Expert highlights importance of heart health in rural communities at annual conference
American Heart Association (AHA) Vice President of Rural Health Dr. Jennifer Conner was among the lineup of speakers at the 31st Annual Wyoming Women in Ag Symposium, held Nov. 7-8 in Laramie.
Conner stressed the importance of heart health – for all people – but especially those in rural America and shared work AHA has underway to increase access to healthcare in these areas and programs and resources available to these communities.
Community programs
First, since many rural residents are hours away from the nearest trauma center, Conner noted AHA is working with rural hospitals and clinics to ensure they have proper resources to provide adequate care.
“We also know libraries are a hub of many rural communities, so we have a program called Libraries with Heart,” she explained. “The program is three-fold, but what we’ve been doing is putting CPR kits in all 23 county libraries. Just like one can go in and check out a book, they can also check out a blood pressure monitor.”
Additionally, AHA is setting up telehealth rooms in public libraries so residents with spotty internet service have a place to receive telehealth care.
For the younger generation, AHA has been working with college-based food pantries to ensure students have access to healthier food items and knowledge regarding the long-term effects of excess sodium consumption.
“I know I don’t have to tell everyone here that farm-related stress is at an all-time high. Suicide rates among farmers are at an all-time high,” Conner said. “We’ve had wildfires stress the industry here in Wyoming, so our producers are at higher risk for a stress-related heart attack or stroke in this type of environment.”
With this, Conner noted AHA is encouraging farmers and ranchers to create cardiac emergency response plans, as well as working with the industry to create tools to help rural producers in an emergency, such as using the GPS in a John Deere tractor to notify medical services of the individual’s exact location.
AHA is also in the process of brainstorming ways to get more automated external defibrillators (AED) on operations, including a voucher system where the department and the producer share the cost of the AED.
CPR
Making sure the general public understands the basics of CPR has also been a big push for the AHA, according to Conner.
AHA has held a long-standing partnership with the National Football League, but after Buffalo Bills Defensive Safety Damar Hamlin collapsed during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals in January, Conner said there has been a three-fold increase in the request for CPR training.
“A big piece of what we do is CPR,” Conner stated. “I don’t know if this is a surprise to anyone, but about 70 percent of Americans feel helpless if they come across a cardiac emergency.”
Because of this, AHA has urged communities and venues to come up with cardiac emergency response plans and offer access to more AEDs.
“We are trying to get an AED in every school. Disproportionately, a lot of our rural schools and sports programs don’t have an AED,” Conner noted.
Since Wyoming’s professional sports realm consists solely of rodeo, AHA has been working to offer CPR training at events such as the National High School Finals, Cheyenne Frontier Days and Laramie Jubilee Days rodeos.
On a larger scale, they are also trying to become affiliated with the College National Finals Rodeo, Fort Worth Stock Show, National Western Stock Show, National Little Britches Rodeo and Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo.
Conner said, “We also have a program with AmeriCorps – a service-based project through the federal government which allows us to reach the most rural areas. We call it HeartCorps. So, our HeartCorps members are out teaching CPR at rodeos, going to the library and setting up blood pressure checks and going to schools to talk about nutrition.”
“We currently have host sites in Sheridan, Gillette, Fort Washakie, Casper, Torrington and Cheyenne,” she continued. “I also want to mention we have vacancy, so if you have friends or anybody who is looking to do a paid internship or paid volunteer position, we do have some openings.”
Lastly, Conner noted a few of AHA’s other national campaigns include celebrating National Heart Month in February, National CPR Awareness Week in June and National Restart Your Heart Day in October.
Women’s heart health
Additionally, AHA’s Go Red campaign is dedicated specifically to women’s heart health.
“We want to make it our mission to fight heart disease in women, because it is actually the number one killer in our nation,” Conner stated. “About 420,000 American women die each year from heart disease – one woman dies every minute from heart disease – and more women die from heart disease than all forms of cancer combined. In the U.S., about 43 million women are living with a heart disease right now.”
She added, “I believe if one woman dies, it’s one too many. We have a job to do.”
With this, Conner said an important thing to note is women often have different heart attack symptoms than men.
While chest pain may be a sign, it doesn’t occur as much in women as it does in men. Instead, women usually experience pain in their arms, back, jaw and stomach; break out in a cold sweat; nausea and vomiting.
Conner noted the acronym “FAST” can be used to remember the signs of a stroke – face drooping, arms tingling, slurred speech and time to call 911.
Conner urges women to stay on top of their heart health and specifically recommends learning family history, improving daily habits, getting regular checkups, knowing baseline numbers, controlling sugar intake, staying active, getting adequate amounts of sleep and managing stress levels.
“Another thing to mention is how oral health impacts heart health, and dental care can be a real issue in rural areas,” she added.
Hannah Bugas is the managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundp@wylr.net.
