Battling Heart and Stroke

She is not your typical heart patient: she is young, physically fit, and slim. But musical performer and Grammy-award winner Toni Braxton knows how it feels to battle the monster that is heart disease. And she puts her celebrity status to use for a good cause - to increase awareness about heart disease among women.

Four years ago, Toni experienced symptoms of breathless and tightness in her chest during a performance’s intermission and ended up in an emergency room. She was diagnosed to have pericarditis. According to Medline Medical Encyclopedia, pericarditis is
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Do you know how to perform a cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and use an an automated external defibrillator (AED)? Do you know how to act in an emergency to help save a life? As part of the National CPR/AED Awareness Week, the American Heart Association (AHA) conducted a survey about the ability of Americans to act appropriately in a cardiac emergency. And the results are a bit disappointing.

The AHA survey was done online and 1,132 responded to the survey, 162 of whom were African Americans and 150 were Hispanics. 89% or the respondents were willing to help in an emergency situation. The rest are not willing or hesitant to help out because of lack of confidence in their life-saving skills, concerns about possible litigation, or fear of doing more harm than good.

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When was the last time you had your blood pressure (BP) checked? Do you know the difference between systole BP and diastole BP and what BP measurements mean for your health? Do you know your risk factors for hypertension and other cardiovascular disorders?

May is the month to start answering these questions. Since 1984, May has been proclaimed as the National Blood Pressure Awareness Month in the United States. The Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) also calls it the National High Blood Pressure Education Month.

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May is High Blood Pressure Awareness Month, as initiated by the American Heart Association (AHA). More details soon!