Partners for Your Health Blog

We would like to welcome Mushtaq Mahmood, MD to the North Ohio Heart and Ohio Medical Group family! Dr. Mahmood specializes in Pediatrics and Internal Medicine, and treats patients of all ages: from pediatric and adolescent care through adulthood.

The heartaches and heartbreaks of life may be on one's mind but these kinds of stressors also affect heart health. CardioSmart.org offers advice to help you relax. You may think you know how to relax but if you find that you are still often stressed, it might help to learn about the medical definition of relaxation: “Relaxing the mind means to quiet your thoughts so that you feel calm and peaceful. This can help you feel better and think more clearly than when you are stressed or anxious. What this means is that some of the things you do for relaxation may be entertaining or stimulating rather than actually relaxing.”

You can lessen your chances of having heart disease or decrease its effects if you already suffer from it by following a heart healthy diet. Itechpost.com discusses why people should avoid cholesterol in their quest to improve heart health:

You know that doctors receive specialized training in certain areas of medical expertise but that doesn't mean you fully understand just what a cardiologist does. If you need to see a cardiologist, it may help to get some background on this field before you go so you can have a better understanding of how a cardiologist can help you.

One of the most common pieces of equipment associated with doctors is the stethoscope. When someone dresses up as a doctor and needs a quick prop to demonstrate what the costume is, a stethoscope is usually used. This unique instrument is used to listen to heartbeats, but do you know what a doctor is listening for when they use a stethoscope?

Did you know that you may be able to experience less stress if you speak up? Since less stress means less strain on your heart, you can improve your cardiovascular health when you improve your communication skills.

Imagine a village, forgotten by its country. The locals must travel nearly 5 miles to get fresh water because the once fresh-water lake they built their village on is now starting to fill with salt. The fish are dying, so the main source of food is being depleted. Imagine a place where parents make “dirt patties”—dirt mixed with water—to help their children overcome the pains of hunger.

When the 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti in 2010, there was a lot of media coverage. People across the world donated time, food, water and money to help the nearly 3.5 million people affected by the quake. But this help was quickly placed elsewhere as other tragedies happened around the world.

In our previous post, we discussed how eating better can make a difference in heart health and how difficult it can be to develop new habits when eating at home. Since you don't just eat in your home, we want to offer tips to help you eat better when dining out as well. Whether you are at a restaurant for fun or because of a work obligation, developing a strategy can keep you from reverting to old habits of ordering unhealthy items off the menu.

CardioSmart.org says, "Many of us know that a healthy diet is important, but when push comes to shove, eating healthy is often easier said than done…” Do not let this discourage you, as they also note, "You don't need to make huge changes to eat healthier. And you don't have to change your habits all at the same time. It's best to set small goals and change your habits a little bit at a time." The website offers tips on healthy eating and health assessment tools that you can use to track your progress as you work towards your health goals. It is hard to get motivated to make these changes, so here are answers to some of the questions patients at North Ohio Heart tend to ask: