It begins innocently enough. One minute, you're enjoying a relaxing evening with
friends. The next, you feel lightheaded, short of breath and a tightness or pain in the chest. Before you
know it, you're in the fight of your life—a struggle against your own body.
Heart attacks strike 1.1
million Americans each year, often without warning. At the same time, coronary artery disease
accounts for more than one out of every five U.S. deaths. This site is designed
to help you learn more about heart disease, assess your
risk and take the steps needed to improve your heart health.
Thank you for your interest in MeritCare news. Please visit our archive to view past news articles.
Click here for more heart news.
The American Heart Association defines risk factors as inherited tendencies, or daily habits, which may lead to the development of coronary artery disease. Research has shown that certain factors and lifestyles are associated with an increased risk of heart disease. Some of these factors are modifiable—things
we can change. Others, however, are non-modifiable—things
we cannot control.
Despite your best efforts, heart disease may still strike or may have already stricken you or a loved one. Coping with heart disease and the decisions that follow a diagnosis can be overwhelming. To alleviate these concerns, communicate your feelings as much as possible.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recommended that all patients currently taking aspirin and Plavix post stent insertion should continue the drugs for a minimum of one year. Learn more below.
Award-Winning Heart Care
MeritCare Heart Center provides high-quality,
cost-effective heart services.Solucient© recently named MeritCare one of the
nation's 100 Top
cardiovascular hospitals.
MeritCare gives the public an opportunity to watch our Heart Center Team perform
surgery. View a live, surgical webcast of an off-pump bypass procedure. And visit our
archive to watch a webcast of a robotically assisted heart surgery.
To understand heart disease, it's important to understand how the heart works. Only about the size of your fist and weighing less than one pound, the heart pumps blood to every cell in the body. Learn more about this amazing organ...
Stress is your body's response to any demand placed on it. Find out how different kinds of stress affect you and what you can do to relax and manage your stress.
MeritCare offers a cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) class for families and friends of patients who are currently undergoing heart treatment at MeritCare Hospital.
It is offered:
Wednesdays & Fridays
10 a.m.
MeritCare Hospital 2nd Floor Southwest Family Room