Coshocton County residents left hospitals with a heart disease diagnosis at a 30 percent greater clip than the state average, according to a report by the Ohio Department of Health. Despite the county's high rate of the disease and amongst the slowest response times for cardiovascular EMS runs, mortality rates from heart disease and heart attacks were below the typical Ohio county, the report shows.
"People who do have risk factors (for heart disease), who don't take care of themselves, until they have a cardiac event don't pay much attention to the risk factors," said Deb Brewer, cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation coordinator at Coshocton Hospital.
Heart disease remains the No. 1 killer in Ohio and the rest of the nation. In 2007, nearly 29,000 people, or 27 percent of all deaths in Ohio, were victims of heart disease, according to the report, titled "The Burden of Heart Disease in Ohio."
Barbara Pryor, director of the health department's heart disease and stroke prevention program, said the report was generated to give an exhaustive view of how heart disease is dealt with from top to bottom. The goal is to get better -- as patients, doctors and agencies -- at recognizing and dealing with cardiovascular issues, she added.
The state has improved dramatically over the past couple decades, according to Pryor and "Burden."
"From 1990 to 2005, heart disease mortality declined by 33 percent in Ohio," the report states, later adding that the state's death rate from the affliction is still the 14th highest in the country.
SEEK TREATMENT IMMEDIATELY
Time is of the essence, Pryor said, in a cardiovascular emergency.
From when paramedics are dispatched on a suspected heart-condition call to when the patient reaches the hospital, 52 minutes have passed for ambulance transports in the Southeastern #2 region. With one EMS provider, Coshocton County is lumped in with a handful of neighboring, similar counties for the report. The response time for the region is about 18 minutes slower than the state average, according to the report.
"For heart attacks, particularly the more severe form, there's about a 90-minute window of treatment for the onset of symptoms that can really make a difference in the outcome," Pryor said.
Perhaps as large a factor in getting treatment inside that time frame is symptom recognition.
Only about one in three Ohio adults were able to recognize the signs of a heart attack and, just as importantly, what was an appropriately urgent response, the report states.
Some people don't call 911 despite tightness in their chest, shooting pains in their arm or neck or other symptoms of a heart attack because they don't want to attract the attention of neighbors with flashing lights and sirens or tie up first-responders for what they are not sure is an emergency, Pryor said. But that's a dangerous attitude, she warned.
"The heart is a muscle, so the longer you have lack of oxygen or blood flow to the heart, the bigger the area of damage will be," she said.
CONTROLLABLE FACTORS
Coshocton Hospital offers an outpatient cardiac rehabilitation program.
"After a cardiac event they come in and are started on a gradual exercise program," Brewer said. EKG monitoring takes place during their entire workout session which typically ends with some form of education.
A Phase III program after discharged is offered but not covered by insurance, Brewer said. Patients who continue with the program are no hooked up to monitoring, but are able to continue the same exercise regime that the started. Most patients, however, choose to exercise on their own at other local facilities.
Poor heart health is often accompanied by other conditions, such as diabetes or obesity, which are generally preventable.
Pryor said its up to the individual to commit to a healthier lifestyle, but there is a system in place -- one that they are hoping to improve -- that supports that endeavor.
"You have to create an environment that helps people remain healthy too," she said.
The state does have a role in helping to regulate poor health choices and smoking is a prime example, she said.
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