By Beth Shea
How a weeklong program at Canyon Ranch can save your life …
I didn’t have the privilege of meeting my grandparents, so I’ll never be able to hear a firsthand account of my grandpa’s great adventures. He emigrated from Russia with only pennies to his name and built a thriving family business in America that we continue to reap rewards from to this day. I’ll never be able to go shoe shopping with my grandma, an obsession I am told we both shared. I can only smile when my mother tells me how much we would have loved each other. But I have their stories and their photographs, as well as the invaluable lesson that their premature deaths imparted: take care of your heart.
My mother was orphaned at thirteen when my grandparents died of heart attacks. Her father wasn’t there to walk her down the aisle at her wedding, and her mother couldn’t hold her hand when she gave birth to any of her four children. My mother has never pitied her situation. Instead, she has made it her mission in life to spread awareness about heart disease, the number one killer of men and women in America. She joined the board of the Sarver Heart Center in Tucson, Arizona, which houses some of the most prestigious and renowned cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons in the world. In memory of her parents, we also opened an endowment at the Sarver Heart Center to provide financial aid for heart research endeavors. Additionally, my mother has taken her health into her own hands, staving off the genetic predisposition she has for heart disease by going to routine medical exams, taking the right medications and supplements, watching her diet, and exercising daily so she may enjoy life and continue to be around for the family that needs and loves her.
Following in my mother’s footsteps, heart disease awareness has become my passion. I traveled to the Sarver Heart Center and to Canyon Ranch in Tucson, Arizona, to learn more about the tenth annual Healthy Heart Week program. I spoke with several doctors who participate in Healthy Heart Week, held at Canyon Ranch’s Life Enhancement Center. This unique experience brings heart health knowledge to the forefront, where it belongs.
Many people are under the grand illusion that our faithful tickers will keep on pumping without much thought. I’d like to provide the wake-up call, or the whisper instead of the scream, to those who do not recognize the importance of heart health awareness. Ladies, heart attacks are not just a man’s problem. Six times more women die of heart disease than breast cancer. Heart disease, moreover, is not limited to overweight people who don’t exercise. Thin, physically fit people have heart attacks as well. Both sexes need to embrace the realization that for “650,000 Americans, a heart attack will be their first symptom.”
Stress, anger, and Type A behavior play a major role in triggering heart attacks. Jack G. Copeland, Endowed Chair of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Sarver Heart Center sees patterns in heart failure among people who lead the “typical American lifestyle,” in which “stress seems to be an ethic” and self-neglect is prominent. He cites that “90% of the time people don’t even know where they are going,” and he suggests “we are victims of our own media and advertising and are gullible to falling into unhealthy patterns epidemic of heart disease.”
Don’t let mainstream opinions, or even your primary care physician, minimize the magnitude of this problem. Take matters into your own hands. I visited my doctor and asked that he run a full blood panel on me so I would have a baseline configuration of my health because, after all, I have one quarter of my grandparent’s genes. When I explained to him that both of my grandparents died of heart attacks, he looked at me as if I was crazy. He replied, “I believe your grandpa died of a heart attack, but your grandma? I doubt that.” That moment explained why so many women’s symptoms are disregarded or attributed to indigestion or gall bladder disease. Women, be assertive with your doctors, and don’t stop asking questions until your true condition is acknowledged and treated.
Canyon Ranch’s Healthy Heart Week changes lives in seven days. The connections made at this program could prove to be life saving. Craig and Martha Thomas participated in the first annual Healthy Heart Week and returned for four more installments. Martha explained, “We felt Healthy Heart Week provided us with the most cutting-edge information found nowhere else.” Further, they believe that Gordon A. Ewy, M.D., and Distinguished Endowed Chair of Cardiovascular Medicine and Director of Sarver Heart Center, saved Craig’s life. Martha continued, “We travel to the Sarver Heart Center four times a year for Craig to have a check-up with Dr. Ewy.”
The Healthy Heart Week spa-going experience is truly one of a kind. It is a virtual re-birth into a new way of living. While most spa visits simply enrich your life, these seven day could actually prolong or redeem your life. Joseph S. Alpert, M.D., Healthy Heart Week faculty member, and head of the department of medicine at the University of Arizona, and Philip S. Eichling, M.D., Medical Director at Canyon Ranch explained that Healthy Heart Week is an educational utopia where participants learn exactly how to take care of themselves to achieve optimal health results. Linda Lee attended Healthy Heart Week with her husband Jim, just four months after he had a heart attack. She enthusiastically related that “the doctors became [their]friends,” as they spent time with them all week, adding, “the lectures were incredible. . . we felt as though we had gone through a mini-cardiology course at a first-rate medical school.”
The program is beneficial to both those who have suffered heart attacks and those who would like to learn how to prevent or control heart disease. In an effort to promote camaraderie and build a unique group dynamic, Healthy Heart Week is capped at thirty-five participants. Oftentimes, participants are speaking about their health issues for the first time with peers, and this program provides the safe haven of support to do so.
Attendees may spend hours of quality time with cardiologists, nutritionists, psychologists, and physiologists who cater to each of their individual needs. Daily topics of discussion range from anger management and stress reduction courses to lectures that teach you everything you need to know about physically taking care of your heart. I received an individual biofeedback session, which included a heart rate variability test. My therapist monitored my heart rate and breathing techniques through a series of exercises incorporating mental images based on either stress or appreciation. I was astonished to learn how out of sync and strained my heart became when I was under stress and not making the effort to breathe properly. I was taught a remarkably relaxing and invigorating form of breathing to dissipate stress, and my therapist worked with me until my physical results had improved significantly.
Sarver’s doctors also administer state-of-the-art medical tests and provide access to the most current and innovative procedures and prevention capabilities available today. Further, doctors often prescribe drugs and medicine routines and will commonly write a letter to your primary physician explaining your newfound treatment to ensure a smooth transition once you return home. Nutritionists provide “education by eating” by walking the dining room during meals to discuss the portion sizes and nutritional breakdown of the menu. How to exercise is no longer a mystery or fear for those who have had heart attacks, because a physiologist will instruct you in safe, effective exercises, and design a specific program that will allow you to accomplish the maximum benefits from your workout.
You don’t have to live in the unknown if you have had a heart attack or are at risk for heart disease. Peace of mind and a sound heart are available via Healthy Heart Week. If you aren’t able to travel to Canyon Ranch, then travel inward, check in with your heart, and talk to your doctor about the most important topic in the world: your life.
address book
For more information and reservations call (800) 742-9000 or visit www.canyonranch.com.Heart attacks and Women – Warning Signs
Treating a heart attack within the first one to two hours of onset will increase your chance of survival. Recognizing early warning signs of an impending heart attack may also save your life. Women’s symptoms differ from men’s. While the typically associated chest pain is a warning sign for some women, according to a study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 43% of female heart attack suffers did not experience chest pain. Common heart attack symptoms among women include fatigue, sleep disturbance, shortness of breath, flu-like symptoms, back pain, nausea, cold sweats, lightheadedness, as well pain and discomfort in the arms, jaws, or stomach. If you think you may be having a heart attack, do not delay – call 911 immediately. Be aware of your family history and possible predisposition for heart disease so you can impart this knowledge to doctors and be properly diagnosed.
January/February 2005
- KM Herbals - April 21, 2025
- Lauren Brooke Co - April 21, 2025
- Lauren Brooke Co - April 21, 2025