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Sedation dentistry: Is it right for you?

Debra Feinstein — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 13:18:56 +0000

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If the thought of going to the dentist makes you nervous, you are not alone. About 75% of adults have some type of anxiety about sitting down in the dentist’s treatment chair. But you don’t have to fear the drill — or the pain and discomfort associated with dental treatments.

From teeth cleanings and X-rays to fillings and complex procedures, the dentists at in Burke, Virginia, aim to take the worry out of your experience. They do that, said Dr. Wissam Ali, a NOVA Dental Anesthesia dentist anesthesiologist, because of the importance of good dental health to overall health care.

Why is oral care so important to overall health?

The mouth is the gateway to the entire body, Ali pointed out during the ��ݮ��ý’s 2026 Get on Top of Your Health series. “Usually, we notice with good oral care, there is a correlation with good overall health.”

Poor oral hygiene often correlates to other medical conditions, including heart disease, stroke, pregnancy abnormalities or complications. When bacteria travels into the bloodstream and down the respiratory and digestive tract, it can affect the entire body, Ali said.

Oral wellness also can affect a person’s self-esteem. “People don’t feel very good about themselves when they can’t show their teeth,” he said.

What is sedation dentistry?

At NOVA Dental, the service include sedation dentistry — a technique using medications to relax and calm the patient before a procedure. Sedation is tailored to each patient’s needs and can include “anything from mild sedation, also known as twilight sleep, to general anesthesia that most people have experienced in a hospital for medical surgery,” Ali said.

The sedation level depends on the individual and what type of procedure will be performed. “If we see a patient for a lot of dental work, we are going to do general anesthesia. But when they come back for their cleanings, we might do mild IV sedation,” he said.

There can even be flexibility during a dental procedure. If the dentist notices anxiety spiking, the care plan can be modified on the spot. The dentist will pause, talk to the patient and switch to a different sedation for a short period of time.

“Most offices don’t have the privilege of doing that because they have to call in an anesthesiologist,” Ali said. “Sometimes, just knowing that you have options, we can get the patient through it. With us, it’s very easy. We let the patient drive the car.”

Who is a candidate for sedation dentistry?

In addition to treating people with anxiety, NOVA Dental Anesthesia also treats patients with special needs including ADHD, autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, emotional challenges, epilepsy and much more.

“We also have patients that don’t have any anxiety” but who benefit from sedation, Ali said. Some people have a hard time getting numb with traditional protocols, have a sensitive gag reflex or are just too busy to tackle extensive dental work that could take multiple visits over a prolonged period of time.

An example of an extensive procedure would be extracting many(or all teeth), placing multiple implants in the mouth and inserting a denture that is fully supported by the dental implants. With sedation, such a procedure can all be done in a single day, making recovery quicker and easier, Ali said.

“It’s a pretty revolutionary treatment.”

Take the first step

Making the phone call to get started is often the hardest part of the process. But once a patient, parent or caretaker reaches out, the team at NOVA Dental Anesthesia will take care of the rest, Ali said.

“It’s up to us to make it as pleasant of an experience as possible and inform the patient, give them options, help them with financing. The biggest thing is to just pick up the phone and call. Then, let us guide you through this journey. Whatever type of person you are, we will find a way for you.”

Learn more about sedation dentistry on the . And discover more ways to get on top of your health on ��ݮ��ý.

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No two people are the same, so why would their addiction recovery be?

Debra Feinstein — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 21:17:29 +0000

A new addiction rehab center in La Plata, Maryland, creates a holistic treatment plan unique to each of its patients.

“What I need from treatment might be different from you,” said Marcus Smith, executive director of .

The team at Alpas focuses on teaching life skills, such as creating safety and healthy boundaries in relationships that patients have. Smith talked with ��ݮ��ý about the treatment approach of the center, which opened in fall 2023, for our 2024 Get on Top of Your Health series.

“You may be very adept in creating healthy relationships, but you may struggle with safeguards. So, we won’t have you going to groups where you are getting information that doesn’t apply to you. We want you to attend more of the safeguard groups. Then you can know exactly what to do if you are triggered,” Smith said. “If healthy relationships are what you struggle with, we’re going to tailor your curriculum, and what we are offering, to healthy relationships.”

