This is a rebroadcast of our February 17, 2016 show on hearts. February is heart awareness month.
Heart disease is still the biggest killer in the United States, even though fewer people die from from heart attack and cardiac arrest than ever before.
We know the obvious things our hearts do and don't like; cigarettes are bad, plant-based diets and exercise are good. But, most people don't really know how blood pressure and cholesterol contribute to heart disease or how to recognize the symptoms that lead to a heart attack.
One of the biggest lifesavers for people who have heart attacks is the person on the street who starts CPR before the ambulance arrives. It's too bad that more people don't know how to do it and if they do, are afraid to use it. Doctors and paramedics today can prevent and manage heart disease, but the best way to avoid a broken heart lies with us.
Lastly, we've come a long way in mending broken hearts, tbut here remains a stubbornly high rate of valuable studies that go unpublished. And, if a research project is never published, it's as if it never happened.
GUESTS:
- Dr. Anita Kelsey - Cardiologist and Director of the Women’s Heart Program at St. Francis
- Cynthia Williams - Resident of Hartford who is recovering from open-heart surgery
- Peter Canning - Paramedic and EMS Coordinator at John Dempsey Hospital. He’s the author of four books including Paramedic: On the Front Lines of Medicine
- Dr. Nihar Desai - Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Cardiovascular Medicine Section of the Yale School of Medicine and an Investigator in the Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation
MUSIC:
- “Strong Heart” by Rebekah Perry
- “Your Heart Is A Pump” by Mache Seibel
- “Help I’m Alive” by Metric
Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.
Colin McEnroe, Betsy Kaplan, Chion Wolf, and Greg Hill contributed to this show.