“American Pickers” star Mike Wolfe has up to date lovers on his castmate Frank Fritz’s health subsequent his stroke.
On Monday, Wolfe, 58, told Individuals that he hopes followers will retain Fritz, 56, in “their thoughts and prayers.”
“The most important matter is that we allow him time to mend and supplying [sic] him the room to do so,” he mentioned.
Fritz was hospitalized previously this thirty day period and, previous 7 days, Wolfe spoke about the news to his enthusiasts on Instagram.
“I have been quite private in the past calendar year in regards to Franks [sic] lifetime and the journey he’s been on,” Wolfe wrote on social media at the time. “There has been plenty of viewpoints in regards to mine and Frank’s friendship and the display but now is not the time to established the document straight. Now is the time to pray for my good friend.”
He continued, “Frank has suffered a stroke and is in the medical center. You should maintain him in your hearts and views. Frank I pray a lot more than nearly anything that you make it through this ok. I appreciate you buddy.”
The pair have hosted the Heritage Channel truth series since 2010, nevertheless, they haven’t observed or spoken to just about every other considering the fact that March 2020 when Fritz left the series.
In accordance to the Sunlight, Fritz was discovered “sprawled out on the floor” and not able to speak when his stroke happened. A good friend who had come in excess of to examine up on him had put a distressing 911 unexpected emergency phone.
“OK, inform me specifically what occurred,” the dispatcher asked Frank’s close friend who was property with the truth star. “I just showed up at my friend’s home here, and he was sprawled out on his ground. He simply cannot communicate to me. He could possibly be seizuring, I’m not certain,” the pal mentioned.
“OK, stay on the cell phone, don’t hold up,” the 911 operator replied. The get in touch with was placed on July 14 ahead of 11 am.
The friendship among Wolfe and Fritz (pictured) has been on a rocky road considering the fact that March 2020.FilmMagic
Fritz formerly told the Sun in 2021 that he doesn’t converse to Wolfe simply because he didn’t inquire about him after his back again surgical procedures. He also observed he went to rehab for alcoholism right before the Historical past Channel fired him from “American Pickers.”
“I’m feeling truly great. Everyday living is superior and I’d like to get again into the swing of issues. I would like I experienced carried out it five many years ago, I would have been a different human being,” Fritz described.
“It was the greatest matter for me and I wish I experienced done it quicker or I would not be in the situation that I am correct now,” he added. “I’d still like to get back to my job, I miss my close friends and my folks and being on the road and assembly all people diverse people.”
Want to do everything in your electricity to hold your heart healthful? You’re likely to need to make guaranteed to get a excellent night’s slumber.
The American Coronary heart Affiliation (AHA) has included rest to its cardiovascular wellbeing checklist, which is composed of eight factors a human being can modify to keep healthful: diet program, workout, tobacco use, excess weight, cholesterol, blood sugar concentrations, blood strain, and now, rest. AHA published its new checklist, known as “Life’s Necessary 8,” in the journal Circulation on June 29. The outdated checklist, created in 2010, was recognized as “Life’s Simple 7.”
“Not only is sleep health relevant to the other items that perform a part in heart well being, it looks to also be right associated to cardiovascular overall health alone,” suggests Michael Grandner, PhD, the director of the rest and health and fitness analysis application at the University of Arizona Faculty of Medication in Tucson, who aided draft the new AHA checklist.
“Sleep is changeable, and research show that you can enhance areas of heart health and fitness just by improving snooze,” Dr. Grandner says.
Most grown ups need to have at minimum seven several hours of sleep every single night, according to the U.S. Centers for Illness Regulate and Prevention (CDC). Much more than one particular-3rd of grownups beneath 65 decades old get fewer snooze than this, CDC data reveals.
Men and women who get a lot less than 6 hrs a evening are at greater possibility for obesity, superior blood pressure, sort 2 diabetic issues, and even worse mental and cognitive wellbeing, Grandner suggests. And those who snooze extra than 9 several hours nightly are also considerably less likely to be wholesome and a lot more likely to die prematurely, Grandner provides.
Life’s Critical 8 Checklist
The AHA’s new Life’s Important 8 checklist scores people today on a 100-stage scale, with bigger ordinary scores throughout all eight goods indicating far better cardiovascular wellbeing. Overall, normal scores underneath 50 factors indicate very poor heart overall health, when scores from 50 to 79 reveal moderate heart health and scores in excess of 80 point out high cardiovascular health and fitness. There is an on the internet software to test your score.
Only about 1 in 5 grownups have substantial cardiovascular health utilizing this scale, according to a review printed in the similar concern of Circulation. More than three in 5 grown ups have average cardiovascular well being, this examine identified.