The program is crafted for each patient and offers medication services for withdrawal, depression and anxiety. Interventions take on a multidisciplinary approach. Alpas offers both residential stays and detox services.

“We understand that mental health and substance abuse all come together, so we treat both,” Smith said.

The 108-bed facility in La Plata, Maryland, is modern, bright, and has a fitness area, where a dedicated team works to treat the mind and the body.

“We have a phenomenal, wonderful staff that is comprised of very experienced therapists and a clinical director who has worked in multiple areas of treatment,” Smith said. “We have a licensed, clinical art therapist on our clinical team. We have a family nurse practitioner and a psychiatric nurse practitioner, fantastic RNs, LPNs, case manager to treat whatever your need is.”

The clinical programming is what sets Alpas apart from other substance abuse treatment centers, Smith said, likening it to a college setting where students take required core classes but can also choose elective classes based on their interests and challenges.

Offering new techniques for recovery

Alpas Wellness offers a multidisciplinary approach to treatment, from biomedical to therapy-based tools and holistic interventions.

“From the resident’s rooms to the cafeteria, everything was designed to take away the stigmatization of treatment. We don’t want you to feel like you’re in a treatment center. We want you to feel like you are in a luxury facility,” Smith said.

Need to decompress? How does 30-minutes of guided meditation sound?

Alpas provides two rooms that offer both patients and staff a place to enrich their holistic experience, in an effort to feel calmer and more relaxed.

“The colors, there’s aromatherapy, there’s music, there’s dim lighting, there’s a television where you can watch things that are very scenic. Not a lot of facilities have a place where staff can go throughout the day to decompress,” he said.

Patients and staff can schedule the relaxation rooms and take up to 30 minutes inside. The rooms were constructed in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania, which is studying the benefits of this intervention, by measuring the user’s heart rate through a finger sensor, both before entering and after exiting the rooms.

“The staff really cares about the work that we do and the people that we serve,” Smith said.

The philosophy is to “help patients develop the skills needed to navigate life.”

Covering the cost of recovery

In-patient recovery and mental health treatment can be expensive.

“We ask for a minimum of 30 days,” but patients can stay longer, Executive Director Marcus Smith said. Alpas also offers a 45-day and a 60-day program.

Alpas Wellness works with all major insurance companies and is considered in-network with Medicaid. Private pay is also offered.

For more information, visit , and discover additional tips and tactics to get on top of your health on ��ݮ��ý.

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How Holy Cross focuses on combating systemic maternal care issues faced by women of color

Debra Feinstein — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 21:00:45 +0000

There is a maternal health crisis for women of color in the United States, and Holy Cross Health wants to change that for women in the Metropolitan Washington area.

“Despite being one of the wealthiest nations in the world, the maternal mortality rate in the United States is 23.8 per 100,000 women,” pointed out Dr. Janis Green, MBA, FACOG, FPMRS, vice president of medical affairs at . The U.S. mortality rate, she added, is three times ahead of France and Canada.

What’s more, “Black women are three times more likely to die in childbirth in comparison to their non-Hispanic, White counterparts,” Green told ��ݮ��ý for our 2024 Get on Top of Your Health series. “And this year alone, the maternal mortality rate for Hispanic women increased 44%.”

Holy Cross recognizes that systemic racism has led to the gap in access to quality healthcare, she noted. With that in mind, Holy Cross is spearheading a major focus on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives to educate staff members about their own implicit biases.

“When doctors and nurses have these unconscious biases, they may deliver care in a different way,” Green said.

The training programs aim to help people recognize their own biases and overcome them. Any staff member who has contact with a pregnant woman is required to participate — “our food and nutrition service individuals, transportation, nursing residents and physicians” — everyone, Green said.

Building on a solid foundation in women’s health care

With hospitals in Silver Spring and Germantown, four primary care facilities and three health centers across the region, the health system is a regional leader when it comes to delivering services for women — and particular maternity care, Green said.

“At Holy Cross, we provide comprehensive health care services for both pregnant women and their newborns,” she said. “In our outpatient clinic settings, we provide prenatal care and postpartum care. For those women who are at high risk, we have high-risk obstetric consultations and ultrasounds with our perinatologists.” The health system also offers OB-GYN and wellness visits focused on cervical and breast cancer screening.

