whf logo-enews  Women's Heart Foundation Newsletter

Helping you take care of your heart February 2010
In This Issue
RUN FOR MOM: May 9,2010
MCG to Dx Heart Disease
Advocates & Champions
WHF Awarded $10k Grant
Raising Heart Fit Kids
"Must Read" Books
WHF Networking
Volunteer Corner
Join us for the Annual Mothers Day 5k 'Run for Mom'
 Teen Esteem exercises


 
runformom.org

Deadline for major sponsor commitment is March 15

Address questions to Bonnie@womensheart.org
Our Sponsors 

 

 
Horizon Foundation for New Jersey 
 
 
 
 
Women's Heart Foundation
PO Box 7827
West Trenton, NJ
 
:: 609-771-9600
Greetings, Heart Sisters and Friends!


Beginning with National Wear Red Day® Friday, February 5, 2010, millions of people helped spread the word that heart disease is women's #1 killer. The Red Dress®, the national symbol for women and heart disease awareness, was created by The Heart Truth® in 2002 to deliver an urgent wakeup call to American women. For this reason, February was the busiest month ever for the Women's Heart Foundation with a Red Dress luncheon set for Feb 6. The best laid plans had to be postponed however, due to a blizzard that left two feet of ice mixed with snow. Although we celebrated a week later, it didn't ice our spirits and we enjoyed a marvelous day with good food and good friends. Ninety attendees, 12 exhibitors, a Red Dress Trunk Show by Lord and Taylor, survivors' stories, an awards ceremony and a keynote presentation by John E. Strobeck, MD, PhD - "Introducing the Multifunction Cardiogram (MCG)" - made for an exciting event. Audience members were blown away with the simplicity of the MCG tool. Dr. Strobeck revealed he has been using the MCG technology in his practice since 2007 to more easily diagnose heart disease. It's quick, easy to use, inexpensive and extremely accurate. What's more, it is completely risk-free. The MCG represents a major breakthrough in modern medicine and in diagnosing ischemic heart disease. It is what we have all been waiting for. A 4-minute tracing of the heart takes place that is similar to an Electrocardiogram (ECG), but it is not an ECG. The MCG is an extremely sensitive device with a built-in computer. The local MCG computer communicates your reading to a much larger computer over the internet. The reading is then analyzed at a data center to compare it to 50,000 others. The results are then sent over the web to your practitioner's email in-box. You and your practitioner receive a full report in just 10 minutes! As I am turning 60 this year, I am reminded of the fact that both of my parents underwent heart bypass surgery at age 60, and only one of them survived. My father made it through the surgery, but not without complications of impaired cognitive functioning that worsened over time, and my mother died on the operating room table. So, as you may have guessed, my #1 New Year's resolution is to have an MCG to help fight my #1 health risk: heart disease. Everyone in our audience expressed interest and hope that this machine will soon become available nationwide. It has been in use in many European countries for years. The test results will answer that formidable question -- "How's my heart?" Health professionals may want to view the article below to familiarize themselves with this new technology, with website links to a video presentation by Dr. Strobeck. Medicare and Medicaid have set forth guidelines for reimbursement of the MCG test. Incidentally, the U.S. News and World Report rated the Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, New Jersey - where Dr. Strobeck practices cardiology - as one of the best hospitals in the country. The hospital is part of the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center network of hospitals in New York. Perhaps offering the MCG test is one reason why the Valley Hospital earned this esteemed designation. Congratulations to Dr. Strobeck and to the Valley Hospital for this achievement.

Next month, we will be introducing updates to our Medication Safety program. Medication Safety Week is April 1-7. Follow the 7 focus days for guidelines when taking medicines.

Please support our mission and make a tax-deductible donation today at www.womensheart.org. Our future for becoming a healthier nation depends on it. Donate today.
 
Bonnie and Janice
 
Janice Kovach, WHF trustee
Co-chair of The Red Dress Luncheon 2010

Bonnie Arkus, RN
Executive Director and Founder, holding Luncheon invite
 
The Women's Heart Foundation, a 501c3 charity, is the only non-governmental organization implementing heart disease prevention projects. Founded 1989 and incorporated June 11, 1992, WHF is dedicated to prevention, survival and quality of life. Please support our mission and make a tax-deductible donation today at www.womensheart.org

The Gender Care Initiative®- Introducing the Multifunction CardioGram as a new way to diagnose ischemic heart disease without bias
Coronary Artery Disease or "CAD" has always been a tough disease to diagnose without the use of invasive or stressful activities. The development of the Multifunction Cardiogram (MCG) has changed the way CAD is diagnosed. The MCG consists of a 2 lead resting EKG signal is transformed into a mathematical model and compared against tens of thousands of clinical trials to diagnose a patient with an objective severity score, as well as secondary and tertiary results about the patients condition. The results from MCG tests have been validated in 8 clinical trials which resulted in a database of over 50,000 patients where the system has demonstrated accuracy comparable to coronary angiography (90% overall sensitivity, 85% specificity). This level of accuracy comes from the application of advanced techniques in signal processing and systems analysis combined with a large scale clinical database which allows MCG to provide quantitative, evidence-based results to assist physicians in reaching a diagnosis. The MCG has also been awarded a Category III CPT code by the American Medical Association in the July 2009 CPT update. The MCG test results are completely objective and unbiased. more

 Dr. John E. Stobeck presents at Women's Heart Luncheon

Pictured above: John E. Strobeck, MD, PhD, FACC, delivers keynote presentation at the Women's Heart Foundation Red Dress Luncheon Feb 13, 2010 "Introducing the Multifunction Cardiogram". Click on photo to view enlarged image.

