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P.A.D. Awareness Seminar

September 11, 2012 in Community, Community Outreach, Lifestyle Tips, Women with 0 Comments

It seems like everywhere you look people are talking about Diabetes but not many are talking about P.A.D. Peripheral Arterial Disease occurs when arteries in the legs become narrowed or clogged with fatty deposits, reducing blood flow to the legs. P.A.D may cause leg muscle pain when walking and lead to disability, amputation and a poor quality of life.

Having blocked arteries in the legs means you are likely to have blocked arteries in other parts of the body, such as in the heart and brain. Thus, P.A.D is a powerful warning sign of existing cardiovascular disease and raises the likelihood of having a heart attack or stroke.

Take our questionnaire by clicking here and see if you are at risk for PAD then join St. David’s Round Rock Medical Center’s Dr. Michael Grad on Sept. 18th as he will educate on P.A.D. and what you can do to fight this disease.

Brushy Creek Community Center
16318 Great Oaks Drive
Round Rock, Texas

Call (512) 487-3627 to Register and we look forward to seeing you there!

Holly Krivokapich
Health and Wellness Coordinator
St. David’s Round Rock Medical Center

Free Adolescent Heart Screening

July 19, 2012 in Children, Community, Community Outreach, Exercise, Heart with 0 Comments

A special Thank You to the more than 100 youth who came out to St. David’s Round Rock Medical Center this past Saturday for the Free Adolescent Heart Screening. It was great to meet such wonderful people and we were proud to bring this wonderful benefit to our community.

The youth who attended the screening, ages 14-18, received an EKG and Sonogram to test for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) which affects 1 in 500 young athletes. The results were reviewed by a St. David’s Round Rock Medical Center physician.

In conjunction with the screening, Explorer Post 247 was on hand to train over youth, parents and siblings in hands free CPR. To the beat of the Bee Gee’s “Staying Alive”, over 70 people were trained in CPR while learning what to do in case of emergency. Post 247 gives youth the opportunity to explore different career in EMS. If you are between the ages of 14-21 and are interested please go to www.emspost247.org

In just 15 minutes adolescents and parents walked away not only with two medical tests regarding heart health results but also something much greater, a good peace of mind.

Holly Krivokapich
Health and Wellness Coordinator

Dietary Guidelines for Fueling the Athlete Within

June 29, 2012 in Community Outreach, Diet, Exercise, Recipes, Sports with 0 Comments

Tarie addresses the class on fueling your body for athletic performance.

Tarie Beldin spoke to the topic of Fueling the Athlete Within yesterday evening at the St. David’s Round Rock Health and Wellness Center, lecturing on the dietary needs of athletic performance levels, dispelling myths and demonstrating several cooking recipes. Along with some tasty samples and recipes, attendees left with some of the following dietary guidelines.

Carbohydrates

  • 55%-70% of total calories
  • Best sources: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, dairy products
  • 2-3 g per pound for light to moderate activity

Protein

  • Repairs but does not BUILD muscle!
  • 1.2-1.4 g per kg needed for daily activity
  • Need adequate protein but excess is unnecessary

Fluid

  • Body is 60-65% water
  • 75% of population is chronically dehydrated
  • Needs depend on weather, activity, intensity, medical conditions
    • 2-3 cups prior to activity
    • ¼-1 cup every 15-20 minutes
    • 2-3 cups post activity (*each pound lost with ~2 cups water)

Vitamins/Minerals

  • Do not provide energy but help your body to function better.
  • Taking more than daily recommended value does not equal better. It won’t make you healthier.
  • Eat food first before taking your vitamin so it settles better on your stomach.

Join us July 26th for the next cooking class with Tarie, Healthy Grilling where Tarie will demonstrate unique ways to grill and how to do it in a healthy and safe manner. The next seminar at the St. David’s Round Rock Health and Wellness Center will be July 12th where members of the Trauma Team will address all the ways you and your family can stay safe this summer during the Summer Safety seminar. You can register for both of these events by calling 512-487-3627.

Holly Krivokapich
Health and Wellness Coordinator

Don’t Let your Child be the ONE

June 5, 2012 in Children, Community, Community Outreach, Exercise, Heart, Outdoors, Sports with 0 Comments

June officially kicks off the summer months and for thousands of young athletes, an intense schedule of practice, games and tournaments. While often times the health and vigor of young athletes is taken for granted, each year a number of adolescents suffer from Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM). The leading cause of sudden cardiac arrest in young athletes, HCM affects approximately 1 in 500 student athletes. While it’s often hard to diagnose HCM without proper screening, some of the symptoms include:

  1. Shortness of breath)
  2. Chest Pain
  3. Heart palpitations
  4. Light-headedness
  5. Fatigue

As daunting as the possibility of HCM can be St. David’s Round Rock Medical Center is here to help. On June 14, we will be hosting a seminar discussing The Importance of Adolescent Heart Screening at the St. David’s Round Health and Wellness Center at the CHASCO YMCA. Come learn the symptoms, risks and what you can do to protect your child through screening. As an added benefit, St. David’s Round Rock is hosting a FREE Adolescent Heart Screening on July 14th for children between the ages of 14-18. Sign up for both of these by calling 512-478-3627. We hope to see you there!

Holly Krivokapich
St. David’s Round Rock Medical Center
Health and Wellness Coordinator

5 Reasons the DASH Diet Could Help You!

May 21, 2012 in Community, Community Outreach, Diet, Heart, Lifestyle Tips, Recipes, Stroke, Weight Loss, Women with 0 Comments

  1. The DASH Diet (Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension) was voted one of the best diets by U.S. News and was reviewed by doctors and dietitians.
  2. Studies have found that following the DASH Diet can reduce your blood pressure as much as some medications.
  3. Is a great way to lower your fat intake!
  4. Makes it easy to eat those 5 fruits and veggies each day!
  5. Can help you reduce your overall calorie intake which may lead to weight loss!

