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February is American Heart Month, Bringing Awareness to Heart Disease

February is American Heart Month which seeks to bring awareness to heart disease and care options that can help solve the problem. Many heart health issues can be improved with lifestyle changes like diet and exercise from high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, to even rhythm problems like atrial fibrillation. “People who have had heart attacks lower their risk of another heart attack by eating healthier and exercising,” Dr. Courtney Virgilio said. “At Mercy Medical Center, we have a dedicated Cardiac Rehab Program to help people who have had heart attacks or stents learn how to do just that.” Virgilio is a M.D., FACC, FASE and the Medical Director of Noninvasive Cardiology; Cardiac Rehab and is a member of the Shaw Heart and Vascular Specialists team which is a part of CHI Mercy Health’s physician practice – Centennial Medical Group. SHVS has specialists in peripheral artery disease (blockages in the legs, for example) including stents when needed. “My passion is taking care of patients with heart disease as well as seeing people BEFORE they develop heart disease to help them PREVENT problems in the first place,” Virgilio said. “At Mercy we offer a full range of cardiovascular services for patients from outpatient consultations with a doctor, to all types of cardiac imaging from echocardiograms to stress tests. We offer cardiac event monitors to help capture rhythm issues patients may have and can place pacemakers when patient’s own conduction systems aren’t working properly.” Mercy also has the Shaw Heart and Vascular Center at the hospital, where they provide a variety of invasive procedures with angiograms and stent capabilities both emergently for people having a heart attack as well as those with progressive symptoms before they have a heart attack. The Center features a Cardiac Rehab which is a program that helps patients get back to the life they want to live after a major cardiac event, like a heart attack, stent placement, or cardiac surgery. Patients exercise while being supervised by trained staff, including nurses and respiratory therapists, who monitor the patient’s heart rate, rhythm, blood pressure, and how they are feeling so that they can safely increase their activity after a major heart event. “The goal of cardiac rehab is to help patients safely increase their physical activity and to help them continue with an active, healthier lifestyle going forward so as to prevent another cardiac event,” Virgilio said. “In our cardiac rehab program at Mercy, we also have the added advantage of having a dedicated dietician in our program with whom patients can meet and review dietary questions as well as come up with healthy diet plans to again try to prevent future cardiovascular events.” When asked what the biggest steps people can take to improve their heart health Virgilio said: “If you’re going to make one change, quit smoking. Smoking is one of the biggest preventable causes of cardiovascular disease. If you don’t smoke, work on getting more active, move more, sit less. The American Heart Association recommends trying to get 150 minutes (2.5hours)/week of moderate- intensity aerobic activity like brisk walking, gardening, biking.” “For diet changes, start with reading labels…you’ll be surprised at how much sugar and salt is in our food. Then aim to reduce your sugar or salt or fat (depending on your goal) by 20% each week.” The Shaw Heart and Vascular Specialists office is located at 2801 NW Mercy Drive, Suite 300, Roseburg, OR. Mercy’s Shaw Heart and Vascular Center is located within the hospital at 2700 Stewart Parkway in Roseburg.