Besides adding rest to the checklist for the initial time, the AHA incorporated a number of other significant modifications in Life’s Necessary 8 that weren’t there on its previous checklist. These incorporate:
Eating plan For people today, a heart-healthful diet plan is now assessed according to how closely it follows a Mediterranean design having pattern. Sixteen queries are employed to gauge how frequently each individual 7 days persons eat olive oil, greens, berries, meat, fish, dairy, and grains.
Nicotine exposure The checklist incorporates the use of e-cigarettes for the first time, instead of presuming nicotine publicity is from traditional flamable cigarettes.
Cholesterol Instead of searching at overall cholesterol, the checklist now involves only hazardous fats in the blood these kinds of as triglycerides and reduced density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.
Blood sugar There’s a new alternative to seem at final results of blood assessments exhibiting so-called hemoglobin A1C levels, which reflect common blood sugar concentrations about about a few months.
No improvements were being produced to how the checklist assesses work out, blood stress, or body bodyweight. Men and women get significant cardiovascular health and fitness scores with 150 minutes of reasonable depth workout or 75 minutes of vigorous work out every single week blood strain underneath 120/80 mmHg and a entire body mass index (BMI) of 18.5 to 24.9.
Suggestions for Getting a Superior Night’s Slumber
To get best scores for rest on the new checklist, grown ups need to have seven to 9 hrs of slumber every night time. There is some wiggle room to this, and people may perhaps fall any where in this range to have optimum heart wellbeing, suggests Marie-Pierre St-Onge, PhD, the direct creator of AHA recommendations on snooze length and excellent issued in 2016 and the director of the Rest Centre of Excellence at Columbia College Irving Clinical Center in New York City.
“Adults really should try to get at least 7 hours of rest per evening, but there is no motive to stress in excess of acquiring to some degree fewer or rather more than that,” says Dr. St-Onge.
Deviating far too significantly from this vary, on the other hand, can boost the risk of many markers of coronary heart illness, like obesity, type 2 diabetic issues, and superior blood stress, according to the 2016 AHA recommendations that aided notify the new checklist.
If you come to feel rested, refreshed, and notify in the morning, you’re probably finding sufficient sleep, notably if you’re inside or close to the proposed number of hrs, St-Onge says.
“Although just one might come to feel beautifully fantastic on much less than 7 hours of slumber, it does not imply that other factors of their overall health, that can’t be ‘felt,’ are not struggling — for instance possessing bigger blood glucose or blood strain,” St-Onge claims. “So, while there is some wiggle area all over the seven to nine several hours of sleep that’s advisable, I would not recommend straying far too significantly from it.”
If you are not obtaining plenty of snooze or you wake up experience fatigued, there are things you can do to test to improve matters, suggests Kristen Knutson, PhD, a slumber researcher and associate professor at the Northwestern University Feinberg College of Drugs in Chicago.
“There are numerous techniques to increase snooze if someone is not sleeping effectively, such as avoiding caffeine and alcoholic beverages, keeping a frequent bedtime, retaining your bedroom snooze helpful — dark, quiet, amazing, and snug — and allowing your self a calming transition amongst active wakefulness and likely to sleep,” Dr. Knutson advises.
If these strategies don’t assist, talk to your physician, Knutson suggests.
“Inclusion of slumber well being in the new AHA evaluate is a sturdy information and endorsement for the great importance of snooze for cardiovascular and total wellness and well-staying,” Knutson says. “I hope slumber turns into a normal subject of conversations among patients and medical professionals in the clinic.”
In accordance to latest statistics from the American Heart Association, additional than 874,000 People died of cardiovascular illness in 2019, and it continues to be the top trigger of dying in the United States. The pandemic may well additional exacerbate inadequate cardiovascular outcomes, as quite a few have documented ingesting harmful foodstuff, drinking extra alcoholic beverages and delaying health-related care over the past two years—all of which can negatively impact heart well being.
February is American Heart Thirty day period, a time to target on decreasing your danger for hypertension (also regarded as significant blood force) and cardiovascular illness by producing coronary heart-healthy behaviors and options element of your everyday schedule. In this Q&A, Jessica Garay, assistant professor of nutrition and food items experiments in the Falk Higher education of Activity and Human Dynamics, offers simple recommendations to make heart health and fitness a priority for you and your household.
What are some simple dietary approaches individuals can observe to retain fantastic heart health and fitness?
“For excellent heart health and fitness, it’s critical to have nutritious blood strain and blood cholesterol ranges. Your diet can definitely effects all those values. Feeding on soluble fiber, which is observed in foods this kind of as oats, beans, fruits and vegetables, has been revealed to help lessen cholesterol amounts. Research has also instructed that a each day intake of ground flaxseed can lessen cholesterol concentrations. Keeping away from extremely processed meals that consist of excessive salt is also suggested.”
