Let a heart healthy future be your holiday stocking stuffer

INDIANAPOLIS – Knowing your family’s health history can help identify your own risk for heart disease and help you reach for the tools needed to minimize the risk of heart attack and cardiovascular disease.

Certainly, the holiday season provides an excellent opportunity to develop that history at family gatherings, say physicians at St. Francis Medical Group Indiana Heart Physicians. Knowing the health challenges your family members have had can help guide you to pay more attention to that same aspect of your health. Here’s the information that’s needed:

· If relatives have had a heart attack or stroke, how old were they (if they were younger than 50 years old, your risk of the same thing happening is high)?

· Who in the family has high cholesterol, high blood pressure?

· Does diabetes run in the family?

· Have your parents had surgery for heart valve disease?

· Does any family member have peripheral vascular disease (bad circulation in the legs), aneurysms and blocked carotid arteries? These are all signs of cardiovascular disease.

“Identifying cardiovascular risk factors in your family is a vital step in assessing your own risk,” says Franciscan St. Francis cardiologist Carson Turner, M.D. “With this information, you can begin to make important lifestyle changes to decrease your risk.”

Don’t give up just because you may have a family history of heart disease. There are controllable risk factors: Don’t smoke; maintain a healthy weight; exercise 30-60 minutes 5 days per week or simply increase the level of current activity; control blood pressure (less than 120/80); control cholesterol levels; and control blood sugar if diabetic.

To learn more about programs and services available at Franciscan St. Francis Heart Center, go to myheartcare.net.

St. Francis Weight Loss Center chimes in with 12 healthy holiday tips

INDIANAPOLIS – Christmas and New Year’s are just two days out of 365. But unabashedly enjoying the season’s treats from now until those resolutions kick in could wreak havoc on your health habits.

In honor of the “12 Days of Christmas,” the St. Francis Weight Loss Center offers a dozen ways to watch your waistline while still enjoying the holiday season:

1. Plan to maintain your weight over the holidays. Decide which treat is worth the calories, take a smaller portion, and savor every single bite.

2. Take the focus off food. Instead of baking cookies with your children, create non-edible projects like wreaths, dough art decorations or a gingerbread house.

3. Think ahead to make mealtimes less hurried. On a cold, wintery night, few things say comfort like a bowl of hot soup, paired with crusty, whole-grain bread. Start a pot simmering on the stove or in the slow cooker while you spend the day decorating the tree, addressing cards or doing any other holiday preparations. Add a piece of fruit and a cup of milk, and you have a well-balanced meal.

4. Experiment with seasonal produce to lighten up your meals. Consider chutneys as an accompaniment to meats, slices of pears or oranges in your salad, cranberries or dried fruits in rice pilaf, or apple sauce substituted for some of the fats in your baking. A little creativity can go a long way toward heightening taste and sneaking in your produce needs in your diet.

5. If you like to socialize near the kitchen, move the conversation away from the food so you will not be tempted to grab something to eat within arms reach that you really do not want.

6. Avoid temptation- invest in the desserts your really want. If there is a bowl of candy on the table, but you really want Aunt Carol’s famous pie, avoid the candy, save those calories for the items you really want! Its okay to indulge in sweets occasionally and still stay on the weight loss track, just keep your portion sizes small and your eye on the overall goal.

7. Make exercise time play time. Enjoy an afternoon of football, sledding, ice skating or playing in the snow. Or even enjoy the holiday lights while taking a long evening walk.

8. Discover different dips. Who says dips have to be high-fat and joined by chips? Replace cream cheese with silken tofu, or experiment with dips made with nonfat cream cheese, sour cream or Greek yogurt. Pair with vegetable spears or baked pita chips.

9. Watch your appetizers. Limit high-fat choices such as fried chicken wings, miniature sausages and most cheeses. Choose fruits and vegetables instead.

10. Enjoy the mall. While shopping, stretch your legs and squeeze in some exercise in a warm, dry environment.

11. Be a happy host. Balance your famous cookies with healthier options. Grab a fruit or vegetable tray from the store. Be sure to send your leftovers home with guests.

12. Have a healthy holiday spirit. Cocktails, “real” eggnog and other holiday drinks quickly add up in calories. Alternatives include sparkling or hot apple cider, light eggnog or seltzer mixed with fruit juices. Try drinking a glass of water before you drink an alcoholic beverage. This will cut down on excess calories consumed from satisfying your thirst as opposed to drinking for pleasure.

With a little creativity, you can start the new year without quite as many pounds to lose come Jan. 1 – and might just find a new tradition in the process.

More holiday eating and nutrition tips are at http://www.stfrancishospitals.org/weightloss/images/healthyholiday.pdf

To learn more about services and programs available at the St. Francis Weight Loss Center, go to www.stfrancishospitals.org/weightloss.

St. Francis Health employees poised to help south side needy during holidays

BEECH GROVE, Ind. – While there has been some glimmer of an improving economy, many in the community are still in need as the holidays approach.

