Put your
heart
in good
hands
Risks for a number of health
problems increase as people
age. These include chest pain
and heart attack. Sometimes
a combination of genetics
and environmental factors—
including your lifestyle—puts
you at risk as well.
By working with your doc-
tor at Glendale Adventist
Medical Center, you can better
understand your specific risks.
Just as important, you can learn
how to head off those things that
pose some of the greatest risks.
For example, your doctor
might recommend that you
stop smoking, improve your
diet, get moving and—in some
cases—take medication. He
or she might also recommend
screening tests, such as cardiac
catheterization to find out if
you have heart disease.
A WAY TO YOUR HEART
GAMC physicians believe the
benefits of cardiac catheteriza-
tion aren’t limited to diagnos-
ing heart disease. If they find
a blockage in an artery during
the test, they may be able to
open it at that time with a pro-
cedure known as angioplasty.
During angioplasty, a slen-
der balloon-tipped catheter
is inserted into an artery—
usually in the groin—and
threaded to the area of the
obstruction. The balloon is
then inflated. This compresses
the plaque that is causing the
blockage and restores blood
flow to the heart. Often, a wire
mesh tube, called a stent, is also
inserted at the same time to
help the blood vessel stay open.
KEEP IN TOUCH WITH YOUR
DOCTOR
If you already have a
health problem such as heart
disease, it’s important to con-
tinue working closely with
your doctor. Doing so can help
you manage your condition
and live a healthier life.
GAMC is an Accredited
Chest Pain Center.
For a referral to a
GAMC physician, call
(818) 409-8100
. To get more
expert tips and friendly advice,
visit
GlendaleAdventist.com/
Chestpain
.
Sources: AGS Foundation for Health in Aging;
National Institutes of Health; National Heart, Lung,
and Blood Institute
Top heart care: GAMC receives
Chest Pain Center accreditation
Glendale Adventist Medical
Center received full Chest Pain
Center accreditation from the
Society of Cardiovascular Pa-
tient Care (SCPC) in February.
Time is critical for anyone
experiencing the symptoms of a
heart attack. Every minute that
passes without treatment can
mean the difference between
full recovery and permanent
disability or death. The ac-
creditation process ensures that
patients who arrive at the hos-
pital complaining of chest pain
or other symptoms of a heart
attack receive the treatment
necessary during the critical
window of time when the heart
muscle can be preserved.
SCPC’s goal is to significantly
reduce the mortality rate of
these patients by teaching the
public to recognize and react to
the early symptoms of a possible
heart attack, reduce the time
that it takes to receive treatment,
and increase the accuracy and
effectiveness of treatment.
“We are extremely proud of
this accreditation,” says Karen
Brandt, vice president of An-
cillary Services at GAMC. “As
one of the leading hospitals
in the San Fernando Valley
and the only hospital in the
area to have both an Advanced
Primary Stroke Center and Ac-
credited Chest Pain Center, we
are committed to improving our
cardiac care. With the organized
response between paramedics
and our hospital, we are provid-
ing a higher level of excellence
in service for our community.”
The accredited Chest Pain
Center at GAMC has demon-
strated its expertise and com-
mitment to quality patient care
by meeting or exceeding a wide
set of stringent criteria and un-
dergoing an on-site review by
a team of SCPC’s accreditation
review specialists.
The GAMC Chest
Pain Center encom-
passes the entire con-
tinuum of care for the
heart patient and includes
such focal points as dispatch,
emergency medical services
system, the Emergency De-
partment and the Cardiac
Catheterization Lab. GAMC
is one of the few chest pain
centers in the area. For more
information, visit
Glendale
Adventist.com/Chestpain
or
call
( )
-
.
When seconds count:
CPR can save lives
If someone you love suddenly collapsed and stopped breathing, would
you know what to do?
Call 911, of course. You would also want to start cardiopulmonary
resuscitation (CPR), because your loved one is likely in cardiac arrest.
Quickly starting CPR may be the only way to save your loved one’s life.
And using your hands is often enough.
Traditional CPR involves a combination of chest compressions and
rescue breathing. However, research shows that in the case of car-
diac arrest, you can skip the rescue breathing and just do rapid chest
compressions—or what the American Heart Association (AHA) calls
Hands-Only CPR. Here’s why:
In cardiac arrest, the heart abruptly stops pumping. Blood and oxy-
gen quit flowing to the brain and heart. Breathing stops.
The most important thing to do is force the heart to start pumping
again, which can happen with forceful compressions to the chest. The
lungs of people in car-
diac arrest often contain
enough oxygen to keep
vital organs healthy for
several minutes, so there
is no need to do rescue
breathing.
Swift, effective chest
compressions from a
bystander can more than
double a person’s likelihood
of surviving cardiac arrest,
notes the AHA. Most of the
time, however, no one steps
forward.
P
C
I
cardiologist, performed an
angiogram to view the arter-
ies near the heart in order to
determine if there was any
narrowing or blockage in
the blood vessel affecting
blood flow.
GRATEFUL TO THE TEAM
Dr. Alexanian was ex-
tremely pleased with the
care that the physicians and other members of the team provided to
her father.
“I am so happy that my father was in such good hands,” says
Dr. Alexanian. “We were truly blessed with a top-notch team of GAMC
physicians and nurses, which included cardiologists Harry Balian,
MD, John McKenzie, MD, and Sanjay Sharma, MD; Michel Zakari,
MD, nephrologist; Lance Lee, MD, neurologist; and Zulfigar Ahmed,
MD, pulmonologist.”
Dr. McKenzie implanted a defibrillator while Chitechyan was in the
hospital. This device provides defibrillation—which consists of deliver-
ing a therapeutic dose of electrical energy to the heart—when needed.
This depolarizes the heart muscle and allows normal sinus rhythm to
be re-established by the body’s natural pacemaker, the sinoatrial node
of the heart.
Chitechyan is now on dialysis and making progress every day. The
rehabilitation team at GAMC will be assisting him in his return to the
activities he loves—including his daily morning walk.
HERE WHEN YOU NEED US
To learn more about the
comprehensive cardiac care available at GAMC, visit us at
GlendaleAdventist.com/Heart
or call
( )
-
.
Be prepared! To
learn more, visit
GlendaleAdventist
.com/Heart.
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