a bid to persuade Hoosiers to limit their Thanksgiving celebrations as Indiana fights against a surge of COVID-19 hospitalizations.

With a record-breaking 3,040 Hoosiers hospitalized, the weekly state press conference Wednesday dedicated a portion of the one-hour airtime to sharing stories from health care workers across the state.

Sarah Paturalski, a nurse at Memorial Hospital in South Bend, told about the emotional toll of caring for rapidly deteriorating patients and being the stand-in family member to dying patients.

“This pandemic has stretched us and

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