Thanks to the Community of Support, 2010 Heart Gala Is Resounding Success

What a Night to Remember Indeed!

The Brazos Valley 2010 Heart Gala at Miramont Country Club was the scene of Bryan, Texas transformed into scenes of Paris, France on April 23, 2010.

Congratulations to Donna Adam and her team for a record-breaking event. Generous sponsors and merchants gave from the heart to enable the group to raise more than $200,000 in cash and over $90,000 in kind, to support American Heart Research in the Brazos Valley. Click on the ad, beautifully designed by Katie Fox, Fox Marketing & Design, to see the outpouring of Brazos Valley support for this latest one-of-a-kind event in the series of Heart Galas coordinated since 1995.

Dr. J. James Rohack received a special recognition plaque from Mrs. Adam, on the occasion of his receiving a Distinguished Service Award for his outstanding work in supporting the mission of the American Heart Association.


The research grant, named in his honor, is entitled "Role of Mineralocortic old Receptors in Endothelial Dysfunction in Older Adults with Metabolic Syndrome". The researcher who will conduct this study is Dr. Demetra D. Christou, at Texas A&M University in College Station.

This is the final post for the 2010 BV Heart Gala

Dawn Lee Wakefield

DO YOU HAVE RAFFLE TICKETS YET?

Ticket sales are brisk as excitement mounts for the Trip for 2 to Paris, France. Do you have your tickets yet? Only $100 each. Call 268-0068 today to get your chance to win. Two tickets. Business Class. Round trip from Houston to Paris. 2 nights in Paris. 5 nights in a beautiful bed and breakfast at a Mansion in Bretagne.

Don't delay; get your tickets today! Call (979) 268-0068 from 8 am to 5 pm. If you leave a message, you'll get a prompt callback.

Jim Butler, Longtime Eagle Staffer, Exits Retirement to Launch Awareness to 2010 Heart Gala

Jim Butler, longtime American Heart volunteer, advocate, and former journalist with The Eagle, took time out of an active retirement to write a story published in today's issue of The Eagle. A scanned copy of page 1 of the story is pictured here. To read the full story, please visit the following link:

http://www.theeagle.com/lifestyles/B-CS-residents-have-access-to-impressive-cardiac-resources---bu

The Heart Gala Committee Team thanks Donnis Baggett for inviting Jim to share his personal experience about his heart attack, surgery, and recovery. We look forward to seeing Jim and his wife Donna at the 2010 Brazos Valley Heart Gala.

Here's One Way to Battle Heart Disease and Stroke--Get Active, Stay Busy, Help Others

It's too uplifting to not pass along; while we don't advocate ignoring taking medicines for any disease that might otherwise save your life or at least prolong it, here's the story of a very special, giving man, Andy Mackie, and how he manages to deal with his heart disease.

Mrs. Barbara Bush Makes "Go Red for Women" Heart Luncheon a Standing-Room-Only Success!

The American Heart Association presence is back in a major way in the Brazos Valley. The Go Red for Heart Luncheon yesterday is one certain sign of just that fact. The College Station Hilton could barely hold all of the attendees who looked forward to hearing from very special invited guests, including former First Lady, Barbara Bush, enjoying a delightful meal, courtesy of the Texas Beef Council, and exploring some very unique silent auction items--purses decorated by talented individuals and dynamic duos who lent their creative talents to American Heart. Thanks to Macy's, everyone who dived into the goodie bags found outstanding $10 off coupons and all throughout the month of February, anyone making a purchase in Macy's--who wears red--is eligible for a 20% discount on their total purchase (some departments, e.g., cosmetics, are excluded). Both Macy's and Merck are national sponsors of the Go Red event for the American Heart Association. In tough economic times, these national sponsors are even more prized than ever.

A few public speaker system ups and downs didn't face the day's emcee, Mary Mike Hatcher, a veteran of Heart luncheons; nor did they impact Sr. Gretchen Kunz, forever the favorite choice to offer thanks for the day's meal and gathered friends. The message was loud and clear throughout the day that women are in charge of their own health and must make themselves and their heart health a major priority in their lives.

Central Texas Heart cardiologist, Dr. Jean Mays spoke to those assembled about the importance of knowing and recognizing the risk factors for heart disease. These include: high blood pressure, cholesterol numbers, diabetes (especially the need for catching this early in overweight children, encouraging exercise and watching what they eat), smoking, and family history.

Many people have good annual checkups but often ignore simple warning signs, such as shortness of breath, and a general fatigued feeling, just plain tired, with all the get-up-and-go gone. Eating healthy is always a step in the right direction, but it's up to intelligent women to take charge of their health, today, and get moving towards a healthier you.