“And for our smallest patients, our NICU is equipped to take care of the tiniest babies,” she added, working in partnership with Children’s National Medical Center.

Healthy outcomes begin with preventative care, which is the cornerstone of women’s health at Holy Cross.

“Oftentimes, women see their OB-GYN as their primary care provider,” Green said. “So, it’s really important that we provide routine GYN screenings for breast cancer and cervical cancer, but that we also individualize that treatment for patients based on their personal family history to make sure we’re screening for cardiovascular risk factors, hypertension, diabetes and cholesterol too.”

Empowering women by promoting health advocacy

Teaching women how to advocate for themselves is also part of the mission at Holy Cross. Why? Because it leads to better understanding between doctors and their patients and ultimately to better health outcomes for those requiring care, she said.

“Our nurses and our physicians actually use the teach-back technique when providing information,” Green said. The method encourages each provider to have a patient repeat back what she has learned to confirm understanding. “This encourages the patients and family to ask questions when they don’t understand.”

Approximately 34% of patients at Holy Cross are not native English speakers. To help all patients have equal access to quality care, Holy Cross provides interpreter services in multiple languages.

“Last month alone, we provided interpretation in over 41 languages to make sure patients understand” the information doctors and clinicians share with them and ensure the patients can ask follow-up questions, Green said. Holy Cross also provides educational materials in multiple languages to make sure patients have care plans that they can take with them when they leave a facility.

Holy Cross Health’s dedication to women’s health means that patients can rely on an experienced team, at every stage of her life, to bring the most advanced medical expertise to meet their changing needs, Green said.

Leaning into AI, innovative IT to improve health care outcomes

“Artificial intelligence and leveraging that in healthcare is the greatest advancement that we’ve had to date,” said Dr. Janis Green, vice president of medical affairs at Holy Cross Health.

Radiologists at Holy Cross have been the earliest adopters — incorporating AI into diagnostic studies for reading and interpreting X-rays, CT scans and other medical imagery. The results often lead doctors to incidental findings that help determine necessary follow-up with patients, she said.

AI is also used to enhance the patient-doctor relationship.

“We are actually planning to leverage our electronic medical system to use a form of AI that can help physicians take their initial notes — not their final documentation — but the initial notes on the visit. That way, they can focus more on the patient-physician relationship and less on the computer where they’re trying to take notes for later on,” Green said.

“You want to meet your doctor, not your doctor and their laptop,” she said. The better that patient-doctor relationship, the more likely the patient is to follow recommendations and have better outcomes.”

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Want to give back to your community immediately? Donate blood or host a blood drive

Debra Feinstein — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 20:43:07 +0000

Every 2 seconds, someone in the United States needs blood — that’s likely faster than you are reading this sentence.

“That constant need makes donating blood a vital public service that saves lives,” said Nicholas Lilly, senior director of Inova Blood Donor Services. Lilly sat down with ��ݮ��ý for our 2024 Get on Top of Your Health series to talk about the importance of donating blood and the impact on local communities.

“The nation is facing a blood supply shortage: Although 62% of the U.S. population is eligible to donate blood, only 3% do,” Lilly shared. At , the goal is to help patients across the Washington, D.C., region.

“All of the blood products that are donated within Inova stay within our area. We actually are the largest hospital–based blood center in the United States,” he said.

Through three blood centers and daily community blood drives, Inova supplies life-saving blood products to its five hospitals, 13 regional hospitals outside of the Inova network and first responders across Northern Virginia.

Can you spare 60 minutes for your community?

The donation process takes about an hour.

“We are going to have you complete a donor history questionnaire. We’ll do a mini physical to check blood pressure, pulse, temperature and hemoglobin or iron levels,” Lilly explained.

And don’t let the needle deter you. “That one little pinch that you feel in that one moment is very small and miniscule compared to what those patients on the other end are feeling before they are able to benefit from your volunteer donation,” he said.

“The best thing you can do is become a regular blood donor,” Lilly said. You can donate different blood products, including whole blood as well as its components: red cells, platelets and plasma.

He briefly explained how the four blood product types help patients:

> Whole blood: This can be used for transfusions, shared in bulk during emergencies to help multiple people and easily separated into the needed components.

