eCardioVascular Beat

Helping your patients in Heart Month – and every month

Kristy Wayson

Executive director, Providence Heart and Vascular Institute

Welcome to the one-year anniversary of eCardioVascular Beat! We hope that the clinical information, program updates and resources we offered in 2010 have helped you in your practice.

As we reflect on what Providence Heart and Vascular Institute has achieved over the past year, we are reminded of one constant: that giving patients the tools, resources and support helps them make healthy and lasting changes to prevent and manage cardiovascular disease.

The new year and Heart Month are optimal times to remind our patients about heart health and lifestyle choices, and to arm them with information they can use. Once again, Providence Heart and Vascular Institute offers a host of education and prevention resources, beginning this month and continuing throughout the year. They include:

• Our 2011 Northwest Guide to Heart-Healthy Living, available for your waiting areas upon request
• Free Heart Month cooking demonstrations and resources
• Healthy Heart and Vascular Lectures offered at our area hospitals
• Free online resources, such as our Heart to Heart Guide for recovery after a heart procedure and a deep vein thrombosis risk assessment
• Providence Cardiac Rehabilitation Center to help at-risk patients increase their cardiac strength

Whatever cardiac or vascular disease issue your patient faces, Providence Heart and Vascular Institute physicians are available for consults any time.

In other news, we are pleased to announce that one of our cardiologists, James Beckerman, M.D., has published a book, “The Flex Diet: Design Your Own Weight-Loss Plan” (Simon & Schuster, 2010). Dr. Beckerman was inspired by his patients to write a book that will help anyone lose weight and maintain a healthier lifestyle.

Rather than outlining a single approach to weight management, “The Flex Diet” is a self-designed weight-loss plan that offers 200 tips to help people achieve their health goals.

We look forward to another year of collaborative and compassionate care in serving the providers and patients in all regions of Oregon and in southwest Washington.