logo
North Country CEO takes the helm of area's American Heart Walk

North Country CEO takes the helm of area's American Heart Walk

Yahoo14-03-2025

WATERTOWN, N.Y. (WWTI) – A north country CEO is now leading the charge for the area's American Heart Walk.
North Star Health Alliance CEO Rich Duvall will lead the charge as the 2025 American Heart Association Heart Walk chairman. Under Duvall's leadership, top executives throughout the area have united to recruit companies and organizations to join the Heart Walk, a year-round campaign aimed at raising funds and awareness to fight cardiovascular disease while equipping people with the education, knowledge and resources to act in the face of a cardiac emergency by learning CPR.
CNY doctor warns of heart attack signs in women
I have a deeply personal connection to the mission of the American Heart Association. Both my mother and my wife died unexpectedly from cardiac issues. I'm looking forward to bringing people together for a powerful cause, driving awareness and leading the change with a commitment to heart health and saving lives.
Rich Duvall, North Star Health Alliance CEO
The association has been saving lives for 100 years and has put a spotlight on CPR education as a critical element of the Heart Walk campaign. According to the association, nine out of 10 people who suffer cardiac arrest outside of a hospital die yet immediate CPR can double or even triple the chances of survival. Duvall and a team of top executive leaders are committed to ensuring that more people in the area are prepared to respond effectively in these life-or-death situations.
The walk helps drive corporate involvement in the fight against cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in Northern New York. This year, companies participating in the Heart Walk will play a crucial role in the AHAs Nation of Lifesavers initiative, a national effort aimed at doubling cardiac arrest survival rates by 2030.
The year-round Heart Walk campaign will culminate on April 12 at Jefferson Community College. Hundreds of participants will walk to save lives while raising essential funds to advance lifesaving research, increase CPR education and training and drive equitable health for all people. Companies interested in participating can contact Stacy Spaziani at Stacy.Spaziani@heart.org. For more information about the Heart Walk, visit www.NorthCountryHeartWalk.org.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Community organizations bring awareness to hands-only CPR
Community organizations bring awareness to hands-only CPR

Yahoo

time4 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Community organizations bring awareness to hands-only CPR

June is CPR and AED Awareness Month and the American Heart Association set an ambitious goal to double survival the rate of cardiac arrest by 2030. Watch as Sheryl Davis and Beth Jones join KNWA Today/FOX24 morning shows to demonstrate hands-only CPR and share details on this year's Paint the Town Red event. See Community Clinic website here to check-out CPR classes. Click here for tickets to Paint the Town Red. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

The Most Vicious Cycle of All: Cardiac PTSD
The Most Vicious Cycle of All: Cardiac PTSD