Does any analysis suggest that specialty meal plans (i.e., vegan, vegetarian, or low-carbohydrate) are useful to cardiovascular health and fitness?
“The greatest general food plan for reducing large blood tension is known as the Sprint (Nutritional Methods to Quit Hypertension) Diet program. This consuming pattern focuses on foods that are excellent sources of potassium, calcium and magnesium, though steering clear of meals superior in added sugars, saturated body fat and sodium (salt). The Mediterranean diet is also very rated for all round heart health. Although animal meals are a resource of dietary cholesterol, our bodies also make cholesterol. Subsequent a perfectly-balanced vegan or vegetarian eating plan can undoubtedly direct to decreased cholesterol intake, but this does not constantly translate to reduce blood cholesterol levels.”
What are some sensible suggestions for occupied people or families who want to integrate a lot more coronary heart-balanced feeding on behaviors into their life?
“Check out the Wholesome Monday strategies, which include Meatless Monday and Transfer-It Monday. These can be good motivators to not only make healthier foodstuff decisions to begin your 7 days, but also to get shifting. These times there are a assortment of selections presenting practical, balanced food stuff for hectic people today and people. Search for pre-slice or prepped fruits and veggies at the grocery keep, or check out a food delivery company to present some new heart-healthy recipe strategies.”
How does strain management match into the image?
“Stress can also direct to high blood tension. Investigation has demonstrated that more heart assaults arise on Mondays, presumably related to tension from returning to function. Participating in a assortment of stress reduction strategies, together with workout, meditation and other varieties of self-treatment, can assistance to improve general wellbeing position, but particularly coronary heart overall health.”
Irrespective of the notion that marijuana is harmless, there is some scientific proof complicated that belief, and there are a lot of unanswered inquiries about its effects on mind wellness, in accordance to a new American Heart Affiliation scientific assertion released currently in the Association’s journal Stroke. This scientific statement will be presented and reviewed for the duration of a symposium at the Association’s Worldwide Stroke Convention in New Orleans, currently at 7 a.m. CT/ 8 a.m. ET. An American Heart Affiliation scientific assertion is an specialist assessment of present-day research and may advise foreseeable future medical observe pointers.
“You will find a good deal of uncertainty in the clinical neighborhood about the well being outcomes of cannabis. This scientific statement is intended to guideline overall health care gurus in getting a balanced and intentional dialogue with patients about the probable identified and unidentified outcomes of marijuana on mind wellness,” claimed creating team Chair Fernando D. Testai, M.D., Ph.D., FAHA, a professor of neurology and rehabilitation at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
This is the Association’s initially scientific assertion on hashish and mind well being, next a assertion on marijuana and cardiovascular well being, printed in August 2020. The two statements are vital considering that marijuana use in the U.S. is rising, specifically among the adolescents and youthful older people, with about just one-3rd of 12th graders and virtually fifty percent of higher education learners reporting marijuana use in 2018. In addition, the use of cannabis medicinally and/or recreationally has been legalized or decriminalized in quite a few states throughout the U.S. in the earlier 2 a long time, and the focus of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana) in hashish solutions has enhanced noticeably, from about 4{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} in 1995 to 15{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} in 2018.
The most examined chemical compounds in cannabis are THC and CBD. THC is the compound in cannabis that gives the sensation of remaining significant. CBD (cannabidiol) has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory houses but does not have psychoactive outcomes. The prospective therapeutic gains of CBD keep on to be investigated in clinical trials.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the Foodstuff and Drug Administration (Food and drug administration) classify cannabis as a Schedule I managed substance, on par with heroin and LSD, for owning a “high potential for abuse and minimal to no health-related profit.” In distinction, CBD is lawful when derived from hemp, which is the exact same species of plant as hashish and includes a lot less than .3{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} THC.
To completely understand the likely effects of cannabis, it really is significant to know that the human entire body obviously produces compounds known as endocannabinoids that are related to those people in marijuana. Endocannabinoids are included in the regulation of several system processes all over lifestyle (which includes learning, memory, soreness manage and rest), and the action of endocannabinoids is essential to prenatal mind progress and to mind maturation throughout adolescence.
Endocannabinoids, as very well as THC, can attach to neurons in the mind by way of molecules called cannabinoid receptors. When THC activates cannabinoid receptors in the mind, it can disrupt the regular steps of endocannabinoids. “These receptors are extremely concentrated in brain regions related to cognition,” claimed Testai.
