There comes a time when you realize, it’s time. This is my life, my heart, my health and it’s important. It’s time for a life-long, smart approach to heart health.
Listen as Jackie Bates, cardiac rehabilitation registered nurse with Bryan Health, discusses the different nutrition and heart health messages out there and give you the knowledge to improve your overall health.
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Listen to Your Body: It Might be Heart Disease
Featured Speaker:
Jackie Bates, Bryan cardiac rehabilitation registered nurse
Jackie Bates is a cardiac rehabilitation registered nurse with Bryan Health. Transcription:
Listen to Your Body: It Might be Heart Disease
Melanie Cole (Host): There comes a time when you realize it's time; this is my life, my heart and my health and it's important. It's time for a life-long smart approach to heart health. My guest today is Jackie Bates. She's a cardiac rehabilitation registered nurse with Bryan Health. Welcome to the show Jackie. So why is it so important for women, especially, to exercise to maintain that heart health and how much is needed to keep our hearts healthy?
Jackie Bates (Guest): The very first piece that comes to my mind when I hear that question is the important role of a woman in her home and her work and the demands and expectations that women put on themselves. So the importance about exercise and how much to do is really quite a bit about the whole woman. Exercise helps with managing stress.
It gives you endorphins to give you more energy. At other times, it lets you be more creative and help out where you really want to help out. The foundation of exercise is at least three days a week for 30-40 minutes of an exercise level that helps you get your heart rate up and makes you feel like you’re working somewhat hard for 30-40 minutes.
Melanie: So that would be some cardiovascular exercise. Can people choose any kind? Or do you have one that you prefer?
Jackie: Some folks join a gym. A lot of people think exercise is them carrying their laundry up and down the stairs or doing housework. That does not count. The other kind is also swimming, and your body will really be the big force of communication to you if walking hurts or you are injured in some way and need to have a non-weight bearing exercise. Multiple areas of gyms have all sorts of equipment that can be used to help with any orthopedic or muscle limitations.
Melanie: So what role does nutrition play in our heart health, Jackie? And why is diet so important for women to actually pay attention to?
Jackie: Well, there's across the United States such a problem. Our fast pace, our high stress is really prompting a lot of people to eat quick foods that are high in carbohydrates and low in protein. Their heart really is a muscle that is filled with healthy cells and when you do not feed it the proper nutrition in your body to squeeze properly, to function, and keep up with your high pace, you're missing out on the energy that it needs - the food energy.
So, a real well-balanced, and not only in proteins and vegetables and some of the carbohydrates but also in the portion sizes is critical, and as we maintain our food energy then, of course, choices to exercise, to take care of ourselves, to manage our stress really makes a big difference because we've got the fuel we need for what our body needs to physically do.
Melanie: So, Jackie, you mentioned stress. How does stress affect our heart health?
Jackie: Adrenaline, adrenaline, adrenaline. I'm not trying to make fun of that, but there are surges of adrenaline in stressful times. Whether that is the -- all of a sudden you're slamming on your brakes or you get a phone call with some really bad news, or you're running late all the time -- those surges of adrenaline in our body really argues the word, tax, our body. The adrenaline and the endorphins that get sent out to our body affect the lining of our heart arteries. Actually, it affects the lining of every artery and vein, but when we're talking about at the heart, there can be a simple description for how I use it in cardiac rehab as like little irritated, inflamed areas in your arteries where plaque might stick to and start developing blockage, or the stress may make your blood pressure so high that you start having headaches, and you have vision problems. So, the stress in itself is not the bad culprit; it's our body's reaction that really will harm our heart, and we in the cardiac rehab world are learning that stress is for everyone. Even if you think of something as a fun stress, it still triggers those endorphins so high or there’s the adrenaline set. You have to be very careful because it's a major risk factor in heart disease.
Melanie: In women, we negative self-talk ourselves so we increase that stress; cortisol builds up -- again contributing to heart problems. What do you tell, in even your cardiac rehab women that are in rehab already, what do you tell them about getting rid of some of that stress with exercise and diet and using all these things together to help us with our heart health?
Jackie: I like that question because a big part of our focus in cardiac rehab is not just about blood pressure. It's just not about the individual risk factor, but the whole body. So, what we tell people is let's start from the beginning on the stress. We use the terminology stress management. Let's start from the beginning and let's try to identify what our stressors are for you as client or patient. Let's try to find out what's our normal reactions. What type of clues are being given to us to say, you know what? I just reacted in a too stressful way. I need to back that down. So identifying what our stressors and how we respond is a great start. We call it a getting started with stress management, and then we teach people that both in their verbal discussions and written information and advice about exercise and how that can lower your blood pressure, particularly, some those symptoms of high blood pressure, headache or stretching and doing all sorts of muscle stretching can help calm you. Finding out where is a quiet place in your day, maybe several times a day to pull back and let you have some down time and just really think through what these financial matters or relationship matters - how they really impacting your heart.
