Heart Health

Don’t let heart disease spoil your fun! Heart disease is not just the leading killer of Americans, but it robs millions of Americans of the sheer pleasures of everyday life.

Preventing heart disease doesn’t have to be hard. Here are a few tools to help you understand your risk of heart disease.

Join Adena in Celebrating American Heart Month!

Celebrating your heart might sound strange, but nothing could be more important than the health of your heart! In recognition of February being American Heart Month, we want patients to celebrate and focus on this vital organ. Your heart is an amazing muscle that beats around 115,000 times a day, pumping roughly 2,000 gallons of blood through the body as it delivers oxygen and nutrients to the cells while removing waste. It’s the workhorse of the body, so it’s important to keep it in top shape with a heathy diet, exercise and annual wellness exams.

Put Your Heart to the Test

Adena Cardiology has advanced services and works with the area’s leading cardiac professionals to help you maintain and check your heart health. One newer test they perform to check heart health is the Cardiac Calcium Scoring test. Cardiac calcium scoring can determine if you’re at risk of a heart attack or heart disease. The exam is recommended for women over 50 and men over 40 who have existing risk factors including, family history, high cholesterol, high blood pressure (hypertension), diabetes, obesity and smoking. Or it might also be recommended for patients with potential heart disease symptoms such as chest pain or tightness, shortness of breath, chronic fatigue, pain or numbness in limbs in your jaw, neck, upper abdomen or back.

The cardiac calcium scoring exam is computerized tomography (CT) scan where they monitor your heart at the same time. It’s simple, painless and is generally completed in minutes. The test determines the amount of calcium build-up in the heart’s coronary arteries which can indicate a patient’s risk for a heart attack. It can detect early stage heart disease even when a patient shows no symptoms.

Comprehensive Treatment, Plus Extended Partner Resources

Adena Cardiology have a strategic partnership with the Heart and Vascular Center at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Together, the cardiac care specialist review patient work-ups and determine the best care path and follow-ups for each Adena patient. One of the most common issues they treat patients for is aortic stenosis, also known as a leaky heart valve. Aortic stenosis occurs when there is a narrowing of the valve in the large blood vessel branching off the heart (aorta). This narrowing keeps the valve from opening fully, reducing blood flow and putting additional stress on the heart.

There are two main procedures for aortic stenosis, one is valve replacement with open-heart surgery, and the second is a less invasive procedure called a transcatheter valve replacement (TAVR) procedure. Depending on the patient’s condition, age, health and risk factors, Adena cardiologists work with the OSU Heart and Vascular Center team to decide the best surgical option. Generally, if the patient meets the right criteria, the TAVR procedure has become the standard of care over for aortic stenosis because is less invasive and has a shorter recovery time than an open-heart procedure.

Once a patient has the TAVR procedure, they are very likely able to return to the quality of life they had before the heart condition occurred.

If you’re concerned about your heart health, or have one or more risk factors, check with your Adena Primary Care Provider to assess and determine is you should schedule a calcium scoring exam. Early detection is key in beating heart disease. Call your primary care provider, or call 740-779-4570 and visit Adena.org to see how Adena Cardiology can help!

Request an appointment