In accordance to the statement, earlier animal research (in rodents) show that extended publicity to THC disrupts memory and discovering, and impacts brain advancement and maturation in unique means if exposed at certain levels of life:
For the duration of prenatal everyday living, an vital time for mind improvement, THC disrupts the typical signaling pathways of the endocannabinoid process and may possibly change the offspring’s pondering, psychological conduct and response to tension.
Throughout adolescence, an important time for brain maturation, THC variations the structure and perform of mind circuits, specifically in regions involved in cognition, emotional regulation and social conduct (this sort of as the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus).
“Info obtained in these animal studies exhibit that disruption of endocannabinoid pathways qualified prospects to behavioral and cognitive abnormalities, such as poorer memory and finding out capability and a heightened sensitivity to strain. Also, there may well be critical lifetime periods — gestation and adolescence — when the mind may be notably susceptible to the influence of THC,” Testai reported.
Whilst the actual timing and sum of marijuana exposure are more very easily controlled in animal experiments, as properly as controlling the animals’ social and environmental conditions, human analysis reports cannot replicate identical rigid parameters. So, outcomes from existing scientific studies in human beings have been blended, nevertheless elevate comparable problems about the influence of marijuana publicity on mind overall health. Among the reports in human beings summarized in the scientific assertion, the results bundled:
Even though actively employing marijuana, people today shown worse scores on driving road tests when working with THC-dominant cannabis, compared to when they were utilizing CBD-dominant marijuana or no marijuana.
In younger grown ups who had been followed for 25 decades as portion of a coronary heart disease research challenge, scores on verbal memory tests declined in correlation to much more a long time of self-documented exposure to cannabis.
There ended up a lot more psychological troubles and poorer cognitive functionality in young children (typical age 9) whose mothers described employing marijuana throughout pregnancy.
Marijuana use during adolescence has been related with thinning in an place of the brain concerned in cognition (the prefrontal cortex), with higher publicity to cannabis connected with additional thinning. However, other scientific tests detected no variance.
Structural changes in the mind had been obvious in some experiments evaluating marijuana people and non-users. Specifically, there was thinning of mind areas significant in orchestrating ideas and steps, or lowered volume in an space of the mind essential for memory. Other research that as opposed cognitive tests and brain imaging found no variances in between cannabis customers and non-consumers.
Cannabis end users were uncovered to have an amplified danger of clot-induced stroke, with 1 review discovering 17{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} extra and a further obtaining 24{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} a lot more strokes amongst hashish customers.
The statement also highlights quite a few open thoughts on the effect of hashish on mind health, including:
Does marijuana’s effect on mind wellness vary dependent on the person’s age?
How does marijuana interact with other substances this kind of as prescription drugs? This is a individual issue in aged people who might be making use of several medications this sort of as blood thinners, antiarrhythmia or anticonvulsant prescription drugs to deal with other chronic health disorders.
Do the consequences of cannabis differ whether or not it is employed recreationally or prescribed for the procedure of a particular health-related problem?
How significantly marijuana is way too substantially? In older exploration scientific studies carried out when cannabis was illegal in all U.S. states, there may well have been significant less than-reporting of how commonly cannabis was used.
Do distinct kinds of marijuana (these as larger THC stages or synthetic cannabinoids) affect the mind in another way?
Are there discrepancies in brain overall health relying on regardless of whether cannabis is smoked or eaten in an edible product?
“Our being familiar with of the results of marijuana on the mind is imperfect, and human study in this spot is a function in development. Still, the outcomes of new animal research problem the commonly accepted notion that cannabinoids are harmless and get in touch with for caution when making use of marijuana, especially when pregnant or all through adolescence,” claimed Testai.
This scientific assertion was organized by the volunteer creating team on behalf of the American Heart Association’s Stroke Mind Health and fitness Science Subcommittee of the Stroke Council the Council on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology the Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing the Council on Way of life and Cardiometabolic Well being and the Council on Peripheral Vascular Illness. The American Academy of Neurology has affirmed this scientific statement as an academic tool for neurologists.
American Coronary heart Affiliation scientific statements advertise larger consciousness about cardiovascular disorders and stroke concerns and assist aid informed wellbeing treatment selections. Scientific statements define what is at present recognized about a topic and what locations require extra analysis. When scientific statements tell the growth of suggestions, they do not make treatment tips. American Heart Affiliation recommendations deliver the Association’s formal clinical exercise tips.
