Students taught heart health risks

Students take part in a NE Campus lunch where they learned about several heart health issues including coronary heart disease and risks associated with being overweight.
Scott Hughes/The Collegian

By Andrew Forbes/ reporter

Knowing the symptoms and emergency care for heart attacks can save lives, NE students and staff learned Feb. 16.

“Cardiovascular disease claims more lives each year than all forms of cancer,” said Beth Reed, JPS Hospital chest pain program coordinator.

Different risk factors lead to a heart attack. One factor Reed focused on was cholesterol, explaining the difference between two types of cholesterol, HDL, also referred to as good cholesterol, and LDL, or bad cholesterol. She said if these are not kept in check, they can affect heart health and possibly lead to health problems, such as coronary disease.

“Coronary diseases can be a serious problem to health and can very well lead to heart attacks,” she said.

Reed also said being overweight is a risk factor that can contribute to heart attacks.

“There are many different factors connected to weight that can lead to a greater risk of a heart attack, especially high body fat percentage,” she said.

Recognizing symptoms early can help a person detect a heart attack. Symptoms vary by person and gender, Reed said. Men experience symptoms like shortness of breath, vomiting, lightheadedness and indigestion while women may only have one symptom. Sharp back pain is one of the most common symptoms for women.

Beth Reed

Reed explained what to do when someone is having a heart attack and how to perform basic CPR, starting with calling 911.

“Many people tend to believe they can get the person to the hospital faster than the ambulance can arrive,” she said. “And when they do so, sometimes the person’s heart will completely stop on the way to the hospital, and it would have been too late.”

Reed said one should help the person with hands-on CPR until the ambulance arrives.

“It is important to push hard and fast on the person’s chest,” she said. “A good trick is to push to the beat of the song ‘Staying Alive,’ at roughly 100 beats per minute,” she said.

If necessary and possible, it is good to use an automated external defibrillator, Reed said. TCC campuses have one available in each building.