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Interesting Heart Facts

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Healthline is a great website that has a list of interesting facts on all kinds of subjects. Of course, we think the most interesting list is the Heart Facts. Here’s just a sample of the cool things we’ve learned:

  1. The average heart is the size of a fist in an adult.
  2. Your heart will beat about 115,000 times each day.
  3. Your heart pumps about 2,000 gallons of blood every day.
  4. An electrical system controls the rhythm of your heart. It’s called the cardiac conduction system.
  5. The heart can continue beating even when it’s disconnected from the body.
  6. The giraffe has a lopsided heart, with their left ventricle being thicker than the right. This is because the left side has to get blood up the giraffe’s long neck to reach their brain.
  7. A woman’s heart beats slightly faster than a man’s heart.
  8. Death from a broken heart, or broken heart syndrome, is possible but extremely rare.
  9. The fairy fly, which is a kind of wasp, has the smallest heart of any living creature
  10. If you were to stretch out your blood vessel system, it would extend over 60,000 miles.

Visit https://www.healthline.com/health/fun-facts-about-the-heart#2 for more interesting heart facts!

Ways to Help Control Dietary Hypertension

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As we are in the last week of nutrition month, we wanted to share ways to help control dietary hypertension. A person’s diet is one of the most common reasons for hypertension and heart-disease. Many of us consume too much salt, fat, and sugar that can affect our health, quality of life, and overall longevity.

To combat this, researchers and heart-related organizations have developed a dietary plan called, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension,  or what is known as the DASH diet. The diet consists of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, and less salt. Dietitians of Canada states that DASH can even be as effective as some medications in helping keep blood pressure levels in a normal range.

DASH

To help walk us through this diet, in the past we’ve asked our Registered Dietitian, Marsha Rosen, to explain its components and what a normal day would be like on the DASH diet.

The DASH diet emphasizes making meal and snack choices from the following Food Groups:

  • Vegetables
  • Fruit
  • Grains
  • Low Fat or No-Fat Dairy Foods
  • Lean meats, poultry and fish
  • Nuts, seeds and dry  legumes
  • Fats and oils

The DASH Eating Plan outlines what you would eat normally if you followed a 2000 calorie a day diet.

Food Group Number of
daily servings		 Example of serving size
Grains 6-8 1 slice whole grain bread

½ cup cooked brown rice or whole wheat pasta

*Choose whole grains like oats, millet, barley, bulgur and quinoa most often*
Vegetables 4-5 ½ cup any raw or cooked vegetable

1 cup raw leafy vegetable

½ cup low sodium or reduced sodium vegetable and tomato juice
Fruit 4-5 1 medium fruit
¼ cup dried fruit½ cup fresh, frozen or canned fruit or juice
Low-fat milk products 2-3 1 cup skim or 1% milk

1 cup low-fat yogurt (2% milk fat or less)

1.5 oz low-fat cheese (19% milk fat or less)
Lean meat, poultry and fish 6 or less 1 oz cooked lean meat, skinless poultry or fish
1 egg
Nuts, seeds and legumes 4-5 times per week 1/3 cup unsalted nuts (almonds, walnuts)

2 Tbsp peanut butter

2 Tbsp seeds (sunflower, pumpkin)

½ cup cooked legumes (kidney beans, chickpeas)
Fats and oils 2-3 1 tsp non-hydrogenated, unsalted margarine

1 tsp oil (olive, canola, etc.)

1 Tbsp low-fat mayonnaise or salad dressing
Sweets and added sugars 5 or less per week 1 tbsp sugar, jelly or jam

½ cup sorbet

Minerals

In addition to focusing on these key food areas, the DASH eating plan encourages you to eat foods that are high in potassium, calcium, and magnesium.

Potassium – Good sources of potassium include tomatoes, bananas, oranges, potatoes, nuts, lentils, beans, milk and fish.

Magnesium – Good sources of magnesium include spinach, whole grain cereals, nuts, seeds, fish, beans, soy and lentils.

Calcium – High amounts are found in milk, yoghurt, canned fish with bones mashed in, leafy green vegetables, beans and tofu (manufactured using calcium salts).