> Red cells: They “are used for more than 70% of all transfusions. They are often given to trauma patients and those with blood disorders such as sickle cell anemia.”

> Platelets: These can “help stop bleeding patients recovering from cancer, leukemia, open heart surgery and transplant surgery.”

> Plasma: It is most often “given to trauma, burn and shock patients, as well as those with severe liver disease and multiple clotting deficiencies.”

Having a diverse donor base is also important and should reflect the patient population, Lilly said. “Diverse donors can have unique properties within their blood that have a positive impact on our diverse patient population. We are all about diversity, equity and inclusion.”

Once someone donates, the blood is shipped to Inova’s processing center in Sterling, Virginia, where it is tested and stored. “If you donate at 10 p.m. today, by 10 a.m. tomorrow that blood is labeled and ready to be shipped to a patient,” Lilly said.

Can your local group host a blood drive?

By hosting a blood drive, schools, businesses as well as government and community organizations can play a significant role in boosting donations.

“We have blood drives at gyms, community centers, libraries and places of worship. We work with restaurant groups, and we engage with multiple businesses, buildings and office parks too,” Lilly said. “We will go anywhere because we understand that it’s about putting our patients first and making sure that we are as convenient as we can be.”

Can a remote work team support a blood drive?

Lilly shared that even workforces whose members primarily work from home can host a drive.

“We can facilitate a space at one of our fixed sites or another location within the community where you can have your team members come in, congregate, have a wellness event and donate blood,” he said.

What about creating a blood donation education initiative at your school?

To help encourage teens and young adults to donate blood during high school and college campus blood drives, Inova creates educational programs to create awareness and help students of all ages understand the need and the donation process, Lilly said. The age requirement to donate blood is 17, but teens who are 16 can also donate with parental consent.

In addition to hosting blood drives during school hours, Inova Blood Donor Services takes students on tours of the donor center in Sterling. Students can see many facets of donor operations including the recruitment and collection process, quality assurance procedures and lab testing.

Want to get involved?

“You can follow us on social media platforms , and , where you can see updates about what’s going on within our blood donor services,” Lilly said.

Preparing for blood need spikes during catastrophic emergencies

Inova Blood Donor Services works on both national and local levels to enhance preparedness and response in critical situations such as natural disasters.

Inova is part of the Blood Emergency Readiness Corps. BERC is a group of blood centers across the nation that commit to preparing for mass transfusion disasters by collecting extra units for an emergency reserve.

“We also work with local emergency medical services and EMS agencies to provide them with whole blood, so that whole blood can be transfused in trauma incidents in helicopters and EMS vehicles,” Lilly said.

Inova works with emergency services in Virginia and Maryland, he said. “On any given day, we have about 50 products out in the community on EMS vehicles.”

Learn more at , and discover additional tips and tactics to get on top of your health on ��ݮ��ý.

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Why doing good is good for your employees, business and community

Debra Feinstein — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 19:11:28 +0000

Community connections can help your business and employees thrive.

If an employer offers its employees the chance to get involved with the community, “they feel they have meaning and purpose,” said Cynthia Cifuentes, vice president of brand, communications and community engagement for .

Kaiser Permanente believes that when a city, town or neighborhood thrives, so does the economy, which then supports a strong business climate, Cifuentes said during an interview with ��ݮ��ý for our 2024 Get on Top of Your Health series.

What’s more, many business leaders say giving back to the community is a workforce retention tool because when employees are engaged, they’re more committed to achieving the company’s goals.

“Kaiser Permanente is fundamentally grounded, as part of our mission, to not only provide quality care and better health outcomes to our members but also the communities we serve,” Cifuentes said.

And the time is now. “The pandemic really ripped off the Band-Aid in terms of social disparities,” she said. “People are really looking for much more compelling and meaningful ways to feel engaged with one another and also have an impact in the communities they serve.”

Establishing a community involvement program as good corporate citizenship

Regardless of the size of the business, owners and managers can lead by example by making community involvement and corporate citizenship part of their workplace culture. “Good health really starts from within,” Cifuentes said.

Leaders can create the opportunity to identify and collaborate with partners in the community and enforce a culture of giving back. Research shows that 85% of consumers have a more positive image of a company that gives to charity.