You will also see that in our world - in cardiac rehab - folks come in that are very depressed or stressed because they've had a new diagnosis of a heart problem, and the exercise is what motivates them and connects them with other people, and they can do some peer talking with each other about, this is what I'm going through and get encouragement in different ways, not just from the staff, but also from peers in the cardiac rehab setting or in an exercise setting, such as a gym.
Melanie: And Jackie, why is it so important for women to listen to their bodies because we are always taking care of everybody else, and they say put your own mask on before you put on the masks of your loved ones. Why is it so important, and what do we do to take care of ourselves first and listen to what our bodies are telling us?
Jackie: That is such a challenge to people, in particular, women. I've heard that analogy over and over in the airplane, but I’ve watched many times where women will still choose to take care of someone else even though they're low on oxygen themselves, and so finding the importance in individuals as a cardiac rehab nurse is one of my biggest challenges and joys. I feel like the one piece that happens for women about cardiac symptoms is the vague symptoms. Women have a non - they don't always have the privilege of the real classic, "there's an elephant on my chest," "there's pain in my chest," "I broke out in a sweat, and I knew something was really wrong." A lot of times women in heart disease said that, "I just felt so weak, and I thought it was because I was overweight, or I'm not an exerciser and I thought, I'm just so out of shape." You hear that vague symptom a lot for women, and as I thought about this interview, one of the most important pieces I feel, as a woman myself and as a cardiac rehab nurse, I wanted to say is to develop a relationship with your medical provider. Nowadays that means someone that's either a physician, a chiropractor, a nurse practitioner, PA, all sorts of levels of medical providers. So, you can say to them, "This is going on and this is not my normal. I'm more tired when I climb steps. I'm more short of breath; something's just not right, and it's not because I’m only overweight or because I’m not an exerciser." So, that relationship with a medical provider to let them take you to the next level or perhaps getting an EKG or a stress test or something along that line could be an absolutely important piece for a woman in our society to be encouraged to do.
Melanie: Thank you so much, Jackie, for being with us today. If you're concerned about your heart health, take our free, quick, and confidential HeartAware Online Screening at bryanhealth.org/heartaware. That's bryanhealth.org/heartaware, and thank you to the women of Alpha Phi for funding this special heart-healthy podcast. This is Melanie Cole for Bryan Health Radio. Thanks for listening.
Listen to Your Body: It Might be Heart Disease
Melanie Cole (Host): There comes a time when you realize it's time; this is my life, my heart and my health and it's important. It's time for a life-long smart approach to heart health. My guest today is Jackie Bates. She's a cardiac rehabilitation registered nurse with Bryan Health. Welcome to the show Jackie. So why is it so important for women, especially, to exercise to maintain that heart health and how much is needed to keep our hearts healthy?
Jackie Bates (Guest): The very first piece that comes to my mind when I hear that question is the important role of a woman in her home and her work and the demands and expectations that women put on themselves. So the importance about exercise and how much to do is really quite a bit about the whole woman. Exercise helps with managing stress.
It gives you endorphins to give you more energy. At other times, it lets you be more creative and help out where you really want to help out. The foundation of exercise is at least three days a week for 30-40 minutes of an exercise level that helps you get your heart rate up and makes you feel like you’re working somewhat hard for 30-40 minutes.
Melanie: So that would be some cardiovascular exercise. Can people choose any kind? Or do you have one that you prefer?
Jackie: Some folks join a gym. A lot of people think exercise is them carrying their laundry up and down the stairs or doing housework. That does not count. The other kind is also swimming, and your body will really be the big force of communication to you if walking hurts or you are injured in some way and need to have a non-weight bearing exercise. Multiple areas of gyms have all sorts of equipment that can be used to help with any orthopedic or muscle limitations.
Melanie: So what role does nutrition play in our heart health, Jackie? And why is diet so important for women to actually pay attention to?
Jackie: Well, there's across the United States such a problem. Our fast pace, our high stress is really prompting a lot of people to eat quick foods that are high in carbohydrates and low in protein. Their heart really is a muscle that is filled with healthy cells and when you do not feed it the proper nutrition in your body to squeeze properly, to function, and keep up with your high pace, you're missing out on the energy that it needs - the food energy.
So, a real well-balanced, and not only in proteins and vegetables and some of the carbohydrates but also in the portion sizes is critical, and as we maintain our food energy then, of course, choices to exercise, to take care of ourselves, to manage our stress really makes a big difference because we've got the fuel we need for what our body needs to physically do.
