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| Heart Center At St. Joseph’s Empowers Healthy Lifestyle Changes
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020710119
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St. Joseph's Healthcare System, |
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Margie Latrella, RN, MSN, APN-C, Nurse Practitioner, at right, examines a patient at The Women's Heart Center at St. Joseph's with offices located in Paterson and Wayne, New Jersey. |
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The month of February is traditionally known as ‘Heart Month’. At St. Joseph’s Healthcare System, we strive to empower heart healthy lifestyles 365 days of the year. Early diagnosis of risk factors and proper treatment of risk factors are critical in the fight against heart disease. One of the most powerful tools you and your physician have in the fight against cardiovascular disease is early diagnosis of a risk factor such as: family history, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, physical inactivity, tobacco use, metabolic syndrome, kidney disease, high cholesterol, and psycho-social factors. This is as relevant for women as it is for men! "Heart disease is the number one killer of women in the United States," says Robert Faillace, MD, ScM, FACP, FACC, Chairman of Cardiovascular Services at St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center. "Symptoms of heart disease and a heart attack in women are very different than those a man may experience. Recognition of cardiovascular risk factors and the symptoms of cardiovascular disease is critical to forestall or prevent a heart attack," he added.
St. Joseph's Healthcare System has recognized the need for a specialized center that caters to the needs of women and their hearts. It is this need that prompted the development of The Women's Heart Center at St. Joseph's. Since its inception in October of 2005 The Women’s Heart Center at St. Joseph’s has screened and evaluated approximately 2,700 women for cardiovascular disease risk factors and for the presence of previously unrecognized cardiovascular disease. According to Margie Latrella, RN, MSN, APN-C, Nurse Practitioner, The Women's Heart Center at St. Joseph's, "Many of the women that we've seen over the years have unrecognized and undiagnosed risk factors."
Community based educational lectures provided by The Women's Heart Center at St. Joseph's are a main avenue for spreading the word. "Women should be educated about symptoms and seek medical advise from a heart health specialist," recommends Dr. Faillace. The most important thing women can do to help reduce their chances for developing heart disease, and ultimately preventing a heart attack from occurring, is learn what their individual risk factors are and take the necessary steps to get them to the recommended levels based on national standards/guidelines.
The Women's Heart Center at St. Joseph's provides a 45-60 minute comprehensive cardiovascular screening evaluation which helps to detect those risk factors for a one-time $30 fee. During this evaluation the Advanced Practice Nurses at the center provide personal one-on-one counseling for each patient about lifestyle changes that can help decrease their risk for heart attack, stroke and diabetes. Dr. Faillace states, "A person's lifestyle has the most powerful effect on preventing heart disease. In a study of over 70,000 female nurses, those who ate a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, didn't smoke, exercised regularly, and maintained a proper body weight, had a greater than 80 percent reduction in their risk of heart disease."
"We are proud to partner with our patients, assisting them in making better lifestyle and healthcare decisions," states Carolyn Strimike, RN, MSN, APN-C, Advanced Practice Nurse, The Women's Heart Center at St. Joseph's. The mission of The Women's Heart Center at St. Joseph's is to empower women with knowledge and encourage optimal treatment and a heart-healthy lifestyle to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. "Prevention of disease is the foundation of both medicine and nursing - areas in which St. Joseph's excels," added Dr. Faillace.
The Women's Heart Center at St. Joseph's has recently expanded its services to include preventative education and screenings for men. For additional information about The Women's Heart Center at St. Joseph's or to schedule a cardiac risk assessment, please call 973.754.2600 or visit www.StJosephsHealth.org.
St. Joseph's Healthcare System, sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, encompasses St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center, an academic tertiary care state designated trauma center and three-time recipient of
the Magnet Award for Nursing Excellence, which includes St. Joseph's Children's Hospital, an acute care state designated children's hospital in Paterson, NJ; St. Joseph's Wayne Hospital, an acute care community hospital in Wayne, NJ; St. Vincent's Nursing Home, a long-term residential facility in Cedar Grove, NJ; and Visiting Health Services of NJ in Totowa. For more information regarding St. Joseph's broad spectrum of programs and services, visit www.StJosephsHealth.org or call 877.757.SJHS (7547).
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