No one is going to tell you that you're hurting yourself, but if you think that heart disease happens to 'other people,' that's an incorrect assumption. Take charge, help others to join you in a new program of diet and exercise today. Go Red for Women is more than a catchy slogan for a luncheon. It's a way of life, for a lifetime.

Mrs. Barbara Bush Receives Multiple Standing Ovations for Her Beautiful Words from the Heart


It's not every day that you're able to bring to your home town one of the most gracious, elegant role models whom women and men alike respect, so congratulations to the American Heart Go Red for Women committee, for their work to share Mrs. Bush's message with over 700 women gathered, February 2, 2010.

The wife of a career public servant, who became U.S. President #41, and the mother of two state governors, one of whom became U.S. President #43, is certainly a full-time job. Add to that her own public service as First Lady of the United States and champion for adult literacy as well as public philanthropist to the mix, and that's one very busy Barbara Pierce Bush.

Her signature sense of humor, as much a recognizable trait as her signature countenance and classic strands of pearls, Mrs. Bush is one of the most effective and entertaining speakers to grace the Brazos Valley in a lifetime.

Mrs. Bush's encouragement to each lunch patron to maintain faith, family, and friends as priorities, to smile whenever possible, to treat our spouses and loved ones as well as we treat our friends, is inspirational and lasting.

Her mandate to each of us: Get active in your community. Find your own niche. And take care of your health.

The message shared by all speakers for the day: Heroes are everyday people who serve to help others with a passion.

Excitement is already building for next year's luncheon. To become involved, contact Melissa Liddicoat, Corporate Market Director, at (979) 268-0068 today.

Go Red Luncheon Draws Near

Tuesday, Feb. 2nd, will mark the annual Go Red for Heart Luncheon at 11:30 at the College Station Hilton. Luncheon Chair Kathy Gregory and her team have done an outstanding job of preparing for a sellout crowd who will gather to hear Former First Lady, Mrs. Barbara Bush, speak at the event.


A series of wonderful purses will be offered for patrons to bid on and win. Last minute individual tickets may be available. Call Melissa Liddicoat, Corporate Market Director for AHA at 979-268-0068 for more info. Pictured here is the "Go Red" luncheon leadership team.

And it is important to mention that none of the events would be possible in behalf of American Heart without the generous giving of time and resources to the Go Red event, they would not be successful. Thanks are also due to all of the sponsors who commit their financial gifts and in-kind donations to get the word out. This community is particularly blessed to have corporate sponsors for Go Red, including Anuncio Digital Media. Those of you who walk everyday in Post Oak Mall see all of the Anuncio screens as you walk the mile-long course. These screens are also in doctors' waiting rooms across the Brazos Valley. Volunteers for the American Heart Association greatly appreciate donors like Anuncio for the sponsorship.


Special thanks are due to event Presenting Sponsor, The Heart Pros, which comprises St. Joseph Regional Health Center, Central Texas Heart Center, and Cardiovascular Surgery of Brazos Valley; this is The Heart Pros' signature event for American Heart. National sponsors of the American Heart Association include Macy's and Merck, who are proud to support AHA events across the country.

Local presenting sponsors also include: The Donald A. Adam Family Foundation, ANCO Insurance, the Texas Beef Council, and media partners Insite Printing, KBTX Media, and The Eagle. Next time you see one of these generous sponsors for the Go Red luncheon, please take a minute to express your thanks for their support. In these challenging economic times, they all have very special hearts to sponsor events to help others hearts.

Got your luncheon reservations all made? If not, call the American Heart office at 268-0068 on Monday to see if space might be available to hear the guest speaker, Mrs. Barbara P. Bush.

In Front of the TV Again? Get Up and Dance! Or at least exercise!

Attention all couch potatoes. See the beautiful flags waving in the breeze? It's a great day to take a walk. Open the venetian blinds and see what's outside!

Let's say it's after NFL playoffs for those of you who can't take your eyes off all the football games. And, let's say it's before March Madness basketball playoffs when you'll be back in front of the TV set again.

February is around the corner, it's National Heart Month, and it's time to take a fast look at how much exercise you get. Think that a 30 min walk three times a week is too much? If you do, you get to be labeled "sedentary"...translation: person who has a million excuses not to work out with even a simple walk. Here's one of the latest news releases from the American Heart Association that just might change your opinion if you've become...sedentary...say it with me, sedentary...now...after you read this, think about something you can do to make sure you aren't ever called that word again.



