Latest news with #HeartFoundation
Otago Daily Times
24-05-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Blood pressure checks, advice offered for all
Oamaru heart health advocate Jan Keown will run another blood pressure check pop-up outside Mitre 10 Oamaru next week. PHOTO: NIC DUFF New Zealand is under pressure and the Heart Foundation is doing something about it. It has launched a nationwide blood pressure awareness campaign to encourage New Zealanders to get their blood pressure checked. Pop-ups are being held across the country, including Oamaru, this month, offering free blood pressure checks. High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, affects one million New Zealanders and is the single biggest risk factor for the country's biggest killer — heart disease. One in three New Zealanders over 30 have high blood pressure and there are 350,000 who have high blood pressure and do not know it. Oamaru heart health advocate Jan Keown ran a pop-up outside The Warehouse earlier this week. It was "very much educational", she said. Alongside checking blood pressure, she handed out pamphlets and information sheets explaining how to interpret the results and where the numbers should ideally be. "If the readings are out of kilter with that, we recommend people get them checked either at their pharmacy or with their GP and just know that there are things that they can do to keep their blood pressure down." She said there was a good number of people who came through to get checks. There will be another pop-up outside Mitre 10 Oamaru on Tuesday, from 10am to 2pm.
Otago Daily Times
22-05-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Marathon effort personal for family
A Timaru family is once again clocking up the kilometres to save New Zealand's hearts. George McAleer and parents Kevin McAleer and Jane Sullivan have teamed up to tackle the Heart Foundation's MyMarathon challenge to raise funds for heart research. Over the course of May — George and Kevin are aiming to each run 100km while Jane will be swimming a minimum of 42km. George, now 23, was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, atrial fibrillation and heart failure when he was 19 and had planned to complete the marathon with his parents last year but was unable to after two admissions and a heart procedure at Christchurch Hospital. He said it was great to be able fully take part this year. "Last year was a big bummer with the operation in the middle of the month but I'm able to get through it this year and I'm actually rushing through it pretty quick which I'm happy with. "I've already done about 75km out of my 100km goal. "It's great to have my family take part and have my friends show their support through donations or raising money themselves." He said it was cool to see. "Having had problems you sort of feel quite alone. "For me when it happened, I didn't know anyone else my age that had been going through anything like this or even that it could happen to people my age. "So, getting among this and seeing people my age with similar problems and doing their own fundraising makes it feel like you're not alone through it all." The initial heart problems came out of nowhere, he said. "I was stressed with university and life in general, I thought I was just having panic attacks. "I was lying in bed at the time and my heart rate was 180. I thought I'd just sleep it off and it'd be good in the morning and it wasn't, so I went to the hospital. "If anyone has unusual symptoms they should go and get them checked out, it only takes an extra 30 seconds for the doctor to listen to your heart. It's not much but it's worth it." Despite taking a bit of time to get over last year's operation, he was feeling great. "I've been back in rhythm since the operation which is good but initially it was tough. "You go from feeling fit and healthy to lying down and your heart rate is three times higher than it should be. "It's quite an uneasy feeling, a lot of confidence was lost and that took a bit of time and effort to get back. "Now that I've been through it a few times, I know what to look out for. "The new normal for me now is pretty much my old normal again which is really nice." Ms Sullivan said it was great to be back taking part in the marathon again after their team raised more than $4000 last year. "It's good motivation when you know someone down the track had to discover how to treat the different heart conditions. "George is benefiting from some research that was done years and years ago, so you're hoping that for more complex situations that we'll keep discovering new ways to treat the heart. "We were quite overwhelmed with the support we received last year. "It's great to be able to raise awareness because a lot of families are touched by heart conditions." She said heart problems could happen to anyone. "We've had a lot of new people come forward and donate this year which has been really nice. "It's difficult to ask and put pressure on people to donate so we really appreciate people supporting us." Anyone wishing to support the family and help them hit their $3000 goal can do so by visiting the Team McAleer page on the MyMarathon website. Blood pressure is also a big focus of the Heart Foundation this month and the organisation will be offering free checks in South Canterbury at Farmlands Timaru on May 26 from 10am to 2pm and New World Temuka on May 27 from 10am to 2pm.
