Courtesy Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Denton
A new preventative screening offered by Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Denton is tailor-made to citizens of Denton County with heart. This service is offered through the Heart Health Center, a preventative health center that is new to the Denton County area from Texas Health Denton.
“We care about your heart,” says Debbie Bostic, R.N., Chief Nursing Officer of Texas Health Denton, who heads the program. “We are so excited to offer this kind of help for our patients right here in our area––because we know what it takes to take on heart disease.”
Keeping Tickers in Tip-top Shape
At the Heart Health Center at Texas Health Denton, hospital clinicians helps patients who have taken the heart risk assessment and been identified to have risks for heart and vascular disease. From screenings to nutrition, to fitness and lifestyle counseling, as well as physician specialist referrals, this center surrounds patients with the expertise, help, support and advice they need to optimize their heart’s health, as well as creating a plan for heart-health that is tailor-made to each individual person.
“Your heart is the center of your cardiovascular system, and it is ultimately responsible for feeding all of your body’s processes, so it is critically important to keep this organ healthy,” says Bostic. “We each have both the opportunity and responsibility to positively affect the overall health of our heart and cardiovascular system by knowing our numbers and making good lifestyle choices.”
Getting Started on a Heart-Healthy Lifestyle
Did you know in the U.S., according to the American Heart Association, cardiovascular disease is the number-one cause of death and a major cause of disability? Unfortunately, most people who die suddenly from cardiovascular-related disease have no previous symptoms. Because of this, it is important to know your numbers and be aware of your heart health risks.
The good news is that getting started is easy! A free, online Heart Health Risk Assessment can help you discover your heart’s “age” and determine if you are at risk for heart disease by answering a few, simple questions that take approximately 10 minutes to answer. Once complete, you will receive a personalized report indicating your current heart health and providing valuable heart health tips for you.
The online heart health assessment:
- Compares your actual age to your heart’s relative age;
- Calculates your 10-year risk of developing cardiovascular disease; and
- Prioritizes your most harmful cardiovascular risk factors.
The assessment helps estimate a person’s risk of cardiovascular disease during the next 10 years, as well as the next 30 years, if you are younger than 60.
Simply visit www.yourheartage.com to complete your custom assessment. If you are shown to have moderate to high risks for developing heart disease, you may want to visit the Heart Health Center at Texas Health Denton for a heart health screening.
The Heart Health Center at Texas Health Denton
People in Denton County have expertise on their side, in the form of experienced registered nurses, physicians on the Texas Health Denton medical staff and other well-trained clinicians who provide care at the Heart Health Center at Texas Health Denton. The clinical professionals at the center conduct screenings to help determine a patient’s opportunity for cardiac health improvement and then lead that person through counseling with information on important changes in fitness, nutrition and lifestyle that can make a difference for someone who has developed, or could develop, cardiovascular disease.
The screening is just $139 and includes:
- One-on-one consultation with an advanced practice nurse
- Blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes checks
- EKG
- Ankle brachial index
- Carotid imaging
- Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm imaging
- A personalized plan to help reduce your risks for heart disease
“We are here to help patients take their health into their own hands,” says Bostic. “This center offers an empowering, supportive environment that gives patients the tools, knowledge and inspiration they need to make lasting changes, and, ultimately, improve their health.”
Sounds like it might be time to put your heart into it!
For more information about the center or to make an appointment, please call 1-877-THR-WELL or visit www.texashealth.org/heart. For more information on heart disease, the resources above and information on diagnosis and treatments, please visit www.texashealth.org/denton-heart.