Sedentary TV time may cut life short

Study highlights:

* A study found that every hour spent in front of the television per day brings with it an 11 percent greater risk of premature death from all causes, and an 18 percent greater risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.
* The findings apply to both obese and overweight people as well as people with a healthy weight because prolonged periods of sitting have an unhealthy influence on blood sugar and blood fat levels.

DALLAS, Jan. 11, 2010 — Couch potatoes beware: every hour of television watched per day may increase the risk of dying earlier from cardiovascular disease, according to research reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Australian researchers tracked the lifestyle habits of 8,800 adults and found that each hour spent in front of the television daily was associated with:
• an 11 percent increased risk of death from all causes,
• a 9 percent increased risk of cancer death; and
• an 18 percent increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related death.

Compared with people who watched less than two hours of television daily, those who watched more than four hours a day had a 46 percent higher risk of death from all causes and an 80 percent increased risk for CVD-related death. This association held regardless of other independent and common cardiovascular disease risk factors, including smoking, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, unhealthy diet, excessive waist circumference, and leisure-time exercises.

While the study focused specifically on television watching, the findings suggest that any prolonged sedentary behavior, such as sitting at a desk or in front of a computer, may pose a risk to one’s health. The human body was designed to move, not sit for extended periods of time, said David Dunstan, Ph.D., the study’s lead author and professor and Head of the Physical Activity Laboratory in the Division of Metabolism and Obesity at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Victoria, Australia.

“What has happened is that a lot of the normal activities of daily living that involved standing up and moving the muscles in the body have been converted to sitting,” Dunstan said. “Technological, social, and economic changes mean that people don’t move their muscles as much as they used to - consequently the levels of energy expenditure as people go about their lives continue to shrink. For many people, on a daily basis they simply shift from one chair to another – from the chair in the car to the chair in the office to the chair in front of the television.”

Dunstan said the findings apply not only to individuals who are overweight and obese, but also those who have a healthy weight. “Even if someone has a healthy body weight, sitting for long periods of time still has an unhealthy influence on their blood sugar and blood fats,” he said.

Although the study was conducted in Australia, Dunstan said the findings are certainly applicable to Americans. Average daily television watching is approximately three hours in Australia and the United Kingdom, and up to eight hours in the United States, where two-thirds of all adults are either overweight or obese.

The benefits of exercise have been long established, but researchers wanted to know what happens when people sit too much. Television-watching is the most common sedentary activity carried out in the home.

Researchers interviewed 3,846 men and 4,954 women age 25 and older who underwent oral glucose-tolerance tests and provided blood samples so researchers could measure biomarkers such as cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Participants were enrolled from 1999–2000 and followed through 2006. They reported their television-viewing habits for the previous seven days and were grouped into one of three categories: those who watched less than two hours per day; those who watched between two and four hours daily; and those who watched more than four hours.


People with a history of CVD were excluded from the study. During the more than six-year follow-up, there were 284 deaths — 87 due to CVD and 125 due to cancer.

The association between cancer and television viewing was only modest, researchers reported. However, there was a direct association between the amount of television watched and elevated CVD death as well as death from all causes even after accounting for typical CVD risk factors and other lifestyle factors. The implications are simple, Dunstan said. “In addition to doing regular exercise, avoid sitting for prolonged periods and keep in mind to ‘move more, more often’. Too much sitting is bad for health.”

Co-authors are: E. L. M. Barr, Ph.D.; G. N. Healy, Ph.D.; J. Salmon, Ph.D.; J. E. Shaw, M.D.; B. Balkau, Ph.D.; D. J. Magliano, Ph.D.; A. J. Cameron, Ph.D.; P. Z. Zimmet, Ph.D. and N. Owen, Ph.D. Author disclosures and funding sources are on the manuscript.

###

Statements and conclusions of study authors published in American Heart Association scientific journals are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the association’s policy or position. The association makes no representation or guarantee as to their accuracy or reliability. The association receives funding primarily from individuals; foundations and corporations (including pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies) also make donations and fund specific association programs and events. The association has strict policies to prevent these relationships from influencing the science content. Revenues from pharmaceutical and device corporations are available at www.americanheart.org/corporatefunding.

NR10 – 1001 (Circ/Dunstan)

And, while you're thinking about good heart health, don't forget to call Melissa Liddicoat at (979) 268-0068 today to reserve your place at the American Heart's Go Red for Women Heart luncheon, Feb. 2nd...do something for a loved one as well. Invite them to join you at the luncheon. See you there.