Love your heart for Valentine’s Day
It’s almost Valentine’s Day and hearts are everywhere—candy, cards, décor and more. Which makes it the perfect time to think about the heart you carry with you each day.
The CLC Nursing Department has many experts on heart health.
Registered nurse, one-time CLC nursing student and now CLC nursing instructor Colleen Milburn says, “Listening to heart sounds and analyzing vital signs such as blood pressure and heart rate is essential in any physical assessment. When assessing heart sounds: if we hear a swishing sound, this could indicate a leaking heart valve in an elderly person or an irregular heart could be an arrythmia that could be life threatening. As a nurse, we are forever playing detective.”
Milburn offers 5 tips for staying smart about your heart
- Be intentional with exercise. The American College of Cardiology recommends at least 150 minutes (about 5 hours) of moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise weekly which can be divided into segments. Exercise should be sustained and vigorous enough to achieve a target heart rate appropriate for your age, medical history and lifestyle.
- Choose your food; don't let your food choose you. List the diet you wish you followed and plan how to implement that diet into your life. Processed foods, convenience food, salty snacks and fast food are high in saturated fat, sodium and sugar. Shop for your diet plan and stick to it. Always have snack options on hand and find joy in making good decisions.
- Know your numbers and their meaning. What is your cholesterol? What is your body mass index (BMI)? Is your blood pressure normal? Is my blood sugar or A1C creeping up? Research the risk that accompanies each of these values. Embrace that risk as a motivator when you want to reach for salty chips when you promised to eat healthier.
- Hardwire stress relief into your daily life. We know stress has a negative impact on our emotional and physical health. Adopt a daily practice that you can use to manage stress like deep breathing, meditation, visualization, Zen-doodling or journaling. Like all practices, stress relief has to be practiced regularly to be purposeful, then we can use it as a tool when we need it most.
- Consistency is self-love. Create a loving discipline with yourself using positive reinforcement to motivate you to maintain your health. Change feels like sacrifice when we implement change too radically or insert negativity. Be gentle with yourself while instilling discipline. Include gratitude and positive self-talk to reinforce your practice. At the end of each day, praise yourself for your victories.
Nursing is a passion worth pursuing
Milburn says heart health is a passion for her, as is nursing.
“I love being a nurse. I am very biased, but I believe nursing is the world's best profession. Earning my nursing degree from College of Lake County changed my life,” Milburn says. “Nursing will show you who you are and will make you proud of who you become.”
CLC offers both a nursing degree and nurse assisting certificate. It’s a varied career path that opens lots of doors in healthcare.