It’s important to remember that not all community involvement requires funding or sponsorship. “It could be something where you are donating your assets and goods through your workforce,” she said. This could include offering IT services to help a local nonprofit in its IT department, for instance.

Quick tips to help your organization get involved in the community

Cifuentes shared ways that organizations can promote and encourage community involvement:

> Partner with local nonprofits and schools for drives to collect things like backpacks, food, blood and diapers — as well as Toy for Tots during the holiday season.

> Sponsor on-site wellness events like health fairs and flu shot clinics.

> Give employees access to personal development opportunities, such as serving on community boards for non-profits or providing mentorship or public speaking opportunities in schools and speaking to youth about the importance of mentorship and career development

> Recognize or reward employees who volunteer on a regular basis.

> Implement a matching gift program in which employers match employee charitable donations.

> Encourage employees to take time to volunteer or participate in community-building activities, either individually or in teams.

> Seek out local charities or organizations that align with the business’s corporate beliefs and missions. Ask how to get involved in their fundraising efforts and other events.

Measuring the success of your social impact programs

There are ways to uncover whether a company’s employees feel engaged, valued and whether they have a meaningful purpose. Surveys and feedback are key to giving employees opportunities to speak about these issues, while also giving employers a sense of workforce engagement.

With almost 10,000 employees in the region, including over 1,800 doctors and 2,400 nurses caring for Kaiser members at more than 35 medical centers, the area’s largest health system has a robust volunteerism program for its employees.

Each year, Kaiser Permanente partners with hundreds of community-based organizations, schools, universities, civic groups, community coalitions and local governments to address the greatest needs in the communities it serves, Cifuentes said.

For example, it partners with the American Heart Association to help raise awareness of heart disease. Kaiser Permanente also organizes large-scale events throughout the year. “We identify six signature events across the DMV that we can all rally around,” Cifuentes said.

These events support 18 nonprofit organizations across the Mid-Atlantic through the donation of 2,000 volunteer hours. One such event is the health organization’s MLK Day of Service. “If you think about it, across eight states, there are 250,000 employees all getting behind it in terms of making the world a better place,” she added.

Kaiser Permanente also encourages its employees to become board members of other organizations. It’s a way to “share some of your expertise from your work with your organization, with the community at large, where they can benefit,” Cifuentes said.

It has placed 37 leaders and directors through its Board Service Program since the program launched in 2021. Cifuentes sits on the board of a nonprofit performing arts organization, as she often shares the arts saved her life in many ways. “It’s near and dear to my heart,” she said.

Kaiser Permanente believes that, as an integrated health system, health is more than physical, and community involvement is important, Cifuentes said.

A business can have a significant impact on the health of its community, create deep bonds with its neighbors and put money back into the economy by getting involved with the base that surrounds it, she said.

“When centering your workforce around employee and community engagement, the potential is exponential.”

Learn more , and discover additional tips and tactics to get on top of your health on ��ݮ��ý.

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Whitman-Walker Health expands primary, adolescent, senior and dental care in Southeast DC

Debra Feinstein — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 18:51:52 +0000

Most people know that Whitman-Walker offers care for the LGBTQ community and HIV prevention and treatment. But Whitman-Walker also provides primary care, care for adolescents and seniors and dental care.

Dr. Stephen Abbott, medical site director of the new , and Dr. Terrance Weeden, a staff adolescent medicine physician at the new care facility in Washington, D.C.’s Ward 8, shared details about these expanded services with ��ݮ��ý for our 2024 Get on Top of Your Health series.

Making primary care more accessible in Southeast DC

As a federally-qualified health care provider, is committed to community health and wellness, Abbott said.

Primary care services at Max Robinson include routine screenings for diabetes, hypertension, depression, substance use disorders and sexually transmitted infections. “Whether you’re HIV-positive or HIV-negative, we have treatment and prevention programs. Whether you’re LGBTQ-identified or not, we have a wide variety of patients that come to us for care under the umbrella of primary care,” Abbott said.

Whitman-Walker doctors are prepared to take care of diabetes, high blood pressure, mental health and host of routine screenings too, including mammograms, colonoscopies and immunizations for flu and COVID-19.

