Digging out from a big snowfall is stressful enough. In the midst of all the other preparations that keep your life at a busy pace during a snowstorm, it’s important to remember not to neglect your heart health.
“Lifting heavy, wet snow can cause undue stress on your heart,” explains Dr. Gautam Shroff, Director of Cardiology at Hennepin Healthcare. (more…)
John Grudnowski is a 44-year-old marketing executive who works out 3-4 times a week. He had no apparent risk factors for a heart attack, but on May 22, 2021, that’s exactly what he experienced while living for a short time in Costa Rica.
“I had just completed one of my workouts with a personal trainer and afterward felt like I couldn’t do anything,” he explains. “I could barely even do a push-up, and I began to feel nauseous so I went home. My wife said that everyone was heading to the beach, but I just wasn’t feeling well and wanted to lie down for a while. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I was going to have a heart attack.” (more…)
Back in 2013 when he was asked to build a giant heart for a Cassadee Pope music video, Ricky Price never imagined that six years later his own heart would require a bit of reconstruction.
“I had a heart attack and four stents placed in November,” the Nashville native explained during a recent visit to Hennepin Healthcare’s Cardiac Rehabilitation Program, where a brief anatomy class is part of each patient’s rehab. (more…)
Is it heartburn? Muscle strain? Pain from a heart attack can take on different forms for women – and unfortunately, it’s those subtle differences that could be making a huge difference in clinical outcomes for patients.
Coronary heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death for women in the United States even though more is being done to identify and treat the disease. Ignoring the symptoms of heart attack is one of the key factors attributing to this statistic.
“Since the 1980s there’s been a steady decline in cardiovascular disease rates for women, and that’s great,” explains Dr. Michelle Carlson at Hennepin Healthcare. “Awareness of prevention efforts like reducing cholesterol, stress and smoking cessation as well as incorporating positive exercise and diet choices are making a difference. But there’s one obstacle we’re still not overcoming – and that’s the likelihood of women to dismiss symptoms until it’s too late.” (more…)
Hennepin EMS paramedics respond to a variety of scenes for emergency calls – often the same ones as the Minneapolis Fire Department. On Saturday, September 29, 2018, paramedics Stephanie Young and Derek Smith were in their ambulance at Minneapolis Fire Station No. 22 when they received a call to a very familiar address.
“I recognized it as Fire Station No. 8 near Whittier Clinic,” said Young. “We know the guys there and my heart just sank. When we arrived we found Captain Colm Black waiting for us on the ‘launch pad’ where the fire trucks go out.” (more…)
