Heart Health Day Set For Saturday

Newtown Heart Health Day will be held on Saturday, June 24, from 8 am to noon in the Edmond Town Hall gymnasium. The free selective screening is being held because Newtown has been selected as the model site for a cardiovascular risk program that will be used throughout the state and the country to help identify families with a high risk of heart disease.

The screening is for persons aged 35 to 65 who have a high blood pressure or obesity, diabetes, stroke, or heart disease in themselves or family members below the age of 65. The screening will include cholesterol/HDL/triglycerides and blood sugar level tests; blood pressure evaluation with follow-up 24-hour blood pressure recordings (if indicated); and a heart attack/stroke risk multiplier evaluation. Immediate test results will be provided; after discussion of the results, participants will be referred back to their doctor’s office for follow-up.

Dr Joseph Buchman, a recently retired cardiologist who conducted a similar screening in Newtown in 1994, is coordinating Newtown Heart Health Day.

The Ridgefield VNA will staff the free screening and will direct a statewide VNA screening effort. Representatives of Visiting Nurse Associations throughout the state have been invited to be observers so they might replicate it in their own communities. During the afternoon of June 24, the VNA nurses will attend a two-hour seminar on preventive cardiology.

While advances in modern medicine have made significant improvement in the treatment of heart disease, the key to better health is prevention, Dr Buchman said. “We now know that heart disease is a disease that has been prevalent in individuals in our country at a very young age. If we can address this earlier, through preventive medicine, we can save lives and save dollars, and keep families intact for 30 years longer.”

Residents of Newtown, Monroe, and Southbury, and persons who participated in the previous study, will be tested free. Out-of-area residents will be charged a $50 fee.

Persons who are interested in taking part in the free screening should call 426-5524 for an appointment or for more information. Walk-ins will be accommodated at the screening as time permits.