TyronePA.com

Heart disease is America’s number one killer, and a leading cause of serious disability. In recognition of February as National Heart Month, the heart specialists at Tyrone Hospital wish to increase community awareness of the risk factors associated with heart disease and point out those that people can change to reduce their risk.
Tyrone Hospital cardiologist V. Janakiraman, M.D., said major risk factors are those that research has shown significantly increase the risk of heart disease. Some of the risk factors can be modified, treated or controlled, and some can’t.
Major risk factors that cannot be changed include increasing age, being male, and heredity, including race. Major risk factors that can be modified, treated or controlled by either changing your lifestyle or taking medicine or a combination of the two include tobacco smoke, high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, physical inactivity, obesity and overweight, and diabetes.
“The more risk factors you have, the greater your chance of developing heart disease. Also, the greater the level of each risk factor, the more you are at risk,” said Dr. Janakiraman.
According to the American Heart Association, over 83 percent of people who die of heart disease are 65 or older. At older ages, women who have heart attacks are more likely than men are to die from them within a few weeks.
Men have a greater risk of heart attack than women do, and they have attacks earlier in life. After menopause, women’s death rate from heart disease increases. Dr. Janakiraman said it is important to note that heart disease is a top cause of death in women.
“Both genders need to pay careful attention to their heart health.”
If your parents have/had heart disease, then you are more likely to develop it. Dr. Janakiraman said certain groups are more at risk. African Americans tend to have more severe high blood pressure than Caucasians and therefore at higher risk of heart disease. Heart disease risk is also higher among Mexican Americans, American Indians, native Hawaiians and some Asian Americans. This is partly due to higher rates of obesity and diabetes in these groups.
“Most people with a strong family history of heart disease have one or more other risk factors.”
Dr. Janakiraman said you can’t control your age, gender or race, and you can’t control your family history. Therefore, it’s even more important to treat and control any other risk factors you have.
“A good first step is to see your primary care doctor to learn your blood pressure, blood cholesterol, to determine a healthy weight, and to be checked for diabetes. All of these are risk factors can be changed to lower your risk for heart disease. People should work with their primary care doctor and make appropriate lifestyle changes to get the levels for these risk factors into a healthy range.”
One of the major risk factors that can be changed is high blood pressure. High blood pressure increases the heart’s workload, causing the heart to thicken and become stiffer. Normal blood pressure is 120/80. When high blood pressure exists with obesity, smoking, high blood cholesterol levels or diabetes, the risk of heart attack increases several times.
Those who smoke can lower their risk of heart disease by quitting. Smokers’ risk of developing coronary heart disease is two to four times that of nonsmokers. Cigarette smoking also acts with other risk factors to greatly increase the risk for heart disease. Exposure to other people’s smoke increases the risk of heart disease even for nonsmokers.
“If you smoke, quit because if affects not only your health but the health of those around you,” said Dr. Janakiraman.
As your blood cholesterol rises, so does your risk of heart disease. This is a risk factor that can also be changed. A person’s cholesterol level is also affected by age, gender, heredity and diet. A total cholesterol greater than 240 is considered high-risk.
An inactive lifestyle is a risk factor for heart disease. Regular, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity helps prevent heart and blood vessel disease. The more vigorous the activity, the greater your benefits. However, even moderate-intensity activities, such as a brisk 30 minute walk, help if done regularly and long term. Exercise brings a variety of benefits as it can help control blood cholesterol, and diabetes as well as obesity and in some people it can even help lower blood pressure.
People who have excess body fat – especially if a lot of it is at the waist – are more likely to develop heart disease even if they have no other risk factors. Excess weight increases the heart’s work. It also raises blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels. It can also make diabetes more likely to develop.
“Many obese and overweight people may have difficulty losing weight. But every pound lost can help. By losing even as few as 10 pounds, you can lower your heart disease risk,” said Dr. Janakiraman.
Diabetes seriously increases your risk of developing heart disease. Even when blood glucose levels are under control, diabetes still increases the risk of developing heart disease. The risks are even greater if blood sugar is not well controlled. About three-quarters of people with diabetes die of some form of heart or blood vessel disease. If you have diabetes, Dr. Janakiraman said it’s extremely important to work with your healthcare provider to manage it and control any of the other heart disease risk factors that you can.
There are also some other risk factors that contribute to the development of heart disease.
Individual response to stress may be a contributing factor. Some scientists have noted a relationship between coronary heart disease risk and stress in a person’s life, their health behaviors and socioeconomic status. These factors may affect established risk factors. For example, people under stress may overeat, start smoking or smoke more than they otherwise would.
Drinking too much alcohol (more than one drink for women or two drinks for men per day) is also a contributing risk factor. Alcohol can raise blood pressure and cause heart failure. It can bump up cholesterol levels and produce irregular heartbeats. It also contributes to obesity and a host of other health issues.
Dr. Janakiraman said a person’s ability to function in everyday life may be affected significantly if they have to live with a damaged heart. “That is why we want to encourage people to take steps to reduce their risk for developing heart disease. There are many things people can do to keep their heart healthy, they just need to make a commitment to take those steps.”
V. Janakiraman, M.D., and his partner Mukul Bhatnagar, M.D. are cardiologists who practice at Tyrone Hospital. Their Tyrone practice is in addition to their practice at Altoona Regional Health System. Between them they have provided services in Tyrone for more than 25 years.

