MONROE - In the month of February and beyond, residents of Green County can take advantage of opportunities for healthy hearts.
Cardiovascular diseases, including heart disease and stroke, kill nearly one in three people in Wisconsin and represent the leading cause of death in women age 25 or older, according to a news release from the Wisconsin Community Health Fund.
But 80 percent of cardiovascular diseases are preventable with education and action, the release said. Education means understanding the numbers that effect heart health, which are: total cholesterol, HDL (good) cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar and body mass index. Clinics, hospitals, pharmacies and self-monitoring tools are available to help understand the numbers and risks for heart health challenges.
This past year, Green County has been part of a national Million Hearts Learning Collaborative with the Department of Health Services Chronic Disease Prevention and Control Team and the Association of State and Territorial Health officials to explore avenues for improving heart health education within the community. The Green County Public Health Department, the Southwest Community Action Program Clinic, the Monroe Clinic Parish Nurse program and Monroe Clinic Hospital all have served as partners in this project coordinated by the Wisconsin Community Health Fund.
In 2016, more than 500 residents received heart health screening at various community sites, including health fairs, churches, schools and clinics. The start to a county-wide community-clinical linkage system for heart health has been designed between the various project partners and Monroe Clinic Hospital.
A Monroe Clinic triage nurse has been designated as the contact point for local residents who need further education and health services beyond the community outreach sites.
The program plans to continue in 2017 and will highlight the enhanced usage of pharmacists for further heart health education, the promotion of community heart health education materials through the Green County Healthy Community Coalition, statewide blood pressure measurement trainings and the development of electronic systems for communication between community outreach sites and Monroe Clinic.
According to the Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality measurement data, Monroe Clinic reports an 83 percent blood pressure measurement control rate, which is higher than the national expectation of 80 percent. Despite positive results, prospects exist in Green County for continued improvement through preventative health care visits, good eating, exercise and healthy habits.
Listed here are some guiding principles and tools for support from the American Heart Association and Centers for Disease Control:
Eat smart: Know what is on your plate - eating healthy does not have to mean dieting or giving up all of the foods you love. Learn how to ditch the junk, give your body the nutrient-dense fuel it needs and love every minute of it.
Add color: To your diet - all the colors of the rainbow - all the time.
Move more: A good goal is 150 minutes a week, but if you don't want to sweat the numbers, simply move more. Find forms of exercise you like and will stick with, and build more opportunities to be active into your routine.
Be well: Along with eating right and being physically active, health includes getting enough sleep, practicing mindfulness, managing stress, keeping mind and body fit, connecting socially and more.
Signs of a heart attack
1. Uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain in the center of your chest. If it lasts more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back.
2. Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.
3. Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.
4. Other signs such as breaking out in cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.
5. Women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, especially shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting and back or jaw pain.
Signs of stroke
Learn to spot a stroke F.A.S.T. If you see:
Face drooping
Arm weakness or
Speech difficulty, it's
Time to call 911.
For more information, visit www.heart.org; https://millionhearts.hhs.gov; https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/heart-disease/index.htm; or dashdiet.org.
Cardiovascular diseases, including heart disease and stroke, kill nearly one in three people in Wisconsin and represent the leading cause of death in women age 25 or older, according to a news release from the Wisconsin Community Health Fund.
But 80 percent of cardiovascular diseases are preventable with education and action, the release said. Education means understanding the numbers that effect heart health, which are: total cholesterol, HDL (good) cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar and body mass index. Clinics, hospitals, pharmacies and self-monitoring tools are available to help understand the numbers and risks for heart health challenges.
This past year, Green County has been part of a national Million Hearts Learning Collaborative with the Department of Health Services Chronic Disease Prevention and Control Team and the Association of State and Territorial Health officials to explore avenues for improving heart health education within the community. The Green County Public Health Department, the Southwest Community Action Program Clinic, the Monroe Clinic Parish Nurse program and Monroe Clinic Hospital all have served as partners in this project coordinated by the Wisconsin Community Health Fund.
In 2016, more than 500 residents received heart health screening at various community sites, including health fairs, churches, schools and clinics. The start to a county-wide community-clinical linkage system for heart health has been designed between the various project partners and Monroe Clinic Hospital.
A Monroe Clinic triage nurse has been designated as the contact point for local residents who need further education and health services beyond the community outreach sites.
The program plans to continue in 2017 and will highlight the enhanced usage of pharmacists for further heart health education, the promotion of community heart health education materials through the Green County Healthy Community Coalition, statewide blood pressure measurement trainings and the development of electronic systems for communication between community outreach sites and Monroe Clinic.
According to the Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality measurement data, Monroe Clinic reports an 83 percent blood pressure measurement control rate, which is higher than the national expectation of 80 percent. Despite positive results, prospects exist in Green County for continued improvement through preventative health care visits, good eating, exercise and healthy habits.
Listed here are some guiding principles and tools for support from the American Heart Association and Centers for Disease Control:
Eat smart: Know what is on your plate - eating healthy does not have to mean dieting or giving up all of the foods you love. Learn how to ditch the junk, give your body the nutrient-dense fuel it needs and love every minute of it.
Add color: To your diet - all the colors of the rainbow - all the time.
Move more: A good goal is 150 minutes a week, but if you don't want to sweat the numbers, simply move more. Find forms of exercise you like and will stick with, and build more opportunities to be active into your routine.
Be well: Along with eating right and being physically active, health includes getting enough sleep, practicing mindfulness, managing stress, keeping mind and body fit, connecting socially and more.
Signs of a heart attack
1. Uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain in the center of your chest. If it lasts more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back.
2. Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.
3. Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.
4. Other signs such as breaking out in cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.
5. Women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, especially shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting and back or jaw pain.
Signs of stroke
Learn to spot a stroke F.A.S.T. If you see:
Face drooping
Arm weakness or
Speech difficulty, it's
Time to call 911.
For more information, visit www.heart.org; https://millionhearts.hhs.gov; https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/heart-disease/index.htm; or dashdiet.org.
