Well the last three months have been a very busy period at
the Foundation during which time I completed my second year as CEO (August 31)
and our financial year ended (September 30). Not as good a year as the one
before from a financial point of view but more of that in our next edition.
This edition of Heartline has covered in much detail tobacco
issues, Kim Clarke-Grant’s attendance at the “Global Women in Management”
training workshop in Washington, the signing of the contract with the Ministry
of Health re the extension of our rehabilitation programme, the first Barbados
Heart & Stroke Week with its theme “How Young Is Your Heart?” and the Kiwanis
Silver Dollars for Children appeal on World Heart Day (September 24).
So what else has been happening?
Cardiac Disease Prevention and
Rehabilitation
The Heart Smart Fitness Challenge (see further page 24
Heartline April – June 2006) was concluded on August 15. Mr. Riley and Ms
Neblett as well as the CDP&R Manager, Kim Clarke-Grant, were interviewed on
Starcom’s The Road Runner radio programme on Monday August 11. Kimberly King
(Rehab Nurse) and Mr. Riley appeared on Chat Room on 21stAugust, 2006.
Communications
I do hope you like the new look website, following our
assimilation of stoke, which was launched on Monday September 18. Please do have
a look if you haven’t already done so and let us have your views so that we can
incorporate them in future.
Wednesday July 5 saw the publication in the Daily Nation of
the first of our full page specials entitled “HSFB Pulse”. This is appearing
monthly on the first Wednesday of each month courtesy of Banks Holdings.
Additionally press reports of the Foundation’s activities
was at an all time high during the quarter to September 30, 2006 with over
thirty separate entries in the Barbados Advocate and Daily Nation. This was
probably due to the excellent coverage of two events – our Healthy Lifestyles
Seminar on July 6 and the first Barbados Heart & Stroke Week September 17 – 24.
Also throughout the quarter the advert for the essay and poster competition “How
Young Is your Heart?” appeared on over ten occasions.
Emergency Cardiac Care (ECC)
On July 18 we held our first Paediatric First Aid course for
nursery workers. This course was piloted by our instructors on behalf of the
American Heart Association at the 4th ECC Conference back in June 2005. The
course was easy to deliver and participants evaluated the course very highly.
The course is now being fully marketed to amongst other nurseries and hotel
babysitters.
Turning now to what’s been happening in the UK:
Health
Saga, an organisation for the over 50’s, has teamed up with
the British Heart Foundation and will be supporting that charity in its work. In
a recent edition of Saga’s magazine, which I have quoted from before, they
published a nine-page section entitled “The Good Health Guide”. One of the
articles set out ‘Thirty Ways To Feel Great” and included the usual hints about
drinking more water, watching your blood pressure, cutting down on salt, giving
up smoking and getting tested for diabetes. There were however some additional
ways which caught my attention such as:
Laughter’s a tonic. Watch your favourite comedy DVDs as
often as possible. Research by Dr. Michael Miller, a scientist at the University
of Maryland, proved that average blood flow increased by 22% while people
laughed at a comedy clip but fell by 35% when watching a heavy film. Efficient
blood flow is crucial for maintaining cardiovascular health, so Dr. Miller
prescribes 15 minutes of laughter on a daily basis as well as 30 minutes of
exercise three times a week.
Take the stairs. Shun the lifts (elevators) and escalators
and use the stairs instead. One flight (floor) may be all you can manage to
start with but the more you do it the easier it gets. Benefits include improved
cardiovascular health, stronger legs and, if you keep at it, a trimmer figure.
Put the kettle on. Drinking three to four cups of tea a day
reduces the risk of coronary heart disease and may also have beneficial effects
on mood, cognitive ability, bones and prevention of dental plaque. Green tea has
more health benefits that black tea apparently.
Make love. According to a study at the Royal Edinburgh
Hospital, Scotland people who have sex at least three times a week can look up
to 10 years younger than those who make love less frequently.
Raise a (small) glass. Lovers of red wine have been
encouraged to enjoy their daily glass by a whole raft of studies published over
the past 20 years, highlighting a lower risk of heart disease among
light-to-moderate drinkers. Although a team from the University of Auckland last
year claimed the earlier studies were flawed, the British Heart Foundation takes
a more positive line: “Moderate drinking – between one and two units of alcohol
a day – has a positive effect on the heart in men over 40 and in women who have
gone through the menopause.” (One unit of alcohol equals a small glass of wine.)