West Australian
21-05-2025
- Health
- West Australian
Queen of Hearts rolls into Kununurra on epic 20,000km heart health mission
She is almost 90 days into a 200-day journey, running and riding her way around Australia—and she's doing it all for hearts. Dawn Beaumont, known as the 'Queen of Hearts,' will arrive in Kununurra this Saturday as part of her 20,000km duathlon to raise $2 million for heart health and emergency medical services. The 40-year-old South Australian is on a mission to raise the money for the Heart Foundation and the Royal Flying Doctor Service, while spreading a personal message about heart health. Her journey began in Adelaide on February 25 and since then, she has been running 22km and cycling 80km every day, supported by her husband Kurt and their dog Archie, who travel alongside her in a support vehicle. Having ran and cycled across the Kimberley, Kununurra marks her final stop in Western Australia before she crosses into the Northern Territory. 'For me, this run-ride isn't about the distance, it's about the cause,' she said. Her passion for heart health advocacy began in 2013 when she saved her mother Janet's life during a heart attack at Crown Theatre Perth. 'In September 2013, my mother Janet went into cardiac arrest after having a heart attack. We were at the Crown Theatre in Perth about to watch a show, and she wasn't feeling well. After getting my mother out of the theatre into the foyer she collapsed and I performed CPR to revive her. Luckily, she survived,' she said. Her mother was 53 years old and had a major blockage in an artery which required surgery for a stent. 'After that, Mum had monthly appointments with her cardiologists and underwent a gastric sleeve procedure 12 months post-heart attack to reduce her weight. She lost 60kg and quit smoking.' Dawn's duathlon is believed to be the first of its kind in Australia. Over the course of her journey, she will visit every State and Territory, stop in 184 towns and wear out 16 pairs of running shoes. She consumes about 8000 calories daily to sustain her effort — four times the average recommended intake. Heart Foundation chief executive David Lloyd said he was inspired by Ms Beaumont's bold vision. 'Everything about Dawn's commitment to this remarkable fundraiser inspires me — it's such a huge and impressive thing to commit to doing. This kind of thing is so important for us, because at the Heart Foundation we rely on donations from the community to fund everything we do,' he said. To donate to the Queen of Hearts Run and Ride visit: .
Courier-Mail
19-05-2025
- Health
- Courier-Mail
Just 2 days of eating high-fat food can damage your gut, study shows
Diets high in saturated fats have been linked to heart disease and strokes, but now Australian researchers believe they've found a link between these foods and chronic inflammation. We know some foods aren't great for our guts, but some are definitely worse than others. A new study from Melbourne's WEHI (formerly the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute) has found that high-fat foods could damage our guts without us even realising. Experts already encourage us not to follow diets high in saturated fats, with the Heart Foundation noting that 'eating too much saturated fat can raise the level of LDL(bad) cholesterol in your blood', and 'a high level of LDL cholesterol in your blood increases your risk of heart disease and stroke.' WEHI's pre-clinical study has highlighted that just a few meals high in saturated fats could cause chronic inflammation. The research team believes symptoms may not appear for years. Mice were fed high-fat meals as a part of the study, and despite having no signs of weight gain or other obvious symptoms of inflammation, the researchers found 'microscopic changes' to their gut health and function. We've shown that every meal we consume actively shapes our gut health. The paper's senior author, Dr Cyril Seillet said 'we've shown that every meal we consume actively shapes our gut health'. 'The more saturated fats we eat, the more inflammation that builds up – gradually weakening our gut defences and increasing our susceptibility to chronic inflammation.' He added that although we may experience some discomfort after eating foods high in saturated fats, we may not be immediately aware of the level of inflammation they can cause, saying 'this inflammation build-up is initially silent, remaining hidden in our bodies until years later, where it can present as chronic inflammation.' Just eating high-fat foods for a short period can decrease the body's production of the protein. IL-22 is an important protein for fighting inflammation, improving mucous production and promoting wound healing. WEHI Laboratory Head Professor Stephen Nutt found that just eating high-fat foods for a short period can decrease the body's production of the protein. The paper's first author, Le Xiong explained that these findings are concerning, highlighting that diets high in saturated fats could both trigger inflammation and hinder the body from being able to fight it. If you add avocado to everything, good news! You could be protecting your gut from inflammation. Image: Getty 'It took only two days of consuming high-fat foods for the mice to lose their IL-22 stores and have an impaired gut function' he said. 