CARDIAC ATHLETIC SOCIETY EDMONTON

Heart Murmurs
September 2011

ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE

At our Education session that will be held at 7:00 PM on Monday September 26 at SEESA, we will be learning about Alzheimer’s Disease and other Dementias. These conditions are subject to differing strategies for management and control for the patient and their families.

We will be given information about warning signs and risk factors, the occurrence of these conditions in Canada, and be provided tips and techniques for the management of these diseases. This will be a critical session for all of us since it is quite probable that we know, or will know seniors, facing these challenges

CASE Golf

 

The annual CASE golf tournament was held on Wednesday, September 7th at Twin Willows. Eleven golfers (but none of our ladies) participated on a beautiful fall day. After all the good shots, bad shots, near-misses and mulligans, the results were:

 

Low gross of 43 -- a tie with Ed Abel and Jim Hammond (the best golfers on the day)

 

Low net of 39 -- another tie, between Brian Jones and Stuart Embleton

 

Long drive -- Stuart Embleton

 

Long drive -- Neil Mingo (this was meant to be the ladies, but was changed in the absence of women golfers)

 

Long putt -- ?

 

 

Thanks to generous contributions from Ed Abel and Barry Latham, a sleeve of balls was given to each golfer, and each participant, in rank order by their score, was able to select another prize from the table. A special award was given to Ed Abel, made from persimmon clubs, originally Ed’s, by Gordon Halls – a ‘birdie’ (which Ed had already chosen as his prize). All present recognize Ed as one of the anchors of the golf group.

 

 

The winner’s names will be engraved on the trophies, which they can then keep for bragging rights until next year. This year, they will also receive ‘keepers’, which are little plaster golfers, made by Gordon Halls. Trophies will be presented at the wind-up party. (At time of writing, the party is planned for Oct 21st, at Brian and Elaine Jones’).The $10 mulligan fee has been utilized for the engraved shields on the trophies (4@ $17) and to add an additional base to one that has little room left for names. The total spent on trophies is $105.

 

 

FORGETFUL? DO YOU REMEMBER THIS AFTER 3 MONTHS?

Our educational session on Monday May 30 offered an overview of the Boosting Your Memory program offered through Alberta Health Services by personnel from occupational health, aging resource nurses, clinical nutritionists and pharmacists.

Boosting Your Memory (BYM) is a memory enhancement program for adults, (50+ years) who are interested in addressing some concerns around memory in relation to normal aging. We only had an hour to introduce issues that the program normally addresses in classes that are held once a week for six weeks.

The program covers topics on how memory works, normal changes in memory due to aging, memory boosting strategies, memory training techniques to help with remembering and retrieving, thoughts and feelings about memory and forgetfulness, and various factors that affect memory such as nutrition, physical activities, sleep, medication and stress. Boosting Your Memory is held at various locations including senior's centres, public health centres, churches, and other community locations. Dates, times and locations may vary. A fee of $15.00 is charged for the program. This fall, the six week programs are scheduled to be held at:

·      Westend Seniors Activity Centre, 9626 – 176 Street on Tuesday mornings 10 AM to 12 starting on September 13, 2011;

·      South East Edmonton Seniors Association (SEESA) 9350 – 82 Street, on Tuesday afternoons from 1:30 to 3:30 starting on September 13, 2011;

·      Riverbend Public Library Rabbit Hill Road & Terwillegar Drive on Tuesdays from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. starting Sept. 20, 2011

·      Central Lions Seniors Citizens Recreation Centre, 11113 – 113 Street, on Thursdays from 2:00 – 4:00 starting Sept.29 2011;

·      Whitemud Crossing Library 145 Whitemud Crossing Shopping Centre, Whitemud Freeway and 106 St. on Tuesdays from 1:00 to 3:00 starting Nov.01 2011.

STRESS AND HEART DISEASE

For years it has been “common knowledge” that people who are under a lot of stress have an increased risk of heart disease. But is this common knowledge correct? And if so, what kinds of stress increase the risk of heart disease, how does it increase your risk, and what can be done about it? Sorting out the effects of stress on the heart has been complicated by at least three factors:

1) there is a lack of a commonly accepted definition of "stress". It means different things to different people;

2) some types of stress appear to be worse for the heart than others; and

3) how you respond to stress may be more important than the stress itself.

When people refer to “stress,” they are often talking about two different things: physical stress, or emotional stress. Most of the medical literature on stress and heart disease refers to physical stress, however, most people are referring to the emotional variety when they talk about stress and heart disease.

Physical stress -– exercise or other forms of physical exertion –- places measurable and reproducible demands on the heart. This physical stress is generally acknowledged to be good. In fact, the lack of physical stress (i.e., a sedentary lifestyle) constitutes a major risk factor for coronary artery disease. So this kind of “stress” is usually considered to be good for the heart.

