Key points from today’s guests:
Mary De Leon, referred for CardioScore
- Mary was having severe upper back pain and thought it might be pneumonia, so she went to the ER.
- The ER at another location provided a chest x-ray and diagnosed her with a lung infection. But when she saw her doctor at The University of Kansas Health System, Mary was asked about the plaque in her system and was sent for a CardioScore test.
- She has a family history of heart issues and a relatively unhealthy diet, and at 65, she needed to be screened.
- There was a 95 percent blockage from plaque in her arteries that needed to be taken care of.
- Mary encourages people to be advocates for their health, listen to your body, and to not be afraid to get things checked out.
Kaye Ness, CardioScore consultant, The University of Kansas Health System
- We get the majority of CardioScore referrals from primary care physicians and cardiologists, but patients can also refer themselves.
- We see many patients with high cholesterol trying to get more information to help with high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and a family history of heart disease. If they have those risk factors, they are good candidates for the screening.
- The CardioScore test looks specifically at the amount of calcified plaque is in someone’s coronary arteries.
- It’s an easy test – really fast, painless, and no prep is needed. You go into a CT machine for about five minutes, processing the images take another five minutes, and then they can get a consultation at the main campus afterward.
- We are so fortunate to have this test available because prevention is so important.
Dr. Mazhar Afaq, cardiologist; director, Preventative Cardiology, The University of Kansas Health System
- Making consistent lifestyle changes is best. They don’t have to give everything up at once, but maintain a change and think about eating in moderation.
- Back pain can be a symptom of heart problems, especially for women.
- Back pain, jaw pain, shoulder pain, lower chest discomfort, upper abdominal discomfort, fatigue, shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting – these are just some of the symptoms that can be experienced, but many times they are dismissed by women because they are too busy, think it is stress-related, or need to care for someone else.
- Mary did the right thing in getting it checked out. She had 95 percent blockage.
- There is soft plaque and hard plaque, so the test will show the hard plaque. Plaque cannot be reversed, but it can regress.
- Heart disease is the number one killer in men and women. It is important to focus on prevention and it is never too late to change.
Dani Welniak, vice president of communications, Kansas City Current
- A $1,000 donation was made to the Adelaide C. Ward Women’s Heart Health Center for each regular season goal made by a Kansas City Current player.
- A record-setting number of goals were scored – 57 in the regular season and three in the playoffs.
- With the help of United Way, those donations went to an important cause.
- The University of Kansas Health System Training Center is an important piece of everything we do and the Health System’s focus on female athletes is the perfect partnership.
- The donation helps increase awareness for women’s heart health and provide access to a lot of women to have this preventive screening.
Wednesday, Dec. 4 at 8 a.m. is the next Open Mics with Dr. Stites. Doctors have long known the befefits of breastfeeding your baby. Tomorrow we’ll show you the science behind those benefits.
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