Medscape

time14 hours ago

  • Medscape

The Most Vicious Cycle of All: Cardiac PTSD

Just surviving a major cardiac event is an achievement, but of course getting through whatever initial resuscitation and procedures necessary are merely the first steps. As a patient embarks on their rehabilitation journey, one incredibly dangerous setback cardiologists must be on the lookout for is cardiac posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This remarkably common complication — according to a 2004 study published in Critical Care Medicine , as many as 27% of those who survive cardiac events may develop PTSD — can not only cause noncompliance with medication and other ongoing treatment modalities but also put the patient at an increased risk for a second cardiac event. 'In the aftermath of cardiac arrest or a heart attack, one of the most overlooked aspects of recovery is the emotional toll it takes, said Srihari S. Naidu, MD, a professor of medicine at New York Medical College and director of the Cardiac Cath Labs at the Westchester Medical Center Health Network, both in Valhalla, New York. 'The experience can be deeply traumatic, not just for the patient, but for their loved ones as well. Despite this, mental health remains one of the least systematically addressed components of cardiac care.' One problem, Naidu said, is that we 'still, we lack standardized approaches to routinely screen, diagnose, and treat PTSD in this vulnerable population.' Indeed, the American Heart Association identified this as a problem in its 2020 scientific statement, Sudden Cardiac Arrest Survivorship. In this publication, the association said the coordination of multidisciplinary care, to include emotional care, must start as early as within the ICU, but that it needs to continue throughout the recovery period. Srihari S. Naidu, MD 'Without a coordinated plan during hospitalization to assess both short- and long-term recovery needs, we risk missing the broader picture,' said Naidu, who is also the president of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions. 'In my experience, the outpatient clinic visit is often the first, and sometimes the only, opportunity to uncover these issues, which may manifest as anxiety or persistent thoughts about the event, or a variety of unrelated symptoms.' James Jackson, MD, director of Behavioral Health and professor of medicine and psychiatry at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, said the symptoms are all united by one thing: The fact that the patient has the source of their trauma with them at all times. 'If you're carrying your heart around with you and the heart is the source of the trauma, you're constantly reminded, right? And if your cardiac event developed out of the blue, the concern is it could develop out of the blue again, right? So you're carrying this trauma around with you. It's a constant reminder,' he said. 'The trauma is not parked somewhere in the rear view. The trauma is sort of in the present and even in the future.' Symptom-wise, this trauma manifests itself in a variety of ways and can often go overlooked due to the focus on the physical recovery, Naidu said. 'During follow-up, subtle cues begin to emerge; patients who seem emotionally distant, who have trouble sleeping, or who avoid talking about what happened (can be red flags),' he said. 'PTSD doesn't always present dramatically.' Sometimes, Naidu said, it's the patient who suddenly bursts into tears when recalling the event. Other times, it's the one who avoids follow-ups, skips cardiac rehab, or steers clear of anything that reminds them of the hospital. Early symptoms may include hypervigilance, nightmares, intrusive memories, emotional numbness, and avoidance. The Cycle Folds Onto Itself When you break it down and look at triggering factors, it's not hard to understand how PTSD becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. 'Often with patients in a cardiac context, they get quite anxious. Their heart starts beating fast, and then they really worry. And so their response to that is, I'm going to withdraw. I'm going to disengage,' Jackson said. While physical activity or exercise often helps reduce stress, patients are often short of breath and are reminded how it felt when they were having the attack. James Jackson, MD 'And so if they start to exercise, it's all well and good,' Jackson said. 