Women's Heart Advocate - award winners
Women's Heart Advocate Joseph Shen    Women's Heart Advocate Joan Hollendonner
Joseph T. Shen, MD is a brilliant mathematician who is also a cardiologist and concert pianist. Twenty five years ago, Dr. Shen had an idea that mathematical algorithms could be developed based on ECG readings of patients about to undergo revascularization procedures, thereby advancing technology for all of mankind. The invention of the Multifunction Cardiogram was the result - a device used to diagnose ischemic heart disease objectively, at a fraction of the cost of traditional tests, and without any risk or gender bias whatsoever. Dr. Shen was recognized with the Women's Heart Advocate Award for Leadership in Science and Medicine.

Joan Hollendonner is a Grants Manager of The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey (the Foundation) who attended the Red Dress Luncheon as a representative of the Foundation. The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey was recognized with the Women's Heart Advocate Award for Healthcare Leadership, supporting the Teen Esteem program for prevention and wellness.

Women's Heart Champion - award winners 
Women's Heart Champions Dimola, Barlow, Davis
Meet heart disease survivors and Champions (L to R) Marianne DiMola, Terri Barlow and Marcia Davis.

Click here for more photos and story.


WHF awarded a $10,000 grant from Princeton Area Community Foundation (PACF)
The Women's Heart Foundation was awarded a $10,000 grant for the 5th consecutive year from the PACF to continue its Teen Esteem Health and Fitness program at Trenton Central High. WHF co-administers the intervention project for at-risk teen girls. The program entered its 6th year this past September and has consistently resulted in participants making better health choices and remaining in school to graduate. The PACF motto is "promoting philanthropy to advance the well-being of our communities forever."


Raising Heart Fit Kids   Does your child have a heart-healthy lifestyle? WHF's new bookmark for parents and kids is designed to help raise awareness of early risk factors for heart disease and how to avoid certain risks. The health message also relates to a new website about to be launched that is dedicated to helping schools better track the health status of their student population. The HeartFitKid.org website will officially launch in late spring 2010. Bookmarks and posters are now available. Several schools have begun disseminating the WHF bookmarks and posters that fit together nicely with the "Be Well" booklet from the Susan and Michael Dell Foundation. The Millville Women's Club took part in underwriting the cost of bookmarks for students in the Millville middle school. For information on how to order HeartFitKid bookmarks or posters, contact us.

 
"Must Read" list for 2010
There are two new enlightening books that are easy reads for consumers of health care. These books promote accepting responsibility for one's own health and offer some exciting new ways to take care of your heart and your health.
  • "Knockout" by Suzanne Somers. In this book, Ms. Somers talks about her recent near-death episode and interprets this as a learning experience. She seeks out those health experts trying to improve cancer care by incorporating a more "whole health" approach. Questioning the status quo, she uncovers political, social and financial gain for keeping patients on track of receiving oft-times ineffective chemotherapy agents that can do more harm than good. Ms. Somers is applauded by the medical leaders she interviewes in her book for her courageous attempt to improve patient care. She also interviews cardiologist Dr. Steven Sinatra, and discusses her own personal health plan that includes use of bio-identical hormones (hormones that occur naturally in the human body and that are not from a pharmaceutical company, claiming this maximizes her health to fight both heart disease and cancer while helping to maintain her youthful looks, figure and level of energy. Ms. Somers does an outstanding job in chronicling her journey and in advocating for patients' rights to self determination through the power of education and personal choice. Ridding the body of toxins, promoting drainage within the body and reducing inflammation are all key to avoiding the two top killers responsible for premature death: cancer and heart disease.
  • "The Eat-Clean Diet" by Tosca Reno. This colorful and insightful book discusses a healthy lifestyle through the eyes of Ms. Reno with practical advice on "Eat-Clean" foods and avoiding toxic foods, toxic environments and toxic relationships. She shares her personal journey in fighting obesity as if she were sitting across the table from you, sipping a cup of green tea. A good read and great for any parent looking for supportive ways to intervene with an overweight or underweight child. It comes complete with delicious recipes, menu planning, ways to renovate your metabolism and grocery shopping tips with a list of "super foods" - nutrient-dense foods that we should be eating every day.
 
Medical Conferences 
 
WHF Networking 
  • Women's Heart Foundation is on ShesConnected.com open discussion groups on women's heart disease.
  • Women's Heart Foundation is on MySpace
  • Women's Heart Foundation and Friends' Health Connection join to help you Find a Heart Friend
  • Click here to attend a Minky Party-NJ. Get help from a leading fitness nurse to make healthy lifestyle changes
  • Click here to set up a $30 Women's Heart Risk assessment at the Women's Heart Center of St. Joseph's Medical Center NJ
  • Click here to learn about women's heart disease from the expert nurse educators at Heart-Strong.com
 
Robin Heston 
Volunteer Corner  Robin Heston was recently recognized as Volunteer of the Year for her outstanding contributions to the Women's Heart Foundation and serving as Chair of the Run for Mom event for the past 6 years. Robin has also organized jewelry collection campaigns to sell refurbished items to benefit the WHF. She is a leading Women's Heart Advocate in our state and I am proud to call her my friend. THANK YOU, Robin, for caring for the hearts of the women in New Jersey!