Newsletter Committee

Editors
Marie Etienne, Chair
Lisa Kokx


Technical Assistance
Fara Vázquez, Nursing Student
Iris Lopez, Media Services

Contributors
Marie Etienne, Faculty
Lisa Kokx, Faculty
Carla Levesque, Librarian
Roberta Neway, Project MÁS
Madeline Pumariega, Dean
Fara Vázquez, Nursing Student

Interim Campus President
Dr. Susan Kah

Susan Kah,
Interim President,
Medical Center Campus

Message from Susan Kah, Interim President, Medical Center Campus:

The Medical Center Campus is pleased to initiate The Healthy College which will be disseminated periodically college-wide. The purpose of The Healthy College, created by faculty and students, is twofold: (1) to increase employee awareness of the most significant preventable threats to health and (2) to promote actions that will ensure good health.

The Healthy College is one of several health promoting resources available to you at Miami Dade College. Human Resources has initiated a Health Awareness Campaign available on their web page which, in collaboration with Cigna Health Care, provides information and updates relating to a broad spectrum of health care issues and lifestyle behaviors.

The larger campuses of the College house wellness centers open to all employees and students.

The Kendall Campus recently developed the Institute for Healthy Living, a consortium of several campus departments, designed to help promote healthier lifestyles in four dimensions: social, psychological/spiritual, academic, and physiological/biological.

As a complement to these resources, the content of The Healthy College will be current, focused and accurate, with referrals to websites and resources for those who would like more in-depth information about the specific topic being featured. If you have concerns about how the information provided relates to your own well-being, it is always best to consult your own health care provider.

We hope you find The Healthy College to be informative and motivating!

Why Coronary Artery Disease?

Approximately 40 percent of all deaths in the United States are due to cardiovascular disease (primarily heart disease and stroke); nearly 25 percent of Americans have cardiovascular disease. While stroke currently ranks third as a cause of death, heart disease (Coronary Artery Disease) ranks first.  Although risk increases with age, younger people are not immune to heart disease. While some risk factors, such as age, are unavoidable, many of the major risk factors for Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) can be eliminated or minimized.

Click here to take our Cardiovascular Quiz- (Requires Macromedia flash player, click here to download if necessary)

What is it?

There are multiple arteries that bring blood to the heart. The blood carries oxygen to the heart which is actually a muscle. CAD occurs when there is a narrowing of the arteries. This narrowing is usually due to atherosclerosis which is a buildup of deposits on the inner walls of the arteries. The arteries can become partially or fully blocked which limits the amount of blood (and oxygen) to the heart. When the heart muscle does not receive enough oxygen from the coronary arteries, the individual may experience chest pain (angina) or a heart attack. A heart attack (myocardial infarction) occurs when an artery is completely blocked and part of the heart muscle dies due to insufficient oxygen.

Risk Factors

The more risk factors a person has, the greater the likelihood of developing heart disease. Heredity, gender, and age, of course, cannot be modified, but most other risk factors can be influenced by an individual's behavior.

• Cigarette smoking
• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Obesity (especially excess abdominal fat)
• Lack of physical activity
• Abnormal blood cholesterol and homocysteine (a sulfur-containing amino acid) levels
• Stress

How is it diagnosed?

• Complete physical examination

• Family history

• Medical history and symptoms

• Chest X-ray - A standard X-ray of the chest area to see if the heart is enlarged or if there is congestion in the lungs.

• Electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG) - Small electrodes are placed on the chest. A machine then records the heart's rhythm, frequency of beats and electrical conduction to gather clues about why the person may have a heart condition and what course of treatment would be best. An EKG may also show if someone has had a heart attack, if the left ventricle is thickened, or if the heart rhythm is abnormal.

• Echocardiography (echo) - This ultrasound test uses sound waves to examine the heart's structure and motion. The echo can tell the doctor how thick the heart muscle is and how well the heart pumps.

• Radionuclide ventriculography or multiple-gated acquisition scanning (MUGA) - This nuclear medicine test involves injecting a small amount of radioactive dye into a vein then taking pictures of the heart as it pumps blood.

• Angiography (catheterization)- An X-ray is taken after injecting dye into the coronary arteries through a tube placed in the groin or the arm to look for any blockages in the coronary arteries.

• Exercise stress test - This test records the heart's activity during exercise, either walking on a treadmill or pedaling a stationary bike, to see how the heart responds to the stress of exercise

• Lipid Profile - A check for 'good' and 'bad' cholesterol levels.

• Blood tests - A blood sample is tested for levels of important substances, such as sodium and potassium (sometimes called electrolytes); albumin (a type of protein); and Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine to check for abnormal levels that may indicate strain on the body's organs.
  

How is it treated?

Treatment depends on the type and severity of heart disease; however, it can be broken down into three major categories:

Lifestyle changes:

• Eating a heart healthy diet (high fiber, low cholesterol, low fat, and low sodium)
• Exercising regularly
• Keeping stress to a minimum
• Checking blood pressure regularly
• Quitting smoking

Medications:

• Daily aspirin if prescribed by a health care provider
• Medications as prescribed by a health care provider (including beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers, nitrates, ACE-inhibitors, antiplatelets, and salicylates)  

Aggressive Treatments:

• Bypass surgery, pacemaker implant, heart catheterization, insertion of stent, or other treatments as recommended by a cardiologist.

Quick Tips for a Healthy Heart

• Eat mindfully (skip the fries, eat a salad)

• Join a weight loss group if necessary

• Walk more and take the stairs - Exercise with your friends

• Cultivate the positive - De-stress - Smile - Nourish your emotional heart

• Quit smoking (or at least cut back)

• Get annual physicals and have your blood pressure checked at regular intervals
  

Useful Resources and  Websites

Miami Dade College’s Libraries have a number of resources on heart disease. In addition to the print, audiovisual and web sources recommended below, MDC’s Libraries maintain subscriptions to several online health databases that provide full text Medical Dictionaries, Medical Encyclopedias, and articles from reputable medical journals. These databases can be accessed by connecting to the Libraries’ Homepage at http://www.mdc.edu/libraries/, clicking on “Find Articles” and entering your Borrower ID and PIN # from your MDCard.

Following is a selective listing of books, videos and websites on heart disease diagnosis, prevention, and treatment:

Mayo Clinic Heart Book: The Ultimate Guide to Heart Health. Bernard J. Gersh, ed.
REF RC672.M4 2000            Medical Center Campus

The Heart of the Matter: The Three Key Breakthroughs to Preventing Heart Attacks. Peter Salgo.
[MCN] HEART                     North Campus

Seven Steps to Stop a Heart Attack. Bob Arnot
[MCN] SEVEN                     Kendall Campus

Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. Eugene Braunwald, Douglas P. Zipes, eds.
REF RC681.H36 2001           Medical Center Campus

Cardiac Signs & Symptoms [video recording].
RC674.C37 2001                 Medical Center Campus

Taking on Heart Disease: Peggy Fleming, Brian Littrell, Mike Ditka, Walter Cronkite and  others . . . Reveal How They Triumphed Over the Nation’s #1 Killer and How You Can, Too. Larry King.
[MCN] TAKING                   North and Kendall Campuses

Heart Diseases and Disorders Sourcebook: Basic Consumer Health Information about Heart Attacks, Angina, Rhythm Disorders, Heart Failure, Valve Disease, Congenital Heart Disorders, and more . . . Karen Bellenir, ed.
REF RC672.H396 2000         Homestead, Kendall and Wolfson Campuses

HeartInfo: http://www.heartinfo.org/

American Heart Association: http://www.americanheart.org

National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/