'But as soon as they get slightly short of breath, even if they're fine physiologically, as soon as they get short of breath, they're going to shut that down. And this is just one example, but it becomes a very isolating sort of process.' Patients left in this sustained crisis state experience a significantly diminished overall quality of life, and a study led by Antonia Seligowski and published in the March 2024 issue of Brain, Behavior, and Immunity found that PTSD after cardiac arrest significantly increases the risks for both major adverse cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality within just 1 year of discharge. This is supported by the findings of Donald Edmondson, MD, associate professor of behavioral medicine in medicine and psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York City, both in his 2013 study published in the American Heart Journal and in research he has done since. 'Over the years now, we've studied cardiac patients, both acute coronary syndrome, so myocardial infarction, as well as cardiac arrest and stroke,' Edmondson said. 'What we see is that between 15 and 30% of patients will screen positive for PTSD due to that cardiac event 1 month later. Those who screen positive for PTSD are at least at doubled risk, if not greater, for having another cardiac event or dying within the year after that first cardiac event.' These outcomes highlight how critical it is to address PTSD early and effectively, Naidu said. 'As cardiologists, we often focus on optimizing medications, procedures, and physical rehabilitation, but without integrating behavioral support, we're missing a major part of the healing process,' he said. PTSD and cardiovascular disease have a well-documented relationship: PTSD can worsen cardiovascular risk, and in turn, living with heart disease can amplify psychological stress. Jackson said that there are behavioral health approaches at work in other areas that may be useful for cardiac events that are not sudden onset. 'There's a general sort of a movement afoot called prehab,' Jackson said. 'The general idea about prehab would be, 'Hey, you're going to have this surgery. We think that it's going to knock your brain down. So we're going to try to do some brain training with you before the surgery, and we think that in doing that, we're going to build your reserve up.' Is There a Type? Although a 2022 study led by Sophia Armand and published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing showed that younger age, female sex, and high levels of acute stress at the time of the event to be significant risk factors for developing PTSD after cardiac arrest. There's no one overarching 'profile' in terms of who's likely to develop PTSD after any cardiac event. Naidu has his hunches, though. Donald Edmondson, MD 'I would say that I suspect cardiac arrest is more frequently associated with PTSD than other types of cardiac events. Compared to conditions like myocardial infarction or unstable angina, the psychological impact of cardiac arrest, particularly when complicated by anoxic brain injury, tends to be more profound,' Naidu said, cautioning that individual risk factors should be weighed in every case. 'Anoxic injury significantly increases the risk of depression, anxiety, and PTSD, often for an uncertain duration.' At Columbia, Edmondson said there are two indicators that together predict a high risk for a cardiac patient developing PTSD. 'They tend to pay close attention to their cardiac sensations and catastrophize them,' Edmondson said of the patients who go on to develop PTSD. 'Initially, in the ER [emergency room], they're extremely distressed. Then, post event, they'll say over the past 4 weeks, when I feel my heart beating fast, I worry that I'm having another heart attack. Or if I feel short of breath, I worry that I'm going to die.' 'Having those two predictors together, so initial high distress in the emergency department and this sort of high, what we call interoceptive bias, those two things together place people at high risk for developing PTSD at that 1-month period (after their cardiac event).' Regardless, more research must be done on this extremely risky and highly debilitating mental health issue that's so deeply entwined with its cardiac trigger. 'More focused studies are needed to better understand the timing, risk factors, and mechanisms behind these symptoms, and to develop standardized strategies for early screening, intervention, and long-term psychological support,' said Naidu. 'An urgent need exists to screen for and treat PTSD, not just for mental health but to help prevent repeat hospitalizations and improve long-term cardiovascular outcomes.'