Co-authors are Philip B. Gorelick, M.D., M.P.H. Hugo J. Aparicio, M.D., M.P.H. Francesca M. Filbey, Ph.D. Raul Gonzalez, Ph.D. Rebecca F. Gottesman, M.D., Ph.D. Miriam Melis, Ph.D. Mariann R. Piano, R.N., Ph.D. Tiziana Rubino, Ph.D. and Sarah Y. Music, M.D. Authors’ disclosures are listed in the manuscript.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s mortality data from 2020. And, February is American Heart Month, where the U.S. highlights the implications of heart disease.
On a global scale, cardiac arrest kills more people than the collective deaths caused by colorectal, breast and prostate cancer, influenza, pneumonia, automobile accidents, HIV, firearm incidents, and house fires combined, according to the American Heart Association.
Due to the hecticness of college life in which Penn State students need to focus on homework assignments, internships and independent living, many students said they pay minimal attention to their heart health.
For Kylie George, she said she hardly focuses on preventative measures to help her future health.
“I don’t think it’s something a lot of people really think about,” George (senior-English) said. “So I don’t think there’s a big effort made by a lot of people our age.”
However, she said students should improve their heart health awareness — in terms of how their actions consequently impact their bodies — and attempt to improve their daily behaviors.
“It’s never a bad thing to be aware of what you’re doing and how that can impact your overall health, especially your heart health,” George said. “It’s good to be aware now and be preventative — if at all possible — at our age because a lot of people get to [a] point when they’re older and say, ‘Oh, I wish I had done this and that when I was younger.’”
George said the main way she maintains her health is through her daily walks around campus to get from class to class.
Maintaining an active lifestyle can improve one’s heart health due to lowered blood pressure, improved blood circulation throughout the body and reduced stress levels, according to the American Heart Association.
Research from the University of Michigan Health highlights the benefits of consistent walking, since it’s a form of aerobic exercise.
“A lot of people our age do a lot of walking,” George said. “But that’s not even really by choice or done in an effort to be healthy.”
Since George lives a decent distance away from campus, she said she walks approximately 30 minutes each day to get on campus alone — not including the time it takes to travel to the necessary buildings.
Although participating in daily exercise for approximately 30 minutes to an hour a day aids people’s physical and mental well-being, a Johns Hopkins Medicine article said people should not solely rely on periods of exercise and instead increase their overall hourly activity.
In fact, Johns Hopkins Medicine said people’s health would benefit from less sedentary behavior as a whole.
To do this, the article said people should aim for 10,000 steps a day, five minutes of movement or activity per hour and a minimum of 30 minutes of vigorous exercise throughout the week.
According to a study by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, college students typically experience changes in their lifestyle that increase their risk for heart health issues, including cardiovascular disease.
The main lifestyle changes include a decline in activity levels and an increase in sedentary behavior — along with worsened sleep, eating patterns and stress levels.
A 2019 NCBI study found that decreased or poor sleep schedules increase students’ risks of being stressed, overweight and having higher blood pressure.
High blood pressure, without interference by medical professionals and lifestyle changes, can lead to increased risk for “heart disease, stroke, heart failure, kidney disease, pregnancy complications and cognitive decline,” according to the CDC.
Although George has never taken a first-aid or CPR course in the past, she said she finds the skills to be “very helpful” to know and may look into certification processes in the future.
Immediately performed CPR, which is a lifesaving procedure performed in times of emergency when a person’s heart stops beating, can “double or triple” the likelihood of survival following an incident of cardiac arrest, according to the AHA.
“It’s obviously a good tool to have, especially since so many of us are living with others and out taking care of ourselves without our parents to help with everything,” George said.
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Kareena Pandya, who currently serves on the diversity and health care task force within Penn State’s pre-medicine honor society Alpha Epsilon Delta, said people should begin considering their heart health early and learning how to approach heart issues.
Beyond taking personal measures to prevent heart disease, Pandya (freshman-genetics and developmental biology) said early access and certification in CPR is “super duper” important today because individuals can be better prepared for any situation that develops.
Pandya said Campus Recreation is an American Red Cross Authorized Provider for safety courses like American Red Cross Adult CPR/AED and First Aid, which teaches participants how to appropriately respond to emergencies regarding cardiac issues, breathing or general first aid.
“Before I got started, I thought it would take months [to learn CPR] and would be a long windy process to get certified [and] understand all the different nuances to the actual technique,” Pandya said. “But in reality, it actually only takes a couple hours to learn and perform.”
She said students and community members have an array of CPR certification resources available to them across campus — even through programs offered through Penn State’s Kinesiology Department.
“A lot of different demographic groups and ethnicity groups have different risk factors for heart disease compared to others,” Pandya said. “I think if you couple that with [the] lack of proper health care access that they have, then that can also contribute to heart health [outcomes] overall.”
For instance, Pandya said Indians are “three to 20 times at higher risk of developing heart disease compared to other demographics,” and she said other minoritized groups are also disproportionately affected.