Heart disease is the number one killer of men and women in America and Stroke is the leading cause of serious long-term disability. A low sodium diet is essential to help decrease blood pressure….but there is more to the picture! Join me at the St. David’s Round Rock Health & Wellness Center Thursday, May 24th from 6-7:30 pm to learn how to make heart healthy foods taste great. Space is limited so call ( 512) 478-3627 or (888) 868-2104 to register today! I look forward to seeing you there!

Download Event Information

Tarie Beldin, RD, LD
St. David’s Round Rock Medical Center

 

5 Steps You Can Take to Improve Your Sleep Habits

April 27, 2012 in Community, Community Outreach, Lifestyle Tips, Sleep Apnea with 0 Comments

Dr. Terry Peery addresses attendees at the St. David’s Round Rock Medical Center ‘Importance of Sleep’ Seminar.

Today’s blog wraps up our Importance of Sleep focus for the month of April. A special thank you to Dr. Terry Peery who spoke to the attendees at our Importance of Sleep Seminar last night at the CHASCO Family YMCA. We hope those who attended learned not only the true importance of sleep but also what actions you can take to improve your sleep habits. Sleep is a basic biological need that is essential to our health, performance, safety, and quality of life and sleep deprivation has serious negative consequences. Five steps you can take to improve your sleep habits are:

  1. Go to bed and wake up at the same time consistently. Keep these same hours during the weekend.
  2. Don’t’ eat heavy meals for dinner or meals within three hours of falling asleep.
  3. Don’t exercise within three hours of going to bed. Try and exercise in the morning if you can which boost your metabolism.
  4. Do not have a television in the bedroom. This causes arousal and disrupts sleep.
  5. Avoid stimulants such as caffeine or nicotine after 2:00 p.m.

Almost a third of Americans have some type of sleep disorder. Our Sleep Lab is designed to diagnose and evaluate these disorders, which can include sleep apnea, narcolepsy, insomnia or sleep-related seizures. Take the Epworth Sleepiness Scale to determine if you may be at risk for a sleep disorder. If your score is 10 or above, please consult your physician regarding a possible sleep disorder. Call 512-901-1808 for more information or to schedule a sleep study. Studies are scheduled daily, including weekend.

The topic for May will be Stroke Awareness so mark a spot in your calendar on May 10th as we will have a featured speaker and offer free Stroke screenings including blood pressure check, blood sugar check and stroke risk assessment cards. Check back on May 1 for more information on this seminar!

Holly Krivokapich
Health and Wellness Coordinator
St. David’s Round Rock Medical Center

TCAI Hosts First-Ever EPLive Symposium

April 2, 2012 in AFIB, Community Outreach with 0 Comments

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Normally, I try to keep this blog focused on issues that impact patients directly, like how to take your own pulse, or how to prevent heart disease. But this time, I want to toot TCAI’s own horn a bit.

Last week, we hosted a symposium called EPLive here at St. David’s Medical Center in Austin. The first of its kind, this conference brought together the heavy hitters of electrophysiology to discuss live and pre-recorded EP procedures. Over 100 physicians, nurses, EP technologists, and industry representatives attended the two-day symposium, which contained a total of nearly 40 case presentations. Faculty included world-renowned electrophysiologists from major EP centers in Boston (MA), Akron (OH), Philadelphia (PA), Chicago (IL), Rochester (MN), New York, Stanford (CA), Los Angeles (CA), and Lancaster (PA), as well as Hamburg, Germany and Venice, Italy.

TCAI broadcast six live cases from our EP Lab on each day of the conference. While one of our physicians was focusing on performing the procedure, another TCAI physician walked conference attendees through the procedure and fielded questions from the audience. This unprecedented format allowed physicians to watch, live, complex cases being performed in real-time on anonymous (but very real) patients, with real challenges, trouble-shooting, and results. The sessions focused on ablation of atrial fibrillation and ventricular arrhythmias, as well as cardiac devices (such as pacemakers and defibrillators) and new technologies in electrophysiology.

As the brain-child of Dr. Andrea Natale (TCAI’s Medical Director) and the course co-directors, Drs. Francis Marchilinski, Paul J. Wang, and Amin Al-Ahmad, the goal of EPLive was to use actual procedures as a tool for teaching electrophysiologists how to implement the latest technological and technical advances in the field. Many of the cases sparked lively debate about the best way to approach a certain aspect of the procedure, and all prompted thoughtful questions from experienced and novice electrophysiology professionals.

According to attendees, the first-ever EPLive symposium was a huge success. We hope to host the conference again here in Austin in 2014.

St. David’s HealthCare Donates to Bastrop

October 6, 2011 in Career, Community Outreach, St. David's HealthCare with 0 Comments

St. David’s HealthCare employees donated both time and belongings to the victims of the Bastrop Labor Day wildfires. Thank you so much to all the individuals who came together and provided essential items to assist families in crisis as a result of the Central Texas wildfires and serve food to the emergency personnel who fought the flames.

St. David's HealthCare Donates to Victims of Wildfires
 

St. David's HealthCare Donates to Victims of Wildfires
 

St. David's HealthCare Donates to Victims of Wildfires
 

St. David's HealthCare Donates to Victims of Wildfires
 

Bastrop Emergency Personnel Lunch
 

Bastrop Emergency Personnel Lunch