How Sleep Disorders Disrupt Brain Health—and Why It Matters
How Sleep Disorders Disrupt Brain Health—and Why It Matters

Los Angeles Times

timea day ago

  • Los Angeles Times

How Sleep Disorders Disrupt Brain Health—and Why It Matters

Sleep is more than a nightly recharge—it's a biological necessity that actively maintains and protects the brain. A sleep disorder is an umbrella term for conditions that disrupt normal sleep patterns, affecting both the quality and quantity of sleep. Yet millions suffer from sleep disorders and don't know the long term effects these conditions can have on their brain health. Sleep disorders are conditions that disrupt normal sleep patterns and can lead to excessive daytime sleepiness which is a key symptom of many sleep disorders and can impact daily functioning. Sleep wake disorders broadly categorize conditions that affect both sleep and wakefulness, highlighting the spectrum of disturbances that can occur. Common sleep disorders include insomnia, sleep apnea and restless legs syndrome. From brain structure changes to increased risk of neurological disease, science is finding out just how important sleep is for a healthy mind. Here's what happens when sleep fails and why the brain may pay the price. Sleep isn't just a passive state; it plays a crucial role in keeping brain anatomy intact. A 2023 Mendelian randomization study found a direct causal link between shorter sleep duration and thinner cortex especially in areas that govern memory, cognition and mood regulation [1]. So poor sleep doesn't just correlate with brain issues—it may actually reshape the brain over time. More imaging studies support this. People with neuropsychiatric sleep disorders show noticeable changes in the cortex and brainstem, so disrupted sleep may be a symptom of or a contributor to brain degeneration [11] [12]. According to the International Classification of Sleep Disorders (ICSD) the main types of sleep disorders are insomnia, sleep disordered breathing, hypersomnolence, circadian rhythm disorders, parasomnias and sleep related movement disorders. Many sleep disorders are diagnosed by a combination of clinical history, physical examination and sleep studies such as polysomnography. This duality raises a important clinical question: are we treating sleep disorders as the root cause or just a side effect especially since many sleep disorders can present with overlapping symptoms making diagnosis and treatment complex? One of the brain's housekeeping tasks—clearing out metabolic waste—is done during sleep. Specifically the glymphatic system flushes out neurotoxins like beta-amyloid a protein that builds up in Alzheimer's disease. When sleep is disrupted this cleaning mechanism fails. Poor sleep quality and chronic sleep problems can impede the brain's ability to clear out neurotoxins and increase the risk of cognitive decline [7]. In 2024 the American Heart Association released a statement linking sleep disturbances to increased risk of stroke, Alzheimer's and cognitive decline [2]. Chronic sleep deprivation can also affect day to day brain function. Sleep disturbance is a common feature in many neurodegenerative diseases and can accelerate cognitive impairment. A 2022 study found that long term sleep disruption impairs memory, slows learning and hinders decision making—cognitive functions we take for granted until they start to fade [4]. Sleep deprivation doesn't just make you tired. It changes brain chemistry. A 2020 review found that inadequate sleep affects neurotransmitter balance, weakens synaptic plasticity (the brain's ability to adapt) and even interrupts its natural repair mechanisms—all of which contribute to conditions like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease [3]. Common risk factors for sleep deprivation include shift work, chronic illness and certain lifestyle habits which can increase susceptibility to sleep related problems. A broader 2021 synthesis explained that sleep is the cornerstone for immune function, energy balance and synaptic homeostasis—the delicate balance needed for clear thinking and emotional regulation [5]. Once this balance is disrupted neurological decline often follows. Sleep deprivation is both a risk factor for and a consequence of many mental disorders such as insomnia, restless legs syndrome and narcolepsy. It's a vicious cycle: neurological disease disrupts sleep and poor sleep accelerates neurological decline. Sleep deprivation affects both physical and mental health and increases vulnerability to neurological and psychiatric conditions. What happens in the gut doesn't stay in the gut—it can affect your sleep too. Scientists are increasingly looking into the gut brain axis—a complex communication network between the gastrointestinal system and the central nervous system. Recent research suggests that the gut microbiota can influence circadian rhythm and disruptions in this system may contribute to circadian rhythm disorders [12]. A 2022 review found that changes in gut microbiota can influence sleep patterns by altering immune responses, hormonal signals and neural activity [6]. Disruptions in circadian rhythm sleep can lead to various sleep disorders and overall health. These findings open up new possibilities for using diet, probiotics or microbiome-modulating therapies to improve sleep and in turn brain health. For more on this topic Johns Hopkins Medicine has a great primer on gut brain communication. We all know how stress affects sleep. But chronic stress does more than just keep us up at night—it triggers a cascade of inflammatory responses in the brain. Common insomnia symptoms include difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep and early morning awakenings. A 2025 review found that stress related sleep disturbances activate brain immune cells