“I would say a healthy heart is central to overall good health,” Pandya said. “Embracing a healthy lifestyle at any age — no matter if you’re a college student or older — can really help you in taking the preventative steps toward heart disease and lowering your risk for both heart attack and stroke.”
Pandya said college students go through a period of adjusting when transitioning to college life due to their new environment and routine, and these adjustments can create risks for heart disease.
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For instance, Pandya said some college students may struggle with maintaining proper sleep schedules, physical fitness regimes or dietary decisions — all of which can increase one’s risk for heart disease.
“Some major lifestyle choices that college students can make toward improving their heart health for the future would be decreasing their use of tobacco, cannabis and alcohol consumption,” Pandya said.
Pandya said exposure to secondhand smoke acts as a significant contributor toward coronary artery disease, which she described as a “very, very significant heart disease within our society.”
Beyond these limitations, Pandya said students could take preventative measures by monitoring their blood pressure levels and educating themselves about their family medical history, especially heart history, so they can “make better and more appropriate lifestyle changes.”
In terms of her own personal health, Pandya said she tries to complete physical activity at the on-campus gym at least twice a week and simply increases her fitness by walking to class rather than taking the bus.
When selecting meals at Penn State’s dining halls, Pandya said she keeps in mind Michelle Obama’s “MyPlate” dietary guidelines that help people balance their carbohydrates, proteins, vegetable, fruit and dairy intakes.
To maintain one’s health, many doctors promote healthy diets composed of “fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats and low-fat dairy products,” according to the CDC.
Foods containing high levels of omega-3 fatty acids — which is commonly found in fish like salmon and tuna — also aids heart health, according to research conducted by the AHA.
Consumption of nuts like almonds, walnuts and pecans is known to lower one’s risk for cardiovascular disease due to the high amounts of healthy fats, proteins and fibers within the products, according to the AHA.
Although the costs of healthy food can limit some students’ purchases, Pandya said she’s found many dining locations on and off campus that provide reasonable heart-healthy food options, such as Roots Natural Kitchen and Playa Bowls.
She said the a la carte food locations within on-campus dining locations, such as Bowls @ South and In a Pickle, allow students to choose exactly what they will eat for the day — unlike the buffets where food is already prepared in its entirety.
Pandya said she especially enjoys eating at In a Pickle because she can choose how many vegetables are in her meal and whether she wants to use wheat or white bread, which are decisions that “help make sure you’re getting proper nutrition.”
After finishing a workout at the gym, Pandya said Shake Smart is another dining location that consistently offers healthy food options for the student body.
Since stress is a contributor to heart disease as well, Pandya said she attempts to minimize her anxiety by listening to music and participating in yoga, which helps “bring [her] back to [her] center.”
Pandya said students should consult with their primary care doctor about methods to improve and monitor their heart health if they’re interested in undergoing a lifestyle change.
Kelsey Eckerd, a student involved in Penn State’s chapter of the American Medical Student Association, said many factors impact heart health — some controllable and some not.
“I don’t think college students really think about heart health unless they have some sort of medical condition,” Eckerd (senior-biology) said.
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Nevertheless, Eckerd said college students can begin monitoring and considering how their daily behaviors affect their current and future health.
Eckerd said college students have access to a wide range of health-related programs and resources that they’ll likely never have access to later in life — at least not in such breadth.
“For college students, this is probably the only time in [their] life that [they] have access to a free gym and free workout classes, so take advantage of that while you’re here,” Eckerd said.
While attending Penn State, Eckerd said she utilizes the free workout classes at the Intramural Building to achieve her recommended amount of exercise each week.
Penn State also has the Nutrition Clinic that provides free, individual nutrition counseling provided by a registered dietitian, according to the Nutrition Clinic website.
“It’s easier to start a [healthy lifestyle] now rather than after you graduate and are truly on your own,” Eckerd said. “It’s easier to start with the safety net of college, that way when you’ve [graduated], you know how to do it yourself.”
She said an easy modification college students can make is being more aware of their alcohol consumption.
“Obviously it’s pretty characteristic to be a heavy drinker in college, but if that continues throughout your life, it could increase your heart rate and blood pressure over time,” Eckerd said.
A study conducted by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health discovered individuals who engage in binge-drinking behaviors were 72{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} more likely to have a heart attack than their counterparts who didn’t participate in the behavior.
Eckerd said college students could also work to make their daily meals more nutritious by considering different add-ins or substitutions that could be made.
To enhance her dinners from Trader Joe’s, Eckerd said she adds her own proteins and vegetables into the frozen food products to make them more healthy.
Eckerd said students should also be aware of the training programs available to them.
