���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������
I’m still here because
NewYork-Presbyterian is here.
Raymond came in with an aortic tear.
He left with a new way to live.
Caribbean Life, Feb. 28-Mar. 5, 2020 33
RAYMOND
Brooklyn, NY
Survived an aortic tear
ADVANCING EXPERT CARE IN BROOKLYN
��n honor of Heart Month,
Berhane Worku, M.D., attending
cardiothoracic
surgeon at NewYork-Presbyterian
Brooklyn Methodist
Hospital and assistant professor
of cardiothoracic surgery
at Weill Cornell Medicine, offers
some easy-to-adopt ideas
for keeping heart healthy every
day of the year.
Go for a run.
Work and life can be
stressful. Stress causes elevations
of cortisol levels, a
hormone that can lead to a
variety of cardiovascular ailments,
including high blood
pressure, high cholesterol,
diabetes, and obesity. Running
counters all of these,
resulting in weight loss, decreased
blood pressure, increased
bone density, and
increased joint and muscle
strength. Interestingly, running
can decrease stress itself,
increase confidence, and
make you more productive.
Find a park or gym near
your work or home and go
for a run. You can go running
in a park during your
lunch break and use the gym
to wash up before returning
to work — that is what I do. I
run four to five times a week,
but even two to three times a
week will provide a benefit.
Have a salad for lunch
or grab a vegetable juice,
daily.
Busy days and hectic life
routines don’t always encourage
a healthy diet. Make it
part of your daily routine
to have a salad or vegetable
juice. By incorporating salads
or vegetable juice into
your daily schedule, it will become
routine and your heart
will reap the benefits. I am
not a big fan of vegetables, so
what I do is order a chopped
salad with a tasty dressing
from the nearby salad store
via a phone app. I also order a
veggie juice that I can drink
quickly, to get the nutrients
in without much effort, from
the nearby street vendor.
Take the stairs—both
ways.
Sometimes, life doesn’t allow
you the opportunity for
a structured exercise session.
Stairs are a great way
build in bursts of activity to
a busy day—no special equipment
needed. Choosing the
stairs—and taking them as
quickly as you safely can—
burns calories, increases energy,
gets your heart pumping,
and often times gets you
to your destination more
quickly than the elevator.
Choosing the stairs will
soon become habit, and you
will notice greater stamina
and stronger muscles in no
time.
Go to sleep!
As a cardiac surgeon, being
well rested is imperative
to doing my job well. Not only
does a good 7 to 9 hour stretch
of uninterrupted sleep help
me to think clearly and feel
my best, but it keeps my heart
in good shape as well. The
cardiovascular implications
of poor sleep hygiene include
high blood pressure, irregular
heart beat and a heightened
risk of heart disease.
I try to not to use my devices
in bed before sleep and
to keep my sleep area calm
and without many distractions.
Exercising during the
day helps tire me out, but I
try not to exercise to closely
to bed time as it can take a
while to wind down.
To make an appointment
with a NewYork-Presbyterian
Brooklyn Methodist Hospital
cardiologist, please call 718-
499-2273.
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