Heart Health Fun Facts And Tips

Here are some simple tips and fun facts to get started on building and maintaining a heart-healthy lifestyle. Heart ultrasound is a proven, safe and fast way your doctor can evaluate your heart's health.


Be heart SMART

-- Stop smoking! It's one of the best things you can do for your heart - not to mention the rest of your body.

-- Maintain a healthy weight. Eat a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol.

-- Activity is important. Get regular exercise to strengthen your heart.

-- Reduce stress. Life's too short to worry about everything.

-- Talk to your doctor. He/she is your partner in building and maintaining a healthy heart.

What Does Heart Ultrasound Do?

-- Sees the structure of your heart and checks for problems
-- Examines how blood flows through your heart
-- Evaluates your heart before major surgery
-- Measures the size and thickness of your heart and its chambers
-- Yields information on the valves of your heart
-- Helps show if you have a heart murmur
-- Explores problems with the heart muscle
-- Assesses damage to your heart after a heart attack
-- Rules out abnormalities in your heart
-- Tests your heart's response to exercise

The American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) is a professional non- profit organization of physicians, cardiac sonographers, nurses and scientists involved in echocardiography, the use of ultrasound to image the heart and cardiovascular system. These heart and circulation specialists are dedicated to improving their patients' health and quality of life. The organization was founded in 1975 and has more than 11,000 members nationally and internationally.

American Society of Echocardiography

http://www.SeeMyHeart.org

Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/63008.php

The Mater Hospital: Cardiac Program

About the Mater Cardiac Program

Before the 1990s, very little cardiac work was being done in Kenya due to scarcity of trained personnel and the high cost of surgery (Heart surgery costs Kshs 500,000 and is out of reach for many Kenyans). Upon this realization The Mater Hospital- Kenya set up a Cardiac Programme in 1995.

The Programme is positioned to cater for the needs of children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, suffering from both congenital and acquired heart disease. Sadly, 50% of children aged between 4 and 8 years seen at the Cardiology Clinics suffer from rheumatic heart disease, subsequent to rheumatic fever that originated from a simple sore throat. 

More than 1,700 children have benefitted from surgery and some of their stories and profiles are in this blog (past beneficiaries).

There are many encouraging outcomes from this program, the highlights being the transformation we see in many past beneficiaries. One beneficiary, Mutwiri Rarama is currently studying Medicine at the University of Nairobi and wishes to specialise in Cardiology. Another beneficiary, Edith Muthoni, is a Nursing Student at the Catherine McAuley School at The Mater Hospital.

How Many Children Need Procedures in Kenya

Globally, 1% of children are born with congenital heart defects. In Kenya, a further 1% develop Rheumatic Heart Disease, mainly in the slums and rural areas where poverty levels are high. This means that every year, more than 10,000 children need heart treatment.

The Mater Hospital corrects an average of 200 paediatric heart defects every year.

The other centre offering this service on a similar scale in Kenya is Kenyatta National Hospital.

Many children therefore succumb before accessing care.