(Family Features) La comida, las bebidas, los regalos y el tiempo con la familia hacen de las fiestas una ocasión feliz para las personas de todo el país. Sin embargo, toda esa celebración a veces puede convertirse en una distracción para mantener la salud del corazón.

De hecho, las alegrías de la temporada pueden estropearse para muchos, ya que las investigaciones muestran un aumento en los eventos cardíacos y las muertes por ataques cardíacos durante la última semana de diciembre. Según un estudio publicado en la revista de la American Heart Association, “Circulation”, ocurren más muertes por problemas cardíacos el 25 de diciembre que cualquier otro día del año, seguidas por el segundo número más grande el 26 de diciembre y el tercero el 1 de enero.

“Las vacaciones son un momento ajetreado, a menudo estresante, para muchos de nosotros”, dijo Mitchell S.V. Elkind, MD, MS, FAHA, director de ciencias clínicas de la American Heart Association. “Las rutinas se interrumpen. Es posible que tendamos a comer y beber más y a hacer menos ejercicio y relajarnos menos. Dormimos muy poco y experimentamos demasiado estrés. Si bien no sabemos exactamente por qué hay más ataques cardíacos mortales durante este tiempo, es importante tener en cuenta que estos factores pueden incrementarse, aumentando el riesgo de un evento cardíaco mortal”.

Ser consciente de este fenómeno anual y tomar algunas medidas importantes y saludables para el corazón puede ayudar a salvar vidas. Considere estos consejos del Dr. Elkind y los expertos de la American Heart Association.

• Conozca los síntomas y tome medidas. Los signos de un ataque cardíaco varían en hombres y mujeres, pero es importante reconocerlos temprano y llamar al 9-1-1 para obtener ayuda. Cuanto antes comience el tratamiento médico, mayores serán las posibilidades de supervivencia y de prevención del daño cardíaco.
• Celebre con moderación. Comer saludablemente durante las fiestas no tiene por qué significar privarse. Hay maneras de comer de manera inteligente, como limitar la ingesta de sodio y buscar pequeños intercambios saludables para que continúe sintiéndose lo mejor posible mientras come y bebe con moderación.
• Practique la buena voluntad hacia sí mismo. Tómese un tiempo para cuidarse durante esta temporada ajetreada. Leer un libro favorito, meditar o incluso jugar con mascotas son formas productivas de reducir el estrés de las interacciones familiares, las finanzas tensas, los horarios agitados, los viajes y otros factores estresantes que pueden provocar las vacaciones.
• Siga moviéndose. El ajetreo y el bullicio de la preparación para las fiestas a menudo deja de lado el ejercicio, pero es importante mantenerse activo tanto como sea posible. Sea creativo para mantenerse en movimiento dando un paseo familiar o jugando juegos físicamente activos con sus seres queridos.
• Tome sus medicamentos. Los horarios ocupados pueden hacer que algunas personas se salten los medicamentos, a veces incluso los olvidan en casa o no renuevan las recetas a tiempo. Trate de usar un cuadro de medicamentos como recordatorio y asegúrese de controlar los números de su presión arterial.

Descubra más formas de vivir una vida saludable para el corazón durante las fiestas y durante todo el año en heart.org.

Foto cortesía de Getty Images

SOURCE:
American Heart Association

(Family Features) For many people who wish to work toward a healthier weight, one of the greatest obstacles is figuring out where to begin.

These tips from SlimFast consultant and registered dietitian Maryann Walsh show it doesn’t take a drastic lifestyle overhaul to make an impact.

Eat Mindfully
Many people who struggle with their weight benefit from being more conscious about what they’re eating and why. For example, consider your eating habits, such as eating even when you’re not hungry whether that’s because it’s mealtime and you think you should eat, you’re satisfying a craving or using a tasty snack to cope with stress.

Recognizing why you’re eating is an important step toward correcting destructive eating patterns, but so is paying attention to the other details of the eating experience, including what you eat and how it makes you feel. Ultimately, this may allow you to choose healthier foods that nourish your body for the long-term, rather than the brief satisfaction that comes with less nutritious choices.

Consider Intermittent Fasting
One weight-loss method many people find success using is intermittent fasting, which involves abstaining from all food and beverages for a specified time period each day or week. While going too long without food can sometimes lead to excess hunger then overeating later, in shorter, controlled fasting timeframes one can often more easily achieve a caloric deficit, which is required for weight loss.

Prepare for your fasting phase by choosing foods that support satiety. Options like SlimFast’s Intermittent Fasting line of meal bars and protein shakes can help avoid a sense of deprivation with tasty flavors like the Vanilla Cupcake Snack Shake Mix and Vanilla Almond Crunch Complete Meal Bar. The shake mixes deliver 15 grams of slow-digesting protein, compared to whey protein, to help curb hunger, along with more than 20 vitamins and minerals. The meal bars clock in with 15 grams of protein and 10 grams of fiber.

Manage Stress
When you’re stressed, your body produces cortisol, which also raises insulin and can drive hunger and trigger cravings for comfort foods. In fact, that’s the very reason people tend to overeat when they’re under pressure. Light exercise and meditative practices can help you manage your mental strain. You might also consider talk therapy with a friend or professional or spend time unwinding with a book or music.

