Heart to Heart

COEUR d'ALENE - Gil Stinson found it strange when Tums didn't help his heartburn on the camping trip last year.

Neither did resting when he got back home to Coeur d'Alene, so his wife took him to Kootenai Medical Center.

He wasn't exactly prepared when doctors told him he needed quintuple bypass surgery.

"I thought I set a record, but then I heard about a six-bypass surgery happening," the 81-year-old said with a chuckle. "I was surprised (to need the surgery). I felt good. I'm really into being active, getting on the bicycle and hunting and fishing."

There's more to preventing heart disease than people might think.

But improvement starts with just a little education.

Keeping the heart and arteries chugging was the main message on Monday at the Heart to Heart Luncheon at KMC, where cardiac care staff spoke to former patients like Stinson.

"Sometimes people are not aware of the things that they can be doing to improve their heart health," said KMC spokeswoman Kim Anderson. "We want to help build awareness in our community."

KMC has been busy providing treatment since it started its cardiac care program in 2003, said cardiothoracic surgeon Robert Burnett.

The hospital has conducted about 1,200 open-heart surgeries, he said.

"I think we can safely say we're out of the test period," he said.

People can avoid joining those statistics by maintaining a healthy body fat level with regular exercise, said Joyce Kratz Klatt with the KMC cardiac rehabilitation program.

Klatt advised 30 consecutive minutes of exercise - preferably 60 - a few times a week, with activities of moderate intensity like walking briskly, cycling, swimming or golfing while carrying clubs.

Slower pace means a higher risk of cardiac problems, she said.

"It makes a huge difference if you can just pick up your pace," she said.

When an individual exercises, the body burns stored fats, she explained, and helps the body break down fats more efficiently after meals.

"It's not just while you're exercising that it benefits your body, but for a length of time afterward," she said.

Klatt added that someone who exercises two times a week for 30 minutes has 50 percent less risk of a heart attack than an individual who doesn't exercise at all.

Strength and flexibility training is also crucial two or three times a week, she said.

"Remember to choose something you would like to do for the rest of your life," she said.

But preventing heart problems takes more than getting out of your chair.

KMC dietitian Jennifer Ramsrud showed photos of arteries crusted with layers of cholesterol, the result of diets high in saturated fats and trans fats.

Those fats substantially raise the risk of cardiac disease, she said, adding that increasing an individual's trans fat intake by 2 percent will raise the risk of cardiac disease by 53 percent.

"These fats are as bad for you as smoking," Ramsrud said. "They constrict your blood vessels."

Such fats are common in baked goods, snack foods and any animal products, she said, and shouldn't make up more than 7 percent of an individual's calorie intake.

On the other hand, people should seek to increase their intake of monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats, found in food like vegetable oils and nuts.

"The goal isn't to eliminate all fats," she said.

Errol David, 67, said his generation was never educated on proper diet and exercise.

"We should have started eating right 50 years ago," he said.

His diet, heavy on salty and fried foods, caught up with him a few months ago, he said, when a treadmill test revealed he needed a quadruple bypass.

"I failed it (the treadmill test) big time," he said. "I had really heavy chest pain. I could have had a heart attack right then and there."

The doctors had told him his arteries were 75 percent clogged with cholesterol, he added.

Now he just thinks of the agony of the slow recovery when he's tempted to indulge in his beloved salt.

But it isn't easy when most of American food comes in a foil wrapper, he said.

"People still don't know how to eat right," he said. "All the food you eat tastes good, but it's bad for you. It gets in your veins. Next time think about that before you eat a double cheeseburger."

Pat Willits said he didn't believe doctors when they told him he needed bypass surgery last March.

The 69-year-old had taken blood pressure medication most of his life, he said, as well as eaten healthy and exercised regularly walking his dog.

"I was kind of in denial. I asked one doctor, 'What if I just take this under advisement and go home and take it easy?' he said. "He said, 'You'll be in a pine box.'"

Willits later discovered that he should have been participating in a more vigorous exercise regimen. Cardiac problems were also more likely because of his family history.

Now he tries to listen to clues from his body, he said.

"My symptoms were very subtle, nothing pronounced. No pain shooting up my arm," he said. "I think a lot of people expect the standard symptoms, and they might not recognize it, which is why you need to know all the facts."