In recognition of National Heart Failure Awareness Week,
heart-shaped balloons and displays on the multifaceted issue of the
heart failure were at the UCLA Medical Plaza on Thursday.
The lobby hallway at the medical plaza was lined with booths
exhibiting information about issues such as current research, diet
and exercise instruction, and organ donation. Smiling nurse
practitioners were on hand to chat with passersby and explain the
displays.
The U.S. Senate declared Heart Failure Awareness Week in
February 2000 and renewed the declaration in perpetuity in 2001.
The week traditionally falls on the same week as Valentine’s
Day.
Thursday’s event was put on by the Ahmanson-UCLA
Cardiomyopathy Center in conjunction with the UCLA Medical
Center.
The Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center is UCLA’s heart
failure division.
“The main focus was to increase awareness around heart
disease in general,” said Dr. Gregg Fonarow, the director of
the Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center.
Other goals were to let patients and their families know about
“effective things that individuals can do to control risk of
heart disease, to be aware of the programs in place at UCLA, and to
care for patients,” Fonarow said.
He noted UCLA has been involved in heart awareness week
activities for about four years as part of a nationwide effort to
make the public and people affected more aware of the issue and the
advances in the field.
“We’re hoping to target about 800 to 1,000 families,
staff, and patients,” said nurse Julie Sorg, an event
coordinator.
People were asking questions about heart failure who might
otherwise not even consider the issue, and since “heart
failure is the No. 1 medicare diagnosis,” getting people to
think about it who normally might not is a positive thing, Sorg
said.
Heart failure is a condition which affects nearly five million
Americans, and kills an average of 250,000 people annually,
according to a flier distributed by the Medical Center at the
event.
The flier also noted that 400,000 to 700,000 new cases of heart
failure are diagnosed every year.
“UCLA has a large heart failure (support)
community,” said Heather Sanders, a nurse practitioner.
She said the location of the event in the hospital hallway was
appropriate, as the high-traffic area was a good avenue to raise
awareness about heart failure.
Modern equipment in the field was also on display as an emphasis
was placed on making “patients and their family members aware
of all the advances that have been made about caring for heart
conditions and effective treatments,” Fonarow said.
Among other recent advancements, UCLA reported in a study
published January 2004 that a common cholesterol medication,
Statin, may help patients with heart failure live longer when
combined with their current regimen.