Helping deliver consistent health care for seniors

Local residents are living longer in most parts of the city because of early screenings and treatments. But that is not the case in wards 7 or 8, where the mortality rate is higher and life expectancy is lower, Abbott said.

That’s where Whitman-Walker senior care comes in. “Part of that is due to the fact that folks aren’t getting screened or getting their diabetes or blood pressure under control,” he explained.

Expanded programs at the Max Robinson Center also focus on LGBTQ seniors and what it’s like to age in that community, as well as behavioral health and support groups for older residents who may feel isolated from family, friends or the community.

Providing dental services for all ages

The center, which opened in the early fall of 2023, provides routine dental cleanings as well as more advanced services.

“We have a beautiful eight-room suite and three dentists,” Abbott said. “They will do everything from routine prophylactic care to extractions and fillings.”

There are also orthodontic services that can provide clear braces, such as Invisalign, for teeth straightening.

Offering full spectrum of adolescent care

Whitman-Walker recently lowered the age of patients who can be treated for primary care and mental health care at Max Robinson and their site in Northwest D.C. to 10 years old and dental patients to age 13.

“We really want to capture that age because a lot of healthy and unhealthy habits start at that age,” Weeden said. “It’s a welcoming environment. Our motto at Whitman-Walker is ‘We see you.’ And we see youth, as soon as they walk through our clinic doors, they feel seen and heard. It’s difficult being a teenager and a young adult nowadays because they’re exposed to so much. It’s important for them to feel seen, feel heard and feel validated.”

Care for adolescents includes services from psychiatrists and behavioral health specialists. Max Robinson also provides adolescents and young adults with immunizations for COVID-19, flu, human papillomavirus (HPV) and other diseases; access to birth control; testing for sexually transmitted infections; and any missed childhood vaccines.

Expanding access to medically underserved community

Half of all Black residents in Washington lack easy access to medical care, according to a , and Black residents live an average of 16 fewer years than residents of Ward 3. Whitman-Walker is working to change that.

“We’ve been in wards 7 and 8 since 1993,” Abbott said. “With the expansion of our new clinic, we’re going to be able to service 10,000 more people than we were seeing previously. You should not have to travel across wards to get healthcare.”

Max Robinson also soon plans to offer same-day services to help patients avoid having to go to emergency room and urgent care facilities.

Building trust with patients

Being listened to and respected is a top priority at Whitman-Walker, and it’s the reason Abbott said that he is also a patient there. “You’re going to get quality care. You’re going to be listened to and respected. We have providers who live in the neighborhood. We have many who are queer-identified, running the age gamut,” he said.

“All of us strive, at every level in the clinic, to actually slow down and listen. We are going to provide care with compassion that I don’t think you get elsewhere,” Abbott added. “You’re going to get quality care and you’re going to be listened to and respected. And you’ll be able to be yourself in ways never experienced in other clinics.”

It’s the reason that Weeden intentionally chose to move across the country in late 2023 to work at Max Robinson. “I was very intentional about where I wanted to work,” Weeden added. “Serving the community that I identify with, that looks like me and that identify as me. Whitman-Walker is a special place.”

For more information, visit , and discover additional tips and tactics to get on top of your health on ��ݮ��ý.

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Want to improve your heart health? Embrace 9 heart-smart steps

Debra Feinstein — Fri, 16 Feb 2024 16:10:47 +0000

February is American Heart Month, making it a great time to get proactive about preventing heart disease, the number one killer of both men and women in the United States.

But really, it’s always a good time to be heart smart, said Dr. Vaani Panse Garg, a board-certified cardiologist at .

Garg shared nine steps with ��ݮ��ý that everyone can take to improve their heart health.

Heart-Smart Tip 1: Know your numbers

Do you know what your cholesterol and blood pressure? If not, Garg suggests you schedule a visit with your doctor to find out.

“See either your primary care doctor or a cardiologist so you know where you stand,” she said. “From there, decisions can be made about what treatments, if any, might be needed.”

Heart-Smart Tip 2: Keep track of your cholesterol

Cholesterol is a sticky, fatty substance made in the liver. Human bodies need it for healthy cell growth. But problems can arise when cholesterol people eat food sources that add more, Garg said.

“The extra cholesterol has nowhere to go. That’s when it can get deposited in either the arteries of the heart or the brain, or other blood vessels in the body.”