That’s why Franciscan St. Francis Health again is serving as a collection site for LifeBridge Community’s Operation Bright Christmas

In its 10th year, the program serves families during the holidays, benefiting children living in poverty in Beech Grove and Indianapolis’ south side. LifeBridge is now accepting donations beginning Dec. 1.

Last year, 250 families having 625 children were helped. This year the event will focus on the meaning of Christmas with added services and a pageant.

Donations being accepted: new toys, new or gently used infant clothing and items, wrapping paper, gift bags, tags, ribbon, batteries, DVDs or CDs (“G” or “PG” rating only), video and board games (“G” rating only), twin size bedding, gift cards in small denominations, faith-based items, and sports toys (balls, bats, gloves, etc.). There’s a particular emphasis this year on children’s clothes, coats, hats, gloves and food this season.

Donors are asked not to gift toys that are of the violent and occult nature. Toys that are broken or missing pieces also will not be accepted.

Donations are being accepted 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily at the Spiritual Care offices at Franciscan St. Francis HealthlBeech Grove, 1600 Albany St.; Franciscan St. Francis-Indianapolis, 8111 S. Emerson Ave.; and Franciscan St. Francis-Mooresville, 1201 Hadley Road.

LifeBridge Community is a faith-based ministry that seeks to instill hope in the lives of children, young adults and families through nurturing relationships and supportive services. More information about the organization is at www.lifebridge-community.org.

St. Francis Health’s Mooresville hospital preps for new unit opening

MOORESVILLE, Ind. – A new medical unit is scheduled to open Nov. 29 at Franciscan St. Francis Health-Mooresville

It is called the Inpatient Medical Unit to differentiate it from the existing Medical-Surgical Unit. Located in what was the original patient/surgery wing in the original hospital before the 2008 expansion, the new unit houses patient beds in 13 private rooms, two large enough to be semi-private if needed. The unit was created to address the growth trend at the hospital.

The population served by this 8,800-square-foot unit will be primarily patients with a general medical conditions such as respiratory, heart failure and sepsis. Patients requiring progressive or intensive care will be cared for in the ICU.

“Our goal is to use this unit for medical patients only and keep all surgery patients in the existing orthopedics and med-surg units,” said Cindy Knipe, R.N., clinical services assistant director.

The unit includes the latest technology, including Spectralink phones and the G.E. Tellergy nurse call installed in the 2008 Phase II addition. It also will be equipped with a an advanced tube system station and Pyxis drug-dispensing unit.

To learn more about Franciscan St. Francis Health-Mooresville and its services, go to http://www.stfrancishospitals.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=68.

Franciscan St. Francis Health and Cardiac Surgery Associates announce integration

INDIANAPOLIS – As part of Franciscan St. Francis Health’s commitment to offer the most dynamic and innovative program for the treatment of vascular disorders, the hospital has announced an expanded partnership with Cardiac Surgery Associates, S.C. (CSA), one of the largest, most respected and experienced cardiac, vascular and thoracic surgery practices in the nation.

Effective Oct. 1, management and operations of the St. Francis Medical Group Vascular Surgeons practice transitioned to CSA. CSA also now manage and conduct all readings for the accredited Franciscan St. Francis Vascular Diagnostic Laboratory.

As Franciscan St. Francis’ trusted partner in cardiac and vascular care for the past five years, CSA and the St. Francis Medical Group Indiana Heart Physicians (IHP) will build upon their already successful professional collaboration and develop a fully integrated, multispecialty center where cardiovascular surgeons, endovascular specialists, noninvasive vascular specialists, diagnosticians and other specialists will provide the most comprehensive diagnostic interventional and surgical services for vascular disorders.

“This integration will help grow Franciscan St. Francis Health’s national reputation for quality and compassionate patient care,” said Marc Gerdisch, M.D., chief of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, St. Francis Heart Center. “It is an expansion of our already remarkably successful collaborative approach to cardiac disease, which has grown tremendously in the past five years. Now an all-encompassing program will include treatment and research for the full spectrum vascular disorders.”

One of the nation’s top cardiac and vascular surgery groups, CSA is an independent practice with 29 surgeons and is also a long-standing clinical partner of Franciscan

St. Francis Health. CSA performs more than 3,500 open heart surgeries – 500 at the St. Francis Heart Center – and 3,200 vascular, thoracic and other surgeries annually.

IHP is the first and largest provider of cardiovascular care on Indianapolis’ south side and has 26 board-certified cardiologists specializing in peripheral vascular disease, electrophysiology, echocardiography, nuclear cardiology, interventional cardiology and clinical cardiology.

“With Dr. Gerdisch’s leadership, our cardiac and vascular surgery team has developed many new treatment approaches to ensure patients receive access to world-class care,” said Robert J. Brody, CEO and president of Franciscan St. Francis Health. “CSA surgeons are among the best in the world, pioneering next-generation devices and technology.”

Both the surgical office and the Franciscan St. Francis Vascular Diagnostic Laboratory will remain in the same location, and a centralized scheduling number (317-851-2323) allows easy, convenient scheduling for patients and physicians.