Beyond CPR certification, Eckerd said students should look into automated external defibrillator training because AEDs provide users with “verbal cues” on what to do for the victim, and they’re required in every building.
Mariella Dixson, who is also a member of AMSA, said learning CPR and AED is “smart” because “you never know if you could be in an [emergency] situation,” and by learning basic medical protocols “you could be able to help someone.”
Dixson (senior-biobehavioral health) said choosing heart-healthy lifestyle choices while in college can make it easier to continue those behaviors at an older age.
“A lot of people will at least eat fruits and vegetables semi-regularly, so that’s better than nothing,” Dixson said. “There’s no point in doing cold turkey [diets] or jumping right into new routines because you’re not going to be consistent [with major adjustments].”
If students hope to implement heart-healthy behaviors into their lives, Dixson said they should make “attainable goals” that could slowly be met — like adding a certain amount of fruits or vegetables to one’s diet each week.
“A lot of college students — I’m sure — love pasta because it’s a very easy meal to make,” Dixson said. “But what I started doing was adding a bunch of cooked vegetables into my pasta dinners, [which] was a [simple] way to start adding in various vegetables to [my diet].”
Dixon said making small changes during young adulthood is essential.
“Establishing those patterns while you’re younger will most likely make it easier to continue [making heart-healthy decisions] when you get older and are more at risk for disease.”
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In September 2018, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) made it onto a list they probably would have preferred to avoid. The Office of National Drug Control Policy identified the Qualla Boundary, the Eastern Band’s 56,000-acre homeland just south of Smoky Mountains National Park, as one of 10 “high intensity drug trafficking areas” in the country.
Following a two-year undercover investigation targeting drug traffickers, federal, state and local law enforcement authorities raided the Boundary, arrested 132 people and seized an array of illegal drugs valued at $1.8 million, including heroin, fentanyl, methamphetamine, oxycodone and marijuana. The operation was touted as a huge success and a possible turning point in the scourge that had plagued the community.
“The arrest of these drug dealers is a critical step towards ensuring that the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is able to provide the healthy environment our people deserve,” Principal Chief Richard Sneed said in a DOJ press release in 2018.
Instead of improving, the community’s drug problems only got worse. Drug-related crimes and addiction rates continued apace and, like everywhere else in the state, grew worse during the pandemic. Statewide, deaths from drug overdoses increased more than 25 percent in the first six months of the pandemic, according to CDC data. Almost immediately, the lockdown on the Boundary led to a dramatic increase in fatal and non-fatal drug overdoses.
In a May 3, 2020 Facebook video, Sneed issued a warning to the drug dealers: “We’re coming for you,” he said. “It’s a never-ending battle. Every time we take a dealer down, every time there’s interdiction, every time there’s a seizure, that supply chain seems to just continue to keep rolling. [Y]ou’re killing our people, and I’m done. I’ve had it.”
Meanwhile, state officials and experts have continued to say that a criminal justice approach to the opioid crisis won’t solve it. Gov. Roy Cooper has repeatedly said that “we cannot arrest our way out of this problem.”
There is a growing acknowledgement among treatment and drug policy experts that real solutions must center around prevention and treatment which include mental health counseling, medication-assisted treatment (MAT), as well as the time and support needed to recover.
Almost in recognition of that reality, Sneed later added a comment to the video. “I ask for prayers for our tribal citizens who are struggling with addiction as well as their families. Please encourage [those suffering] to seek treatment, remind them that there is help, and there are people that care about them.”
Racial disparities persist
More than a decade ago, an analysis from Seattle’s Urban Indian Health Institute revealed that substance use rates are higher among American Indians compared to other racial and ethnic groups. A recent analysis in the North Carolina Medical Journal found a similar disparity in overdose rates in the state, as well.
This graph depicts the drug overdose death rate per 100,000 by population in North Carolina. Graph courtesy of NCDHHS’ Opioid and Substance Use Action Plan Data Dashboard
North Carolina has the largest American Indian population east of the Mississippi River; they represent just 1.2 percent of the overall population, according to the latest available data. However, in 2020, the drug overdose death rate was 2.3 times higher for American Indians than white people in North Carolina (75.4 and 32.7 per 100,000, respectively), according to the state’s Opioid and Substance Use Action Plan Data Dashboard.
“We really don’t understand why that is very well,” said Ronny Bell, a health equity researcher at Wake Forest School of Medicine. “In general, populations in rural communities are more likely to be impacted by this issue because you have more people in jobs that can result in injuries that can lead to pain. The eight tribal homelands are all in rural communities where there is an increased likelihood of being injured in the occupational settings and a lack of access to quality pain treatment.”
