One in three Americans has heart disease. Essentia Health holds an annual heart failure symposium to help advance understanding of heart disease.
One in three Americans has heart disease. Essentia Health holds an annual heart failure symposium to help advance understanding of heart disease.
Essentia Health’s Heart Failure Symposium is aimed at survivors of heart failure as well as friends and family of survivors of heart failure. Community members can learn about living with heart disease as well as tips and techniques to improve their quality of life.
Funded by the Heltne Foundation, the symposium was attended by cardiologists and healthcare providers from Essentia. Dr. Kimberly Boddicker, medical director of the Essentia Health Heart Failure Disease Management Program, said the symposium began back in 2015.
“This year is our biggest crowd ever. So this year we’ll have 125 people here,” Dr. Boddicker said. “These are patients and families who discuss common symptoms and how best to treat them. One of the most common is coronary artery disease, or narrowing or blockage of the cardiovascular blood vessels. Today we The symposium will focus on heart failure.
Dr. Boddycker says it’s essential people know about the signs and symptoms of heart disease because heart disease is the second leading cause of death in Minnesota.
“So these symptoms are related to a restriction in the heart’s ability to pump, which causes symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain, and swelling due to fluid,” Dr. Boddicker said. Many of them can be caused by coronary artery disease and can also be caused by heart valve problems or heart rhythm problems. We focus on teaching you not only how to deal with those symptoms, but also how to prevent them in the first place. ”
Heart disease and stroke are the top two most common causes of death for Americans. Dr. Boddicker said Essentia Health provides information on how people can take steps to prevent heart disease.
“An easy thing we can do at home is to see our doctor. Making sure we control our blood pressure will also control our cholesterol. If we have diabetes, we’ll treat it. Eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly, and, importantly, don’t smoke. All these things will help prevent a whole range of different heart diseases that can eventually lead to symptoms of heart failure. It’s possible.”
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