 | |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Speare Memorial Hospital (603) 536-1120 | |
|
February 14, 2008 | |
SMH Presents The Heart Truth as part of UnMasking Heart Disease Campaign Protecting your heart is the focus of next Health & Wellness Outreach program |
|
| PLYMOUTH, N.H. --- One out of every three Americans have some form of heart disease according to the American Heart Association. Heart disease is the number one killer of men and women, and actions you take today can prevent or control the affects of heart disease in the future. Identifying and understanding the risk factors, and ways to lower those risks, is the focus of Speare Memorial Hospital´s next Health and Wellness Outreach program, The Heart Truth, being presented at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, February 20 at the Meredith Community Center, located on Routes 3 & 25, just north/east of downtown Meredith. The program is free and open to the public. | |
| Dr. John J. Jehl will lead discussion and make a presentation defining heart disease, the lasting effects if left untreated, prevention and risk factors. It will be an opportunity for people to ask: "What are the key tests for determining my risk of heart disease? What questions should I ask my doctor? What are the warning signs I might have a heart problem? What action steps can I take to lower my risk?" | |
| The Heart Truth is being presented in conjunction with Speare Memorial Hospital´s month-long focus on UnMasking Heart Disease. As an electrocardiogram, or EKG, would be one of the first steps in "unmasking" a heart disease, SMH´s Director of Cardiopulmonary Services Peter Gallagher will discuss how new technologies are helping to improve timely diagnosis and treatment options. He will also explain the full range of cardiac care available at Speare Memorial Hospital, as a result of a partnership with the New England Heart Institute at Catholic Medical Center. | |
| Following Gallagher, Gillian Cavezzali, director of Rehabilitation Services and a physical therapist at SMH, will discuss cardiac rehabilitation. Her presentation will focus on the cardiac rehabilitation services available, who is eligible to participate and the lasting benefits. Cavezzali says, "Cardiac rehab is an important part of patients´ recovery and improving their quality of life. We give patients the tools, knowledge and motivation needed to fight the progression of cardiovascular disease with their ´heart and soul´." | |
| Speare Memorial Hospital is a 24-hour, acute care, non-profit community hospital and health care provider serving Plymouth, and the communities of central New Hampshire, for more than a century. | |
| Michele Barney Hutchins Director of Community Relations Speare Memorial Hospital (603) 238-6468 mhutchins@spearehospital.com |