A wintry mix of sleet, freezing rain and rain was what area residents woke up to this morning, causing driving conditions to be hazardous and schools to be canceled.
A winter storm warning is in effect until 7 p.m. this evening.
Forecasters called for freezing rain and sleet through the early afternoon, then rain along with a chance of freezing rain. Added ice accumulation was expected to be around one-half of an inch.
Then tonight, there is a 50 percent chance of evening snow showers, with lows in the upper 20s.
The weekend weather is expected to improve as Saturday should be sunny and reach temperatures around 40 degrees, and Sunday should reach highs in the lower 40s.
The latest winter storm, which brought a variety of winter conditions, including significant icing for parts of the area, means that motorists should take extra care and be alert for the potential of downed tree limbs or power lines, according to a PennDOT press release.
Those experiencing a loss of power are encouraged to call their electric utility immediately and report the outage.
Also, motorists should allow extra time to reach their destinations, increase following distances between vehicles and remember that while four-wheel drive or all-wheel drive vehicles may help your vehicle’s forward progress in snow or other slippery road conditions, it does nothing to help stop the vehicle any faster on ice.
The best bet is to avoid unnecessary travel when heavy ice is forecast, but if you must travel, PennDOT encourages motorist to pack an emergency travel kit and to monitor weather forecasts. Some of the basic items that should be included in an emergency travel kit include: first aid supplies, non-perishable food, water, warm clothes, a blanket and a small snow shovel.
PennDOT reminds motorists that its new travel information page, which is available at www.dot.state.pa.us by clicking on traveler information, offers a variety of useful tools, including current weather-related travel conditions and closures on Pennsylvania interstates. The site also provides links to PennDOT traffic cameras, roadway weather information systems and real-time weather conditions.
Motorists are also reminded that interstate road conditions are available by calling PennDOT’s Interstate Road Condition Hotline at 1-888-783-6783. Information on the hotline is updated every 15 minutes.

Jim McDonald, a Tyrone native who spent 12 years working as a professional actor in Florida and Hollywood, will be the instructor for a series of acting classes being sponsored by The Tyrone Community Players.
McDonald has much experience as a principle character on stage, in films and in episodic television and commercials. His training has been with industry professionals via ongoing workshops, theater, film and television intensives, and personal coaches.
The workshop will be structured according to industry standards and be pertinent to all acting, whether stage, film, TV or commercials. There will be a minimum emphasis placed on stage directions, blocking, voice and movement, and a maximum amount of attention paid to character development, choices, risk taking, script analysis and scene study.
McDonald will use many styles and techniques of acting within the workshop, allowing each participant to find and develop his/her own way of working to achieve their most satisfactory performance.
The workshops, which will run for an eight-week session beginning February 12, will be held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in “The Building”, home of The Tyrone Community Players at 1019 Logan Ave., Tyrone.
Thursday evening classes are flexible, according to the schedule of each individual actor. A nominal cost of $5 per week or $25 for the eight-week session will be used to defray any expenses accrued with the workshops exclusively.
You need have no experience in performance, or you may have a great deal of theatrical familiarity, and be at least 18 years of age. The workshops will be individualized and each participant can and will work according to their own level of skill.
Reservations are encouraged. Class size will be maintained at a manageable level for the instructor so phone to reserve your space.
Don’t miss this unique opportunity! Phone 684-1168 or call the ArtsLine at 684-ART2 to secure your place for this exciting, learning experience.

The Tyrone Area Cooperative Ministries (TACM) will be sponsoring the annual Midweek Lenten Luncheons again this year.
All are invited to join fellow Christians during the holy season of Lent.
The meals will be held every Wednesday through the Lenten season beginning on Ash Wednesday, February 6, through March 12, at the Church of the Good Shepherd United Methodist Church from noon until 1 p.m. for a $5 donation.
Attendees are also asked to bring along an item to be donated to the Tyrone Food Bank.
The speakers will be: Rev. Michele Somerville on February 6, Dr. Susan Halverstadt on February 13, Father Joseph Orr on February 20, Rev. Barry Neal on February 27, Rev. Susan Yatta on March 5 and Rev. Paul Bottenfield on March 12.
The churches that will providing the meals are: Good Shepherd United Methodist, First Presbyterian, Wesley United Methodist, Christ United Methodist, First English Lutheran and St. Matthew’s Roman Catholic.

The public is invited to attend the Tyrone Hospital Development Council Book and Gift Fair fundraiser in the main lobby at Tyrone Hospital on Wednesday, February 13 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.‑‑
A variety of reasonably priced books and gift items will be available for purchase, addressing a variety of topics, including but not limited to best sellers, history, inspirational, crafts and hobbies, gardening, and other “how-to” books, cooking, children’s books and gifts, seasonal items, “coffee table” books, and much more.‑‑
The book fair is a perfect opportunity to shop for gifts for upcoming spring holidays including: Valentine’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, graduations and other occasions. ‑
Proceeds from the book fair will benefit Tyrone Hospital.