Heart Attack and Stroke Blog

Living in St Louis mid-county, I am near two of the best hospitals in the metro area. As not-for-profits, both "give back" to the community with low cost screenings and educational programs. Of course there is a "marketing" intent to hook you into one of their staff physicians, but I can tolerate a few "junk" e-mails to that effect.

On 11/10/11, S.S.M. Heart Institute, part of , had a "heart health" screening for $15.00. Because my father and paternal grandfather both died of heart attacks, I signed up. A panel of nurses and health educators took my blood pressure, did a "finger stick" to analyze the blood for cholesterol and glucose, and did my B.M.I. (Body Mass Index). While my blood pressure registered ten points higher than usual, all other indicators were within normal range. The screening was friendly, fast, and efficient with some great handouts at the end on heart health.

On 11/17/11, I attended "Food for Thought", an "exclusive" (pre-registration required) event put on by Barnes-Jewish Hospital (B.J.H.) and Washington University Physicians. The first hour included presentations by Dr. Colin Derdeyn and Mr. Richard Liekweg. Mr. Liekweg is the president of B.J.H. and showed slides of the upcoming changes to their campus. Did you know that the old Jewish Hospital and Queeny Tower will be torn down in the next three years and replaced by new buildings, including a 1,000 car underground garage?

Dr. Derdeyn is Director of the Stroke and Cerebrovascular Center at B.J.H. and on staff at Washington University School of Medicine. He gave a fascinating presentation on stroke and medical intervention during and after a stroke. While there are no diagnostic tests which can predict a stroke, some of the factors are the same as for heart health: don't smoke, watch cholesterol levels, and control high blood pressure.

The second half of "Food for Thought" was a cooking demonstration by Chef Eric Kelly of Scape American Bistro. The audience sampled wine and watched an overhead mirror as Chef prepared cold corn soup and raw Cucumber Spring Roll. Samples of these and cauliflower Cous-cos were also served. Simply fresh and delicious (especially the Asian marinade on the Spring roll) were appropriate adjectives to describe the taste sensations of these healthy foods.

Now that I have been heart screened, stroke educated, and wined and dined about new health facilities, I am thinking about the rest of my body. This week I participated in a psychological study on aging at Washington University. Already there is an e-mail invitation in my in-box to learn about prostate and colon cancer at Harrahs in December. Do I want to continue my education "below the belt"? Stay tuned for future blogs!