Even if you don't follow celebrities or soap operas, almost everyone has heard of Susan Lucci. She's widely considered the most famous soap opera star who ever performed. She portrayed the inimitable Erica Kane on "All My Children" from the day it premiered in 1970 to the day it went off the air in 2011. Since then, she's appeared in a number of television shows, music videos and commercials spoofing her soap celebrity.
For many years she has been the official spokesperson for the Pilates Exercise Chair and promoted how well it worked for her as part of her healthy lifestyle, including following the Mediterranean diet and daily exercise. Because she's fit, active, had low blood pressure and always had positive doctor visits, she never thought she was a candidate for heart problems.
But recently Susan Lucci had a bad health scare despite all of the positive health choices she had made. Last fall she felt a tightness in her chest and experienced shortness of breath and was smart enough to know that she needed medical attention right away. Her doctors discovered a 90% blockage in one of her arteries and a 70% blockage in the other and treated both immediately, most likely saving her life. And now she's gone public to share her experience so that others can learn from what she has gone through.
So what can you do if you live a healthy lifestyle and have no symptoms? There are a number of steps you can take to monitor and maintain your heart health.
· Look at your family history. Susan Lucci's father had a heart attack in his 40s so there was definitely some genetic component towards that. Learn if your parents or their siblings or your grandparents had a history of heart trouble.
· Investigate medical tests such as stress tests and carotid artery disease screenings, which measures if there is plaque in your arteries. (Check with your insurance company to see if these types of medical screening tests are covered. If they're not, there are companies that will provide them to you at a fairly low cost).
· Maintain a healthy lifestyle by eating sensibly, getting enough sleep, having your blood pressure checked regularly and reducing stress.
If you or your loved ones have any questions or need guidance on heart health and how Right at Home of Central New Jersey can help you, please call Beth Sholom, Owner/Executive Director. We provide care from a few hours a day to overnight shifts to live-in care. We'll work with you to come up with the best plan for your family, including having our great caregivers fix healthy meals for you or your family member, and will always be available 24/7 to help. We care for your family as we would for our own!
About Right at Home of Central New Jersey – Right at Home offers in-home companionship and personal care and assistance to seniors and disabled adults who want to continue to live independently. The Right at Home of Central New Jersey office is a locally owned and operated franchise office of Right at Home, Inc., serving the communities of Middlesex and Northern Monmouth Counties.
For more information, contact Right at Home of Central New Jersey at:
· 732-967-0900
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