Newswise — July 24, 2014 - In North Carolina, a stroke survivor, a heart attack survivor, and a heart transplant recipient have teamed up to share their experiences—with the goal of encouraging others to reduce their own cardiovascular disease risks. The "Triad Triage Trio" is featured in the August issue of Heart Insight, a quarterly magazine for patients, their families and caregivers. Heart Insight is published by the American Heart Association (AHA) and Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, part of Wolters Kluwer Health.
This team of survivors travels North Carolina's "Triad" area to tell their stories and talk about reducing risk factors for heart disease and stroke, according to a feature article by Heart Insight's Linda Childers.
Survivors Share Their Stories to Encourage Others to Reduce RisksDavid Layton was a smoker with a stressful job and a history of high blood pressure when he suffered a massive stroke in 1999. Recovery was slow and arduous, and David was left with paralysis of his left arm. But he has worked hard to regain as much function as possible, and has even started a website to share his experience with other stroke survivors.
David also took steps to reduce his risk of another stroke: he quit smoking, improved his diet, and reduced stress through exercise and prayer. He also began making presentations about stroke risk reduction, "speaking to any and all groups that invited me to speak." At an AHA function in 2001, David met heart attack survivor Randy Ludington, and the two men teamed up to spread the word on reducing risk factors for heart disease and stroke.
Like a lot of men, Randy thought he was "immune" to heart disease—the number one killer of American men. But in addition to a family history of heart disease, he had multiple risk factors, including smoking, overweight, and high cholesterol. Today, Randy is "very proactive" about his health, having reduced his risks by quitting smoking, losing weight, and improving his diet and physical activity.
The duo became a trio in 2011 when they met heart transplant survivor Anne Howell at another AHA event. Anne's presence provides a woman's perspective—an important addition, since heart disease is the number-four cause of death among U.S. women in the United States. Anne provides information about transplantation and inherited risk factors for heart disease.
Anne lived with implanted defibrillators for 16 years before her heart disease progressed to the point where transplantation was the only option. Today, she is an active athlete and mother to two teenage sons, in addition to sharing her experience and knowledge with others. She says, "I've been given a second chance at life and I want to make the most of it."
Click here to read "The Triad Triage Trio."
###Learn More on Heart InsightThe inspiring story of the Triad Triage Trio includes advice from Dr Clyde Yancy of Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago. "Eighty percent of the risk factors associated with heart disease are modifiable, which means they can be changed or treated," according to Dr Yancy. He shares practical tips on weight loss and other steps you can take to reduce your modifiable risk factors for heart disease and stroke.
To read the full article, visit the iTunes app store and download the free Heart Insight app. Each issue provides practical and trustworthy information on getting healthy and staying healthy, including inspiriting stories of people successfully managing heart disease and features on prevention, medical diagnosis and treatment, diet and lifestyle, and much more. Users can also read each issue online at www.HeartInsight.com.
About Heart InsightAn official publication of the American Heart Association (AHA), Heart Insight is the first AHA consumer magazine―for patients, families, and their caregivers―that focuses exclusively on managing and preventing cardiovascular disease and related conditions. Heart Insight offers hope, inspiration, and encouragement by featuring articles about, and by, people who have first-hand experience dealing with cardiovascular conditions, either as patients or as caregivers themselves. Heart Insight is lively and upbeat, providing readers with the most up-to-date, authoritative and practical advice on a wide range of heart-related conditions on a quarterly basis. Heart Insight is available at cardiology offices and in other healthcare settings, as well as free online at www.HeartInsight.com.
About Wolters Kluwer HealthWolters Kluwer Health is a leading global provider of information, business intelligence and point-of-care solutions for the healthcare industry. Serving more than 150 countries worldwide, clinicians rely on Wolters Kluwer Health’s market leading information-enabled tools and software solutions throughout their professional careers from training to research to practice. Major brands include Health Language®, Lexicomp®, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Medicom®, Medknow, Ovid®, Pharmacy OneSource®, ProVation® Medical and UpToDate®.
Wolters Kluwer Health is part of Wolters Kluwer, a market-leading global information services company. Wolters Kluwer had 2013 annual revenues of €3.6 billion ($4.7 billion), employs approximately 19,000 people worldwide, and maintains operations in over 40 countries across Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. Follow our official Twitter handle: @WKHealth.
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