And finally – all of this is a wonderful beginning to lifelong healthy eating habits – the one other key step is to introduce some regular exercise that is personally enjoyable and done regularly. Get some professional help if you need it to start you on the right program.

Hugh Heron was on CKDO Radio talking about the importance of MIKEY AEDs

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Hugh Heron was on CKDO Radio talking about the importance of MIKEY AEDs.

“There should be a MIKEY anywhere there’s a fire extinguisher. Fire extinguishers save property, Mikey defibrillators save lives!”

Give it a listen.

Vaping Risks For Heart Health

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Maintaining a heart-healthy lifestyle is a strong contributor to a long life. The habit of smoking, however, has been proven to cause heart disease and many cancers in Canadians, severely reducing one’s chances of longevity.

Smoking does this with the chemicals in the tobacco which can damage your heart and blood vessels, leading to narrowing of the arteries (atherosclerosis), which can ultimately lead to a heart attack. When it comes to heart disease prevention, no amount of smoking is safe.

Fortunately, smoking as a habit has greatly decreased in the past few decades among the Canadian population as it has been proven to cause many of the ailments we just mentioned. On the rise though is the habit of vaping, which like smoking, can allow users to inhale nicotine.

The Canadian Cancer Society has said the following about e-cigarettes, “Although e-cigarettes are less harmful than conventional cigarettes, they are harmful. Studies on the long-term risks of e-cigarettes have not yet been done, though evidence of the toxicity from inhalation of e-cigarette vapour continues to mount.”

This is a cause of concern for many health practitioners as there has recently been a proposal put forward by the Ontario government to have e-cigarettes and vaping supplies available in convenience stores across the province. This is a big issue as it takes them from the back behind the counter to the front in a display that can easily be seen by youth.

The Canadian Cancer Society reported that in 2016/17, nearly 10% of youth in grade 10-12 (9.9%) were past 30-day e-cigarette users, a 46% increase from 2014/15.

A further cause of concern is the upcoming legalization of marijuana in Canada. Youth having access to a “vaporizer” that can be used for nicotine as well as marijuana, which can affect their brains development, is very concerning.

To help you understand the further risks of vaping and smoking, and ways that you can reduce these habits, we have provided the following helpful resources:

  • Canadian Cancer Society: They’re a helpful resource in understanding what e-cigarettes are and ways that you can reduce smoking in all its forms. Additionally, here is some information on their thoughts around cannabis.
  • Smokers Helpline: A site that is dedicated to helping smokers understand the benefits and negatives that can be attributed to smoking. It also has community forums for those who are in the process of quitting and resources to begin your first steps.
  • The Government of Canada: The government has created a site that allows you to connect with an organization in your province that provides resources on how to quit. They also have a toll free line that you can use to ask questions and talk to someone about quitting.
  • Break it off: Is a free mobile app that is dedicated to helping younger people quit smoking.
  • Leave the pack behind: Is a free resource from the Government of Ontario that offers young adults information on how to quit and personalized support.

If you found these resources to be helpful for you, or you have other helpful resources to suggest, please let us know on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

 

The MIKEY Network Year In Review

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Meet Some Mikey Hero’s

A life saved by 17-year-old Mikey trained student Kayley of Toronto!

“I was walking in downtown Toronto on Labour Day Monday
with my grandmother when we noticed people making a fuss.
There was a man on the ground and he was blue in colour.
Automatically I knew something was wrong!

My grandmother grabbed my backpack and I knelt down
beside him to perform CPR. I got to just over 30 compressions
and he started to make a wheezing noise. There were people
standing around but nobody else knew how to properly
perform CPR.

I knew CPR because I went through the Mikey Young
At Heart App. Going through the videos and quizzes
gave me the confidence to act immediately and without
fear. I knew what to do and I knew if I did it, this man
would have a better chance of survival.”

The Martin Family’s AEDs for Schools campaign was a huge success, getting AEDs into all Ottawa Public Schools!

We’re proud to share the amazing news that The Martin family have succeeded in their goal to get MIKEYs placed in every public school in the Ottawa-Carleton area!

In February of 2017, while playing with friends at recess, Griffin Martin suffered a sudden cardiac arrest. The staff jumped into action immediately, but unfortunately, they nor the emergency personnel who arrived afterwards could revive him.

