Ray Georgeson, Cardiologist

Piedmont HealthCare

The Powerful Heart Don’t Miss a Beat on Your Health

Fact you should know:

The Powerful Heart

Heart Disease is the number one killer of women (and men).

Signs and symptoms are often quite different in women and therefore go unrecognized. Women may have: •Weakness •Breathlessness•Fatigue•Nausea•Back pain•Indigestion•Chest Pressure

The Good News: Women’s ‘s are Powerful

The Powerful Heart

Unlike men, women’s hearts do not loose pumping power with age.

The heart of a 70 year old woman could perform as well as a 20 year old.

Amazing FactsThe Powerful Heart

The heart’s job is to move blood. Your heart will pump an average one million barrels of blood in your life.

The body has about six quarts of blood that circulates through the body three times in one minute. In one day your blood travels 12,000 miles.

The aorta is the largest artery (about the width of a garden hose)

The heart weighs 10 ounces

Your heart beats 100,000 times each day.

Don’t Miss a Beat on Your Health!

Have you ever noticed if your heart has missed a beat? If you have, you may be experiencing an

arrhythmia.

Atrial Fibrillation (A Fib) is the most common type of arrhythmia

A Fib damages the heart’s electrical system, leading to

increased risk for stroke, heart attack & heart failure.

A Fib is an independent risk factor for stroke, increasing risk five-fold.

The Powerful Heart

Know Your Symptoms!The Powerful Heart

Risk Factors for A-Fib:Advancing Age Heart Disease High Blood

PressureAlcohol/Drug Abuse

Family History Congenital Heart Disorder

Diabetes Smoking

Obesity High Fat Diet Certain Pre-scribed Med’s

Sedentary LifeStyle

Atrial Fibrillation can be SYMPTOMLESS and usually detected through an EKG! Talk to your provider today and start CELEBRATING a cardiovascular disease free life!

How is Atrial Fibrillation Diagnosed?The Powerful Heart

Cardiac Exam Holter Monitor Event Monitor Echocardiogram Transesophageal Echocardiogram Blood Tests

Start With PREVENTION!The Powerful Heart

It is never too late or too early to take control of your health! Beloware some suggestions on how you can prevent A Fib and lead ahealthy cardiovascular disease free life: Not smoking

Heart healthy diet filled with low saturated fatty food, low trans fat\ and low cholesterol

Regular physical activity

Maintaining a healthy weight

Limit alcohol intake

Control blood glucose (especially if you have diabetes)

Regular check-up’s

Know Your Next Steps!The Powerful Heart

Research your family history

Schedule a physical examTalk to your physician about your best option!

The Powerful Heart

With proper management and awareness, A Fibcan be prevented and even controlled. Your tomorrow relies on your actions of today!!

For more information on symptoms of arrhythmia and

the actions you can take to reduce your risk of atrial fibrillation, visit www.iredellmemorial.org.

The Powerful Heart

References:National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute

www.nhlbi.nih.gov

American Heart Associationwww. americanheart.org

Medline Plushttp://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/arrhythmia.html

Center for Disease Control & Preventionwww.cdc.gov

The Powerful Heart Q & A