16 published pieces, with more than 9,100 words.
While I believe we touched on many important issues and offered information that nearly everybody can use to improve their heart health or understand what friends or family members have experienced, I know there is much more to build on in the future.
This project focused primarily on heart attacks, including prevention, treatment and response.
There are many more aspects to cardiopulmonary disease.
I learned a few things from the experts and from the survivors we featured during the month. I did not understand, for instance, that cardiac rehabilitation following a heart event is seen as a failure if there is another heart attack.
Memorial Medical Center’s heart surgery chairman,
Dr. Rajsekhar Devineni, put it this way: “The disease is still there. Rehab is getting them in a good lifestyle with exercise and healthy food so no matter what comes they can endure it. It will prime your heart to withstand whatever comes.”
I was reminded of the dozens of breast cancer survivors I’ve interviewed over the past few years for The Tribune-Democrat’s Breast Cancer Awareness Project in October. Many times, these women related how they were treated and in recovery, only to have the cancer return. I am awed by the same optimism and courage in these heart patients.
But on another level, much of what we covered was familiar ground. For years, local advocates like Dr. Matthew Masiello at Windber Research Institute’s Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and Johnstown cardiologist
Dr. Charles Oschwald have been getting me to write about the importance of healthy diet, weight control, tobacco cessation and exercise.
When I started the month, I was struggling with how to bring a fresh voice to the subject. I decided to make it personal.
In my introductory column on Feb. 1, I admitted I am not exactly the poster child for heart health and pledged to commit myself to an improved lifestyle during February. I have updated readers on my progress in online postings on my Johnstown Health Beat blog every day that I was working. This column will serve as Sunday’s posting, with some final thoughts posted later today.
So what was the success?
On Saturday, I hit a personal goal for the month by tipping the scale at 204 pounds – down 8 pounds, or almost 4 percent of my body weight since Feb. 1.
I have been more intentional in regular physical activity, like going to the gym. There is also more awareness to portion control, avoiding fatty foods and between-meal snacking. My wife, Becky, says I’m doing better at taking my time to enjoy my food.
While I will wrap up the heart month postings today, I plan to keep the blog active. I will update less regularly as time permits, perhaps when I’m working on my latest Health Matters monthly feature or another health story.
INTERNET EXCLUSIVE
Well I thought of more I wanted to say, but there was only so much space in the paper. This is the extended version from here on down.
First of all, be sure to check out the three articles in Sunday's paper. The main story focuses on cardiac rehab, with two patients' stories: A heart transplant recipient and an Echo man working on his heart health.
Personally, hitting the 204-pound goal really lifted my spirits Saturday. I was a little concerned because we ate so late on Friday after the snow-tubing fun. I didn’t end up pulling my tube the whole way back up the slope, but there was enough pulling and walking and climbing steps to the snow-tube lodge area that I figured we completed our 30-minutes for that day.
But when we decided to get a late supper on the way in Somerset, things fell apart. Except for fast food, which I am totally avoiding (and not only for health sake), there did not seem to be much to pick from. We ended up eating leftovers at home after midnight.
So when the scales topped out at exactly 204 Saturday I was ready to declare success. For a couple days it seems stuck just below 205, but not enough below to claim 204. I celebrated with a small square of Becky’s homemade chocolate cake with cherries.
Saturday night found us at the Pink Ribbon Ball to support breast cancer awareness. The Frank J. Pasquerilla Center cuisine was interesting, and pretty healthy. Some grilled chicken breast, a piece of broiled or baked or poached fish (Becky could tell you exactly how they cooked it) and some interesting roasted vegetables.
The event had a birthday party theme to celebrate future birthdays of breast cancer patients, thanks to research and treatment made possible by events like Saturday’s ball. Becky and I attracted a lot of attention with our Happy Birthday hats, as seen in the photo.
Despite all the dancing we did, I admit I inched up to 205 again this morning, but I always consider weekend gain to be temporary.
I can hardly blame it on the beer, since I only had one at the very beginning of the ball. I might have had another but they shut down all three bars before the band’s second break! What is up with that?
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