Melanie: So, Jackie, you mentioned stress. How does stress affect our heart health?
Jackie: Adrenaline, adrenaline, adrenaline. I'm not trying to make fun of that, but there are surges of adrenaline in stressful times. Whether that is the -- all of a sudden you're slamming on your brakes or you get a phone call with some really bad news, or you're running late all the time -- those surges of adrenaline in our body really argues the word, tax, our body. The adrenaline and the endorphins that get sent out to our body affect the lining of our heart arteries. Actually, it affects the lining of every artery and vein, but when we're talking about at the heart, there can be a simple description for how I use it in cardiac rehab as like little irritated, inflamed areas in your arteries where plaque might stick to and start developing blockage, or the stress may make your blood pressure so high that you start having headaches, and you have vision problems. So, the stress in itself is not the bad culprit; it's our body's reaction that really will harm our heart, and we in the cardiac rehab world are learning that stress is for everyone. Even if you think of something as a fun stress, it still triggers those endorphins so high or there’s the adrenaline set. You have to be very careful because it's a major risk factor in heart disease.
Melanie: In women, we negative self-talk ourselves so we increase that stress; cortisol builds up -- again contributing to heart problems. What do you tell, in even your cardiac rehab women that are in rehab already, what do you tell them about getting rid of some of that stress with exercise and diet and using all these things together to help us with our heart health?
Jackie: I like that question because a big part of our focus in cardiac rehab is not just about blood pressure. It's just not about the individual risk factor, but the whole body. So, what we tell people is let's start from the beginning on the stress. We use the terminology stress management. Let's start from the beginning and let's try to identify what our stressors are for you as client or patient. Let's try to find out what's our normal reactions. What type of clues are being given to us to say, you know what? I just reacted in a too stressful way. I need to back that down. So identifying what our stressors and how we respond is a great start. We call it a getting started with stress management, and then we teach people that both in their verbal discussions and written information and advice about exercise and how that can lower your blood pressure, particularly, some those symptoms of high blood pressure, headache or stretching and doing all sorts of muscle stretching can help calm you. Finding out where is a quiet place in your day, maybe several times a day to pull back and let you have some down time and just really think through what these financial matters or relationship matters - how they really impacting your heart.
You will also see that in our world - in cardiac rehab - folks come in that are very depressed or stressed because they've had a new diagnosis of a heart problem, and the exercise is what motivates them and connects them with other people, and they can do some peer talking with each other about, this is what I'm going through and get encouragement in different ways, not just from the staff, but also from peers in the cardiac rehab setting or in an exercise setting, such as a gym.
Melanie: And Jackie, why is it so important for women to listen to their bodies because we are always taking care of everybody else, and they say put your own mask on before you put on the masks of your loved ones. Why is it so important, and what do we do to take care of ourselves first and listen to what our bodies are telling us?
Jackie: That is such a challenge to people, in particular, women. I've heard that analogy over and over in the airplane, but I’ve watched many times where women will still choose to take care of someone else even though they're low on oxygen themselves, and so finding the importance in individuals as a cardiac rehab nurse is one of my biggest challenges and joys. I feel like the one piece that happens for women about cardiac symptoms is the vague symptoms. Women have a non - they don't always have the privilege of the real classic, "there's an elephant on my chest," "there's pain in my chest," "I broke out in a sweat, and I knew something was really wrong." A lot of times women in heart disease said that, "I just felt so weak, and I thought it was because I was overweight, or I'm not an exerciser and I thought, I'm just so out of shape." You hear that vague symptom a lot for women, and as I thought about this interview, one of the most important pieces I feel, as a woman myself and as a cardiac rehab nurse, I wanted to say is to develop a relationship with your medical provider. Nowadays that means someone that's either a physician, a chiropractor, a nurse practitioner, PA, all sorts of levels of medical providers. So, you can say to them, "This is going on and this is not my normal. I'm more tired when I climb steps. I'm more short of breath; something's just not right, and it's not because I’m only overweight or because I’m not an exerciser." So, that relationship with a medical provider to let them take you to the next level or perhaps getting an EKG or a stress test or something along that line could be an absolutely important piece for a woman in our society to be encouraged to do.
Melanie: Thank you so much, Jackie, for being with us today. If you're concerned about your heart health, take our free, quick, and confidential HeartAware Online Screening at bryanhealth.org/heartaware. That's bryanhealth.org/heartaware, and thank you to the women of Alpha Phi for funding this special heart-healthy podcast. This is Melanie Cole for Bryan Health Radio. Thanks for listening.