Oregon daily emerald., February 18, 1987, Page 7, Image 7

Derailed hearts, lives
Sacred Heart program helps
heart patients get back on track
By Sheri Metzler
Of the Emerald
Heart disease is the number-one killer
of Americans today, but for those peo
ple who suffer heart attacks and survive,
life can take some time to get used to.
Heart attacks are like time bombs, ac
cording to Dr. Jim Jackson, director of
the University Student Health Center.
"Lifestyle problems such as the type
of foods one eats, stress amounts and
smoking are usually set in the young
adult years. One’s lifestyle may reflect
what will happen when one is older,"
he said.
People usually have heart attacks
when they are in their 50s and 00s, he
added.
A myocardial infarction, the scientific
term for a heart attack, occurs more fre
quently in older adults.
One heart problem that sometimes oc
curs in younger people is arrhythmia,
where the heart does not beat properly,
Jackson said. This and most heart pro
blems are not common in young adults,
however, he said.
Sacred Heart General Hospital in
Eugene has a program to help people
return to normal lives after heart
problems.
"The patient starts out in the Pro
gressive Cardiac Unit after the fourth
day in post-operation,” said Lynne
Peterson, a cardiac rehabilitation
therapist at Sacred Heart.
The object of the program is to get the
patient standing, walking and making
progress daily, Peterson said. The pro
gram begins with getting the patient out
of bed and monitoring the patient’s
heart response, heart rate and blood
pressure, she said.
After the patient leaves the hospital, a
three-phase program begins.
"Phase one is education about risk
factor modification and warning signals
of heart attacks,” Peterson said.
Phase two is split into two parts. Part
A, when the patient still has out-patient
status, requires the patient to come back
to the hospital one to three times a week
and involves going to the heart center to
work out on bicycles and treadmills.
Part B requires the patient to come to
the center once a week and walk on a
treadmill for 10 to 15 minutes. There is
also formal education about heart at
tacks during this phase.
Phase three consists of one night a
week at Lane (.ommunity College where
a social support group meets.
1 atients talk about how they have
made lifestyle changes/* Peterson said.
I hey also walk and do aerobics for an
hour, and occasionally physicians will
come to the meetings as guest lecturers.
‘ The support groups totally involve
the family, and we encourage the family
to come.” Peterson said. “A lot of fami
ly dynamics become strained, and there
is a lot of fear.”
Phase three helps patients to unders
tand they are not alone in dealing with
heart attacks. Peterson said. It also con
sists of discussions about risk factors
and diet habits, she said.
Phase three is ongoing and deals
with specifics.” she said.
Don Buckley and Oscar Hainan, two
patients that have benefited greatly from
the program, both say their lifestyles
have changed dramatically.
Buckley, 52. had a heart attack in June
ot last year and was given a balloon
angioplasty to open his clogged arteries
after the attack. As principal of Spring
field Middle School, he was always on
the run before the heart attack, he said.
He had a busy schedule that was
stressful at times because of his job and
community activities.
You look at yourself as being in
destructible.” Buckley said.
Although Buckley didn’t smoke or
drink and exercised often, he has a fami
ly history of heart disease. Before the
heart attack, he said he felt fatigue but
thought it was from working hard.
r. . , Hholu by Tim |»n<m
Uunng a heart attack support group session at LCC, patients engage in
some aerobic exercise to keep recovering hearts healthy.
Since the attack, Huckley has changed
his lifestyle in terms of time priorities.
He is not as involved in the community
as he was previously. His family sup
ports him well as do his co-workers at
school.
Haman, 75, underwent bypass
surgery on Dec. 5, 1985. Prior to this, he
was quite active recreationally.
“I knew there was something wrong
back in 1988. It just got worse and
worse, and I put pressure on the doctors
to see what was wrong before I did have
a heart attack,” Haman said.
He received an angiogram to see
when; the blockage was and its extent.
Haman feels much better now and
walks between three-and-a-half and
five-and-a-half miles every morning.
His eating habits also have changed,
and he now avoids red meat and high
cholesterol foods.
Dr. Hill Temas. coordinator of tin*
support group, said the big factor is
comradery.
“It’s not an old man’s disease; it's a
disease that affects everybody.” he said.
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