Get Proper Sleep
Poor sleep habits affect your weight in numerous ways. One is that when you’re feeling tired, your hunger and satiety hormones, ghrelin and leptin, can be affected, leading to an increase in caloric intake and subsequent weight gain. Additionally, when you’re tired, you’re more likely to take shortcuts like skipping workouts or opting for unhealthy convenience foods. All are reasons to make better rest a bigger priority.

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Track Eating and Exercise
When you’re not paying attention to what you eat and how you move, you may not even realize how your habits are affecting your health. Logging what you eat, especially if you use a tool like an app that helps you see the nutrition breakdown, may give you a clearer idea of the quality and quantity of your intake. Similarly, when you’re specifically writing down the time you’re committing to physical activity, you’ll find it easier to identify patterns and pinpoint where you can make adjustments to increase your exercise.

Visit SlimFast.com to find more resources on weight management and intermittent fasting.

3 Tips for Intermittent Fasting

If you’re new to the idea of intermittent fasting, these tips can help you find greater success so you can see results.

1. Pace yourself. Make a gradual transition so your body gets used to going without food for shorter periods of time before you work up to extended fasting periods.
2. Stay hydrated. Avoid confusing thirst for hunger by upping your fluid intake. Staying hydrated and energized while you fast helps keep fatigue and brain fog at bay. Options like fruit-flavored SlimFast Intermittent Fasting Energizing Hydration Supplement Drink Mix won’t break your fast and can help you add variety as a flavorful alternative to water. They can provide the energy and focus you need between meals and are perfect for those who feel groggy or run-down while fasting.
3. Set goals. Know what you want to achieve and why, so your “why” can keep motivating you to follow your intermittent fasting plan even when you’re tempted to quit.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images (woman and man exercising)

SOURCE:
SlimFast

(Family Features) In the year following a stroke, about 1 in 3 stroke survivors will experience spasticity, a common post-stroke condition which causes muscle stiffness due to involuntary muscle contractions. Most commonly affecting the elbow, wrist and ankle, the condition may make it difficult to do activities people were able to do before their stroke like dressing, brushing their teeth or walking.

More than 3 million stroke survivors may wrestle with reduced independence and increased reliance on caregivers due to spasticity. The condition is particularly common in younger stroke survivors.

After a stroke, the way your brain communicates with your muscles may change. Muscles may be stiff or resistant to stretching. They may involuntarily contract or have a smaller range of motion.

“While there’s no cure for spasticity, working with your care team to find the best treatment options for you can help provide comfort, relief and independence,” said Richard D. Zorowitz, MD, volunteer past chair of the American Heart Association’s Stroke Council Rehabilitation and Recovery Committee and chief medical informatics officer and outpatient attending physician at MedStar National Rehabilitation Network.

Some common symptoms include painful muscle spasms; difficulty stretching muscles; stiffness in the arm, hand, leg and ankle; an arm folded and pressed against the chest with a curled wrist and fingers; an involuntary tight fist; pointed foot; curled toes; and overactive reflexes.

If left untreated, spasticity can cause painful and debilitating bone and joint deformities. Experts stress seeing a doctor as soon as symptoms develop. Assessment of the condition is critical in developing a treatment plan based on individual needs and goals, the severity of the condition and overall health.

Management plans may include targeted injections of botulinum toxin, oral medications, intrathecal baclofen pump therapy, physical therapy or other methods to improve the muscles’ ability to stretch and regain range of motion. Home modifications such as assistive devices and other adaptations to increase independence and safety may also help.

If you or a loved one is dealing with spasticity after a stroke, talk to your doctor or health care team about options to treat and manage it. Find resources and tools to help at Stroke.org/Spasticity. Spasticity education made possible through funding by Ipsen.

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Knowing the Signs of Stroke Saved One Man’s Life

When Herbert “Hub” Miller worked as a global leader for an international agriculture science company, his boss ended every meeting with a reminder of the “FAST” acronym to recognize the signs of stroke: Face drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulties and Time to call 911.

“I’d sit back and think, ‘Here comes the whole FAST speech again; let’s move on,’” Miller said. “I didn’t know I’d ever use it on myself.”

In April 2021, Miller was working from home when he experienced throbbing head pain. As other symptoms began appearing, the 42-year-old remembered those meetings and checked off the symptoms: His face was numb, his left arm drooped and he struggled to form words.

It turned out to be a hemorrhagic stroke, a ruptured blood vessel bleeding into the brain. Miller’s odds of surviving weren’t good, but it wasn’t until he was recovering in intensive care that he understood the full impact of the stroke. It caused abnormal increases in muscle tone causing stiffness, pain and spasms known as spasticity, leaving him with mobility and cognitive challenges.

After the stroke, Miller struggled with once-simple tasks like drawing a clock, completing a word puzzle and playing memory games.

“Spasticity changed my life and added an additional hurdle to my stroke recovery,” Miller said. “Without being able to open and close my left hand, I can’t write, type or drive like I used to. Those are things most of us take for granted until we can’t do them.”

Miller worked on his penmanship at the same time his youngest son learned to write in the first grade. Miller asked the teacher to send home extra worksheets, and father and son did homework together.

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“I don’t measure my success day by day, but when I look back to a year ago and where I am today, I am grateful every day how far I have come,” he said.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images (patient undergoing physical therapy)

SOURCE:
American Heart Association