When it comes to cholesterol levels, there is “bad” low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) and “good” high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL). The ratio between the two is important in predicting heart disease.

Total cholesterol levels under 200 are considered normal.

“Risk factors such as diabetes, previous heart disease, smoking history and family history can play a role in cholesterol levels,” Garg said.

Heart-Smart Tip 3: Modify your diet

Different oils, animal products, dairy, soy, cheeses and yogurts all have fats so how do you control your cholesterol levels?

“It’s important not to have an overwhelming amount of them,” Garg said. A balanced diet is the best approach. Data that supports the most change in cardiovascular health and health outcomes is the Mediterranean diet.”

It’s a diet heavy in vegetables, chicken and fish that calls for using olive oil instead of butter and baking rather than frying most foods.

Heart-Smart Tip 4: Add in regular exercise

Daily exercise can also play a critical role in preventing heart disease. Garg recommends 40 minutes of moderately intense activity two to four times a week.

“That means something that gets your heart rate up and your body sweating,” she said, adding that patients with limitations can try seated exercises.

“Overall, exercise releases natural chemicals in the body that are proven to be more reflective in positive health — positive mental health and positive heart health,” Garg added.

Heart-Smart Tip 5: Talk with your doctor about medication options

If diet and exercise don’t move the needle in lowering your blood cholesterol level, have a conversation with your doctor about whether medication might be needed. There are a variety of options available, she said.

Heart-Smart Tip 6: Monitor you blood pressure

“Blood pressure measures the stress of the arteries on the body and what stress the heart is seeing,” Garg said.

The more stress on the arteries from high blood pressure, the more likely it is for a heart attack or stroke to occur.

When it comes to ideal blood pressure numbers, a reading above 130 over 85 is considered high. For low blood pressure, a reading of 100 over 60 is low, but “would be considered fine in a younger, petite female, as long as there is no accompanying dizziness, headache or fatigue,” she said.

Track your blood pressure numbers at home. “If your numbers are high at home, that’s usually an indication to us that you need to be started on treatment,” Garg said.

Heart-Smart Tip 7: Learn your heart calcium score

Another diagnostic tool that can help track heart health is coronary artery calcium score. A computerized heart scan takes a snapshot of the heart’s arteries and gauges calcium buildup.

Your CAC score is a rough estimate that gives doctors a sense of cardiovascular risks before symptoms arise and can help determine the need for interventions.

Heart-Smart Tip 8: Know the red flags of a potential heart attack

Classic symptoms of a heart attack include chest pain with activity that usually goes away with rest. Other symptoms can include shortness of breath, palpitations, heart fluttering or racing, dizziness or lightheadedness and fatigue.

“A change in your activity level, such as fatigue with normal activities or with exercise that you would otherwise be able to do, can also be a red flag,” Garg said.

Heart-Smart Tip 9: Build a relationship with your doctor

“Trust is so important when it comes to choosing a doctor,” she said. “Patients should find a doctor they feel comfortable with. Once you have a trusting relationship, patients are more likely to see their doctor regularly. I tell patients all the time that trust in your doctor and with your doctor is the most important.”

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$12K grant helps Arlington rescue continue saving animals

Debra Feinstein — Thu, 07 May 2020 21:48:31 +0000

The coronavirus pandemic and the economic crisis that has followed have resulted in a lot of abandoned and homeless animals.

, in Arlington, Virginia, said in a statement that they’ve saved nearly 750 dogs and cats from overcrowded shelters in the past two months, taking them to foster and adoptive homes — and they couldn’t have done it without a grant they got earlier this year.

The rescue said they got a $12,000 grant from the Petco Foundation to provide medical care, shelter costs and transport for animals that would otherwise be left out in the cold.

Lucky Dog said they didn’t know at the time that they’d be getting the money in the middle of a global pandemic. But, thanks to the grant, they can keep doing their work at a time when a lot of individual people may not have a lot of money for donations.

“This grant from the Petco Foundation is literally saving lives,” Mirah Horowitz, the founder and executive director of Lucky Dog, said in the statement. “Because we had this grant, we were able to charge forward without missing a beat.”

The rescue said it has more than 4,000 foster applications and has preapproved more than 1,000 adoption applications.

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