'Despite their gut protection capabilities being stripped away, the mice still looked healthy – highlighting how gut health can be compromised long before any visible symptoms appear.' But if you add avocado to everything, good news! You could be protecting your gut from inflammation. Avocados, nuts, seeds, olives and oily fish are high in unsaturated fats and are already endorsed by the Heart Foundation for their role in boosting our heart health. After introducing unsaturated fats into the mice's diets, the team saw the rodents' IL-22 levels grow, signalling that by consuming these foods, people may be able to boost their production of the important protein naturally to potentially improve their gut health. Image: iStock After introducing unsaturated fats into the mice's diets, the team saw the rodents' IL-22 levels grow, signalling that by consuming these foods, people may be able to boost their production of the important protein naturally to potentially improve their gut health. More research is needed, but Seillet said, 'while occasional high-fat meals won't impair your gut protection barrier, a consistent diet that is high in saturated fats is laying the foundation for chronic gut inflammation to present in future.' Originally published as Just 2 days of eating high-fat food can damage your gut, study shows
Business Mayor
13-05-2025
- Health
- Business Mayor
Is your job silently killing you? Here are a few things to watch out for
Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Is your job silently killing you? Whether you work from home or in an office, sitting for hours at a time every day can lead to an increased risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, weight gain, and other negative health impacts. But, how much sitting is too much sitting, and what other aspects should employees monitor to stay healthy and please their employers? Here's what you need to know… Sitting is the enemy In office jobs, there's likely no choice without a standing desk: sitting is inevitable. On average, the Heart Foundation says adults spend more than half of their day sitting. However, adults should be aware of how much time they spend in a sedentary position. To offset these effects, doctors recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity a week. But, even lighter intensity activities can be beneficial. 'Light-intensity physical activity can include vacuuming, sweeping the floor, washing the car, leisure strolling, stretching, or playing catch,' Steven Hooker, the dean of San Diego State University's College of Health and Human Services, said in a statement. Is your desk job silently killing you? Sitting can be linked to disease and spinal damage (Getty Images/iStock) Good posture is your friend Poor posture and workplace ergonomics can damage the spinal structure, according to UCLA Health. 'Sitting in a slouched position can overstretch the spinal ligaments and strain the spinal discs,' it said. But, there's a way to help alleviate pain from bad posture. Put your upper arms parallel to your spine, check that you can easily slide your fingers under your thigh at the front of the chair, ensure the armrest slightly lifts your arms at the shoulder, press your butt against the back of the air, and pass your clenched fist between the back of your calf and the front of your chair to make sure the chair isn't too deep. Lastly, make sure your gaze is where it needs to be. 'Close your eyes while sitting comfortably with your head facing forward. Slowly open your eyes. Your gaze should be aimed at the center of your computer screen,' UCLA Health said. Close those peepers The average American worker spends seven hours a day on the computer, according to the American Optometric Association. While using devices will likely not damage your eyes permanently, staring at screens for too long can come with some unfortunate consequences. The screens can decrease your blink rate, leaving you susceptible to dry eyes. This risk increases as we age, according to Nebraska Medicine's Dr. Ana Morales. Tears drops and adjustments to monitors can help alleviate eye stress. But, prolonged use may continue to affect users' visual abilities, blurring their vision, even after stopping work at a computer. 'If nothing is done to address the cause of the problem, the symptoms will continue to recur and perhaps worsen with future digital screen use,' the association said. Taking a deep breath can help alleviate stress. Try breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth (Getty Images/iStock) Take a deep breath Workplace stress contributes to at least 120,000 deaths each year, according to Stanford University professors. Read More Do You Have ADHD? Here Are A Few Ways To Make Work Easier 'The deaths are comparable to the fourth- and fifth-largest causes of death in the country — heart disease and accidents,' said the school's Stefanos Zenios, a professor of operations, information, and technology. 'It's more than deaths from diabetes, Alzheimer's, or influenza.' Researchers at Indiana University have found that work stressors are more likely to cause depression and death as a result of jobs in which workers have little control. Chronic stress can age people faster, Yale researchers say. So, what's an employee to do? Follow a breathing technique for short-term stress release, but remember to take care of yourself; eat healthy, prioritize good recovery activities, establish boundaries, and see friends and family. 'Socializing and spending time with loved ones is an important part of our mental health, and failing to do so can lead to isolation and loneliness, which can worsen depression and anxiety,' Dr. Danielle Qing, an internal medicine specialist at Mount Sinai, told The New York Post .