such as astrocytes and microglia. Once triggered these cells can promote neuroinflammation, damage neurons and contribute to conditions like depression and dementia [8]. These findings mirror ongoing research into how trauma, insomnia and mood disorders often share biological pathways tied to inflammation. Chronic insomnia disorder is characterized by persistent sleep difficulties lasting at least three months and often requires targeted treatment. Treating insomnia may involve behavioral, psychological and pharmacological interventions to reduce neuroinflammation and improve sleep quality. Another interesting aspect of the sleep brain relationship is genetic overlap. Many neuropsychiatric disorders share common heritable traits which not only predispose individuals to certain brain conditions but also affect how their brains age [11]. A 2019 Nature Neuroscience study found genetic patterns linking brain disorders and accelerated brain aging [9]. Meanwhile a 2022 study connected poor sleep—especially from conditions like sleep apnea—with vascular cognitive impairment. This research highlighted the impact of chronic oxygen deprivation on small vessels in the brain, a contributor to both stroke and dementia. Sleep studies such as polysomnography and home sleep apnea testing are used to diagnose sleep disorders and assess their impact on brain health [10]. These findings suggest that sleep is not just a lifestyle factor but a deeply intertwined part of our neurological makeup. For more reading Sleep Foundation has a great overview of how genetics and sleep intersect. Keeping a sleep diary can help track sleep patterns and identify potential sleep disorders for further evaluation. Sleep may seem like downtime but for the brain it's maintenance time, repair time and regulation time. Whether it's maintaining brain structure, supporting cognition or taming inflammation, restful sleep is key to long term neurological health. As we learn more about sleep disorders, we should prioritize sleep as a public health issue—not just to feel rested but to preserve ourselves. [1] Gao, X., Wei, T., Xu, S., Sun, W., Zhang, B., Li, C., Sui, R., Fei, N., Li, Y., Xu, W., & Han, D. (2023). Sleep disorders causally affect the brain cortical structure: A Mendelian randomization study. Sleep medicine, 110, 243–253. [2] Gottesman, R. F., Lutsey, P. L., Benveniste, H., Brown, D. L., Full, K. M., Lee, J. M., Osorio, R. S., Pase, M. P., Redeker, N. S., Redline, S., Spira, A. P., & American Heart Association Stroke Council; Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing; and Council on Hypertension (2024). Impact of Sleep Disorders and Disturbed Sleep on Brain Health: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. Stroke, 55(3), e61–e76. [3] Bishir, M., Bhat, A., Essa, M. M., Ekpo, O., Ihunwo, A. O., Veeraraghavan, V. P., Mohan, S. K., Mahalakshmi, A. M., Ray, B., Tuladhar, S., Chang, S., Chidambaram, S. B., Sakharkar, M. K., Guillemin, G. J., Qoronfleh, M. W., & Ojcius, D. M. (2020). Sleep Deprivation and Neurological Disorders. BioMed research international, 2020, 5764017. [4] Zamore, Z., & Veasey, S. C. (2022). Neural consequences of chronic sleep disruption. Trends in neurosciences, 45(9), 678–691. [5] Lewis L. D. (2021). The interconnected causes and consequences of sleep in the brain. Science (New York, N.Y.), 374(6567), 564–568. [6] Wang, Z., Wang, Z., Lu, T., Chen, W., Yan, W., Yuan, K., Shi, L., Liu, X., Zhou, X., Shi, J., Vitiello, M. V., Han, Y., & Lu, L. (2022). The microbiota-gut-brain axis in sleep disorders. Sleep medicine reviews, 65, 101691. [7] Cieza, A., Anczewska, M., Ayuso-Mateos, J. L., Baker, M., Bickenbach, J., Chatterji, S., Hartley, S., Leonardi, M., Pitkänen, T., & PARADISE Consortium (2015). Understanding the Impact of Brain Disorders: Towards a 'Horizontal Epidemiology' of Psychosocial Difficulties and Their Determinants. PloS one, 10(9), e0136271. [8] Rábago-Monzón, Á. R., Osuna-Ramos, J. F., Armienta-Rojas, D. A., Camberos-Barraza, J., Camacho-Zamora, A., Magaña-Gómez, J. A., & De la Herrán-Arita, A. K. (2025). Stress-Induced Sleep Dysregulation: The Roles of Astrocytes and Microglia in Neurodegenerative and Psychiatric Disorders. Biomedicines, 13(5), 1121. [9] Kaufmann, T., van der Meer, D., Doan, N. T., Schwarz, E., Lund, M. J., Agartz, I., Alnæs, D., Barch, D. M., Baur-Streubel, R., Bertolino, A., Bettella, F., Beyer, M. K., Bøen, E., Borgwardt, S., Brandt, C. L., Buitelaar, J., Celius, E. G., Cervenka, S., Conzelmann, A., Córdova-Palomera, A., … Westlye, L. T. (2019). Common brain disorders are associated with heritable patterns of apparent aging of the brain. Nature neuroscience, 22(10), 1617–1623. [10] Gu, F., Chauhan, V., & Chauhan, A. (2015). Glutathione redox imbalance in brain disorders. Current opinion in clinical nutrition and metabolic care, 18(1), 89–95. [11] Radonjić, N. V., Hess, J. L., Rovira, P., Andreassen, O., Buitelaar, J. K., Ching, C. R. K., Franke, B., Hoogman, M., Jahanshad, N., McDonald, C., Schmaal, L., Sisodiya, S. M., Stein, D. J., van den Heuvel, O. A., van Erp, T. G. M., van Rooij, D., Veltman, D. J., Thompson, P., & Faraone, S. V. (2021). Structural brain imaging studies offer clues about the effects of the shared genetic etiology among neuropsychiatric disorders. Molecular psychiatry, 26(6), 2101–2110. [12] Elvsåshagen, T., Bahrami, S., van der Meer, D., Agartz, I., Alnæs, D., Barch, D. M., Baur-Streubel, R., Bertolino, A., Beyer, M. K., Blasi, G., Borgwardt, S., Boye, B., Buitelaar, J., Bøen, E., Celius, E. G., Cervenka, S., Conzelmann, A., Coynel, D., Di Carlo, P., Djurovic, S., … Kaufmann, T. (2020). The genetic architecture of human brainstem structures and their involvement in common brain disorders. Nature communications, 11(1), 4016.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store