Get Answers to Heart Questions at Conference

Heart disease in women and current cardiovascular treatment options will be among the topics at this year's Healthy Heart conference.

"How can I lower my blood pressure?"

"Should I take an aspirin a day?"

"What options are there before considering a pacemaker?"

"How can I adopt a more heart-healthy lifestyle?"

Have questions like these? Get the answers by attending the Healthy Heart conference, a public education conference offered annually by The University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center.

During this half-day conference, experts from the Sarver Heart Center will provide participants with an overview of cardiovascular issues, identify which risk factors to look for, and comment on the various treatment options currently available.

A panel of Sarver Heart Center experts will be available to answer questions about cardiovascular health and heart disease.

In addition, participants can have their blood pressure and blood glucose levels checked.

"The whole idea of this event is to help people better understand their risks for cardiovascular disease, put the latest research findings into perspective and give them the knowledge they need to ask their doctors the right questions," says Sarver Heart Center Director Gordon A. Ewy.

The conference will be held Feb. 28 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. in the South Ballroom of the Student Union Memorial Center. Free parking will be available in the Second Street Garage, on the corner of Mountain Avenue and Second Street.

The $10 registration fee covers a heart-healthy breakfast, health screenings, informational materials and refreshments.

Speakers include Ewy, Dr. Lori Mackstaller, who specialized in heart disease in women, and Leslie Ritter, a stroke researcher.

Topics include "Heart Disease Risks and Prevention," "Heart Health for Women," "Pacemakers, Defibrillators and Co.," "What You Need to Know about Stroke" and "Interventional Cardiology – Stents, Balloons and Angiograms."

For more information, call 626-3766 or 800-665-2328, or e-mail Sherry Lennox at slennox@email.arizona.edu.