After learning more about the incident, the family learned that there was no AED at Griffin’s school. If an AED was available during their son’s cardiac arrest, he may have stood a better chance of surviving. In fact, 78 of the 119 Ottawa public elementary schools do not currently have an AED available.

To honour Griffin’s memory the family created a campaign to raise money for the installation of AED’s in every school in the Ottawa area, including Orlean’s Wood, Griffin Martin’s elementary school.

We helped the Martins launch their AEDs for Schools – Remember Griffin campaign at the end of September and in just a few weeks the Martins raised close to $20,000. CBC News interviewed Griffin’s parents, Andrea and Damien, and The Mikey Network President, Eva Naumovski, and news stories ran online, in print, and on the radio, nationwide.

All of this activity quickly got the attention of senior staff within the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board. It turns out that the OCDSB already had the money for the AED’s and was planning to install them in phases over the next year. The main hurdle that the school board faced to placing them sooner was a lack of training among staff and an unclear plan for how the machines would be maintained.

They announced in October, that they will begin the installation of Mikey defibrillators in all of their school’s by September 2018.

The OCDSB has partnered with the Ottawa Paramedic Service, which oversees close to 1,200 defibrillators in public places across Ottawa. A spokesperson for the OPS has stated that the schools will be responsible to maintain the AED’s, but they will assist in fixing any problems should they arise.

“The Mikey Network was proud to work with the Martin family to bring awareness to their cause. We couldn’t be
happier to share this amazing accomplishment to honour their late son!” Said The Mikey Network President,
Eva Naumovski.

Two More Local Heroes

Tom Condotta and Darlene Fournier jumped in to help a man whose heart had stopped during a recreational volleyball league game in March at Chinguacousy Secondary School. This incident had a happy ending, thanks to the two educators’ quick response and knowledge of CPR/AED. Read more here. 

Canada’s 911 Ride was a huge success!

Every year the Canada 911 Foundation holds an annual
motorcycle ride called Canada’s 911 Ride, to raise funds and
awareness for families of fallen emergency service personnel,
children who were victims of violent crimes, and The Mikey
Network. This year’s event was hugely successful and
involved lots of fun, emotional stories, and the thunderous
roar of motorcycle engines. READ MORE…

Luke ctv news

Family credits defibrillator for saving son’s life | CTV Toronto News

CTV News Toronto recently ran a story about Luke Pignatelli,
one of the young people who are now equipped with their
own life-saving MIKEY AED.

The Pignatelli family in Aurora have more than one reason to be grateful to The Mikey Network. Last year their 13-year-old son Luke suffered a cardiac arrest when exercising in his school gym.
Firefighters revived him with a defibrillator and he was rushed to SickKids hospital. He recovered but doctors couldn’t determine the exact cause of his problem and so he was given a temporary pacemaker.

Still, his parents were worried that it could happen again, especially during their long trips north to the family cottage.
So through their Young at Heart program, The Mikey Network provided a portable MIKEY AED that Luke can take with him
wherever he goes.

Because the doctors think the problem might be genetic, Luke’s two brothers were also provided with a MIKEY that can always be on hand at their swim classes. And Luke’s grandfather who also has a
history of heart problems has his own MIKEY as well.

With so many family members afforded the peace of mind offered by their MIKEYs, the Pignatelli family all participated in this year’s annual Walk for Life fundraiser. They encourage everyone to do the same, so that more life-saving MIKEYs can be placed in public locations and provided to people whose lives can depend on them.
WATCH VIDEO…

Please help The Mikey Network!

These are just a few of the great things that happened this year. The Mikey Network receives no government funding so all of our initiatives depend on the generosity of Team Mikey and those who support us.

Thanks to the generosity of our corporate sponsors HERITY and
Heathwood Homes, 100% of your donations go to promoting
heart health and placing life-saving MIKEYs in key locations.

This holiday season, please consider making a donation in
your name or on behalf of a friend or loved one. We will
gladly send an announcement card on your behalf, as
well as providing a tax receipt for all gifts over $00.
This holiday season and all through the year to come,
it’s in your heart to help!

With your help, The Beat Goes On…