CMC-NorthEast treated the public to an interactive educational experience at the Autumn Jubilee at the Dan Nicholas Park last weekend.
“MEGA Heart,” a giant inflated replica of the human heart, was set-up at the two day festival to entertain and educate those who ventured inside.
Also on display was the $300,000 Mobile Intensive Care Unit. The two were used to educate and bring awareness to the community, according to spokespersons from CMC-NorthEast.
A teaching tool provided from Medical Inflatables, the “MEGA Heart” is a fun and entertaining way to learn about heart function and heart disease, the number one killer in the United States.
“Our whole goal is that we educate people about heart disease, and its prevalence in our area,” said Gayle Deal, executive director business and community relations CMC-NorthEast.
Amanda Thompson, Director of Cardiac Services, explained the various parts of the heart as the tour moved through the chambers “like a blue blood vessel through the right atrium of the heart”, according to Thompson. As people made their way through the heart, they learned and actually viewed what is happening inside their own hearts and the possible issues heart disease can cause, with potentially fatal outcomes.
“All of these abnormal findings in the heart are important for the public to be educated on,” Thompson said.
On the outside of the heart, a clogged artery, which can cause a heart attack, is displayed alongside an example of a stent, a small wire that inflates the clogged artery to allow blood flow to continue.
“We do about 700 interventions a year at CMC-NorthEast. That means we put in a balloon or a stent,” Thompson said.
The tour emphasized signs and symptoms of a heart attack and the importance of calling 911 when experiencing any symptoms, which differ in women and men. In women, a heart attack can sometimes be overlooked.
“If they know the warning signs, they can get help in a timely manner. More women die of heart disease than men do. Heart disease is the number one killer in America. Women need to know about their symptoms,” Thompson said.
“We would much rather people call us, and it not be a heart attack,” said Andrea LeClair, a paramedic for Cabarrus EMS. “When we educate people about stroke we say, ‘time is brain.’ It’s the same with heart muscle. Time is muscle. And the quicker they call us, the quicker they can get them to care, the better the outcome is for them.”
Women’s symptoms are not as predictable as men’s when it comes to a heart attack. Some of the symptoms women can experience are unusual fatigue, sleep disturbance, shortness of breath, indigestion and anxiety.
“If you have chest pain or any symptoms that might be a heart attack, call 911, because getting that early intervention can absolutely save your life,” Deal said.
Keith Cook, coordinator of the Mobile Intensive Care Unit, was on hand to explain the purpose of the unit and to conduct tours.
“Our main focus in the beginning was to transport cardiac patients and their family,” said Keith Cook, coordinator and paramedic for the mobile unit. “Basically it’s a mobile ICU. Anything they do in the hospital, we have on board.”
During the month of September, the Mobile Intensive Care Unit was called into use for 90 transports.
“We can incubate and IVs. That’s mostly what we do. If we have a cardiac or ICU patient, we stabilize them to move them from one hospital to another,” he explained.
Cook also explained that a mobile unit would be on hand at the new CMC-Kannapolis, a freestanding emergency department, to transport any patient in need of more care than what the facility can provide to CMC-NorthEast.
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