If you have a significant underlying heart disease, too much physical stress potentially can be dangerous. For a person who has coronary artery disease, too intensive exercise may place demands on the heart muscle that the diseased coronary arteries cannot meet. In this case and the heart becomes ischemic (i.e., starved for oxygen.) and the heart muscle can experience either angina (chest pain), or a heart attack.

So physical stress -- that is, exercise -- is generally very good for you, and is generally to be encouraged (with appropriate precautions, if you have heart disease). And unless the exercise is extraordinarily excessive, physical stress does not actually cause heart deterioration.

Emotional stress is generally the kind of stress people are talking about when they say that stress causes heart disease. Everyone –- even doctors -– have the notion that emotional stress, if it is severe enough or chronic enough, is bad for you. Most even believe that this kind of stress can cause heart disease. But scientific evidence that it actually does so has been hard to come by.

Recently, however, enough evidence has accumulated to be able to say that certain kinds of emotional stress, in certain people, and under certain circumstances, appears to contribute to heart disease. Under the right (or rather, wrong) circumstances, emotional stress may contribute to the development of chronic heart disease, or can help precipitate acute cardiac problems in people who already have heart disease.

This article by Richard N. Fogoros, M.D. has been adapted from , About.com Guide http://heartdisease.about.com/od/reducingcardiacrisk/a/Stress-And-Heart-Disease.htm

SO NOW WHAT?

When you’re stuck in the stress rut, it can seem like a never-ending cycle. Wondering where to start? Step one: reshape your thoughts. A stress expert tells you how. Can positive thinking help block and relieve stress? Stress expert and founder of The Relaxation Response Institute, Eli Bay advises that it does—and it comes in the shape of affirmations.

While affirmations have been used to harness the power of positive thinking, Eli uses the process to put the overstressed into stress relief. Eli says, "An affirmation is a positive thought that you choose to put in your mind in order to produce a positive action." "It's a way of focusing your intention and helps you choose what you want. "What's important, though, is creating and using an affirmation that works for you and your stress." He suggests three steps to stress-free affirmations.

Identify your goal. Ask yourself what you want to accomplish. Do you want to carve out relaxation time in your schedule? Go through your day without all the emotional and physical side effects of too much stress?

Shape your goal into an affirmation. While you can have more than one affirmation, each one should be short, positive and in the present tense. Brevity is important so you can easily remember it and repeat it without effort. Being positive reinforces what you want, not what you don't want. If you attach an emotive word to an affirmation, then it becomes more powerful. "I love making sound decisions" is an example. Since your subconscious mind only recognizes the present tense, avoid terms like "I will" and "I want to be". "I will be stress free" should be "I am stress free."

Repeat your affirmation often. By repeating your affirmation, your internal echo is helping to break the pattern of negative thoughts — even those that have become so automatic that you don't notice them anymore. The best times to repeat your affirmation is when your body feels safe and that comes down to being in a relaxed state; for example before falling asleep, upon wakening, or when doing regular, repetitive exercise such as walking

Affirmations are unique and are as individual as you are. To help create your affirmation some shared examples include:"I am calm and relaxed." "Life supports me." "I'm happy with my work." "I sleep easily and soundly." "I am in charge of my own life." "I am as healthy as I can be." "I am taking care of my body."

Once you create your affirmation repeat it often to maximize its power. "At first you may have to remind yourself to repeat your affirmations but once you do it enough, it can become almost involuntary." and maximize its relaxation and stress reduction benefits.

This article has been adapted from the website http://www.morethanmedication.ca/en/article/index/affirmations

 

Event	Date	Time	Place
Executive Meeting	Mon. Sept.12	9:00 AM	SEESA
Social Breakfast	Wed. Sept. 21	9:00 AM	SEESA
Education Self Help and Activities	Mon. Sept 26	7:00 PM	SEESA
Executive Meeting	Mon. Oct. 17	9:00 AM	SEESA
Social Breakfast	Wed. Oct. 26	9:00 AM	SEESA
Education Self Help and Activities	Mon. Oct. 31	7:00 PM	SEESA
Executive Meeting	Mon. Nov. 14	9:00 AM	SEESA
Social Breakfast	Wed. Nov. 23	9:00 AM	SEESA
Education Self Help and Activities	Mon. Nov. 28	7:00 PM	SEESA
Christmas Social	Sun. Nov. 27	4:30 PM	Malmo

Notes: SEESA: (The South East Edmonton Seniors Assoc).            address is 9350 82nd Street, Edmonton

            Malmo: (Malmo Community League)                    address is 11525 48th Avenue Edmonton

            Mazankowski Heart Institute                                 address is 8840112 Street, Edmonton