‘Healthy Hearts’ lifestyle

• Reprints

Cindy Winter (left) from the Visiting Nurse Association of Porter County, Ind., talks to the crowd about "Healthy Hearts" at the Merrillville High School Senior Center on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012. | Jim Karczewski~For Sun-Times Media

If You Go

The Visiting Nurse Association of Porter County continues its February “Healthy Hearts” talks at the following times and locations:

■ 12:15 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10, at the Village Park Enrichment Center at Banta, 605 Beech St., Valparaiso

■ 1:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27, at Linden House, 360 E. 61st Ave., Hobart.

For more information or to R.S.V.P., call the VNA at
531-8073.

Article Extras

Updated: March 9, 2012 8:04AM

After retirement 10 years ago, Diane Helton experienced some startling news.

While showing friends her son’s new home, which was under construction, the Merrillville resident fell off a ladder and broke her shoulder, arm and ankle. While receiving various X-rays and tests at the hospital, she found that she also had an irregular heartbeat.

“I was so surprised, you never think of things like this,” she said. “I had always been very active — bowling and dancing — and had no idea.”

Since that time, Helton has researched heart disease and welcomes new opportunities to gather more information. “Spending eight months in therapy made me more aware of my heart and what I need to do to take care of it.”

This is what brought her to a recent “Healthy Hearts” presentation at the Merrillville High School Senior Center.

The presentation was offered by the Visiting Nurse Association of Porter County as part of their Senior Moments series.

The program provided attendees with simple and practical measures aimed at reducing the risk of heart disease and heart attack.

“You’ve probably heard this all before,” said VNA representative Cindy Winter, as she mentioned the fact that heart disease is the No. 1 killer of both men and women in
the United States. “But it’s always good to do a refresher course.”

Winters mentioned some lesser-known facts as well.

“Heart disease is an umbrella term for myriad of diseases affecting the heart,” Winter began. “These
include coronary artery disease, heart failure and heart arrhythmia.”

Signs of a heart attack are not always the same for men and women, she added. In women it may be shortness of breath, pain in the jaw, back or neck. And a woman’s chance for heart disease begins to increase at the age of 55, in comparison of a man’s at age 45.

Getting rid of stress and not smoking can both go a long way in the prevention of heart disease.

“Stress has a negative impact on your whole body, especially the heart,” she said. “And smoking is the leading cause of preventable death and disease. I know it’s hard to quit smoking, but it’s even harder to recover from a stroke or heart disease.”

Winter also mentioned to the crowd that there is a lot of free information “out there” about heart disease, people have to just look for it.

Reuben Berrera of Merrillville visits the senior center on a regular basis and enjoys the once-a-month presentations on healthy lifestyles. He paid special attention during Winter’s recent appearance at the center.

“I’ve had one artery cleared, but that was three years ago,” he said. “Even though I don’t have any problems now, it’s a good idea to keep up on new information. I always want to learn more.”

Diane Smith of Merrillville feels the same.

“Several members of my family and friends have been stricken by heart disease,” she said, after Winter’s presentation. “I want to find out as much as I can about it.”

Smith’s mother Clemmie Gates of Gary died in 2005, unaware she had a heart problem.

While having surgery for an aneurism in her throat, Gates’ doctors found her heart was leaking. “They tried to correct it but she went into a coma,” Smith said. “She didn’t come out of the coma and died a few days later.”

Removing as many risks as possible goes a long way in a person’s motivation toward a healthy lifestyle, according to the speaker.

Some of those risks — for example, obesity, smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol — can “gang up” with each other, she added.

“A lot of these go together; if you have one, another can come into play.”

Robert and Carmella Stoltz of Hobart have been coming to the senior center for more than three years.

“This is a great outlet for the seniors, there’s a lot going on here,” Carmella said of the center’s activities. “And the talks like the one today help keep us up-to-date on health issues. That’s very important to us.”