A history of trauma, violence, poverty, high unemployment, lack of health insurance and racism also contribute to an increased risk of addiction.
The disproportionate impact of the opioid crisis
Ronny Bell, Director of the Office of Cancer Health Equity at Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center. Credit: Ronny Bell.
Western North Carolina has been hit particularly hard by opioids. Data from the state’s Opioid Addiction Dashboard found the five western North Carolina counties that include the Qualla Boundary had an average of 43.6 unintentional overdose deaths per 100,000 in 2020, compared to 29.7 statewide.
On the other side of the state, the overdose death rate was even higher in 2020 for Robeson County, at 64.3 per 100,000. About 45 percent of the Lumbee Tribe’s 55,000 members reside here. Significant numbers also live in Hoke, Cumberland and Scotland counties.
Erika Locklear oversees the Lumbee Tribe’s Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) support program and has witnessed a disturbing trend in the Lumbee community.
“The problem is getting much worse,” Locklear said. “COVID has been the biggest factor. When COVID first started, I don’t know if it was a fear factor or what, but things were getting a bit better. Then, after the first couple of months, the overdose rates just skyrocketed.”
Providing solutions
A huge billboard stands at the Boundary’s main entrance in Cherokee in Jackson County –
“Opiate Dependent Addiction Treatment. Confidential. Life Changing. Help.”
Two decades ago, tribal leaders recognized the need for robust substance use and mental health treatment services for its tribal members. As the only federally recognized tribe in the state, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians receives significant financial support from the federal government, including free healthcare for its members through the Indian Health Service (IHS).
However, per capita spending on the health of Native Americans is significantly less than for the general population. According to data from the Indian Health Service, the national average for fiscal year 2019 was $4,078 for AIs, compared to $9,726 overall for calendar year 2017.
That imbalance carries over to treatment for opioid use disorder, as well. As more people of color struggle with and die from opioid use disorder, the funding is still targeted at white people almost exclusively. A $54 million federal grant allowed North Carolina to provide treatment to 12,000 people. Despite being the population with the highest overdose rate, fewer than 1 percent of those who received care were American Indian.
Meanwhile, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians oversees and operates its own public health care system and provides some of the most extensive substance use and mental health care of any tribe in the nation without copays or deductibles.
Significant investments in its health and treatment services include an $80 million hospital and a $16 million, 20-bed adult residential treatment facility. The old hospital building is now a crisis stabilization unit for patients with mental health issues or who require detox services. In addition, there are certified addiction counselors, psychiatric social workers, clinical psychologists and a variety of related community-based support groups.
Doing more with less
The Eastern Band’s initiative is viewed as a model for the treatment of substance use disorder but it is not easy to duplicate, particularly for lower-wealth tribes like the Lumbee. The Lumbee is the largest tribe in North Carolina and east of the Mississippi River, but they still lack federal recognition and the health care funding that goes with that. And, unlike the Eastern Band, they don’t operate a casino that might provide them with revenue.
“The Lumbee tribe does have quite a few tribal members who are practicing physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners,” Bell noted. “That is a benefit to many of the people from the community.”
Lumbee’s MAT program is funded by a three-year $1.5 million grant from the state Department of Health and Human Services. It provides services for 65 Lumbee tribe members each year. Locklear doesn’t have an exact number but estimates that they have served hundreds and referred many more to their partnering agency, Lumberton Treatment Center.
Eighty percent of the MAT patient population is male although there is no gender divide in substance use in the American Indian population.
“Based on data from the Injury and Violence Prevention Branch (of NC DHHS), the proportion of females who die from overdoses seems to be higher in the American Indian population,” said Bell.
In addition to providing buprenorphine on-site, methadone is available at the Lumberton Treatment Center. The free services include support group sessions and individual and group counseling sessions.
In their North Carolina Medical Journal article, Community-driven Approaches to Preventing Overdoses Among American Indians, Bell and the co-authors recommend providing culturally appropriate, community-driven treatment and social support services. The tribal-run MAT program uses a talking circle approach in their counseling sessions and holds smudging ceremonies, a traditional spiritual cleansing ritual process Locklear describes as like going to church on Sunday. There is also a lot of education about the cultural traditions and history of the Lumbee people.
“A lot of people have kind of moved away from that so I think it helps and it’s great that they developed this program,” Bell said.
As addiction rates and overdose deaths increase, the MAT program becomes more vital but the funding runs out at the end of the month.
Locklear says the tribal administration is looking for resources to keep it going as long as needed, which seems to be for the foreseeable future.
This story is part of a reporting fellowship on health care performance sponsored by the Association of Health Care Journalists and supported by The Commonwealth Fund.
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