August 30, 2018: Healthy Heart Ideas; Study initiative seeks volunteers.

August 30, 2018: Healthy Heart Ideas;
Study initiative seeks volunteers.

By T. Thibeault.

Is your heart “all aflutter”? If it is, you may be a teenager facing the challenges of young love.

But if you aren’t a teenager in love, and you still recognize that flutter, you may be experiencing atrial fibrillation — an electrical disorder of the heart which affects about 350,000 Canadians. People over the age of 40 have a one-in-four chance of developing atrial fibrillation and could be managing it with drugs. Some patients though, will need better treatment options.

The University of Ottawa Heart Institute is undertaking a research project to study the impact of different levels of exercise training on participants’ heart-health and fitness. This study will help discover new options that could affect the treatment of atrial fibrillation You are cordially invited to play an instrumental part in the success of this project.
Dr. Jennifer Reed and her team are seeking up to 100 Ottawa area residents with persistent or permanent atrial fibrillation to join the study. Subjects will have their health measures taken, complete questionnaires and participate in one-of-two 12-week exercise training programs.

It is hoped that the results of Dr. Reed’s study will lead to:

• important ideas for new treatment strategies,
• ways to alleviate symptom burden, and,
• ways to reduce exercise intolerance in affected patients.

To learn more, or to volunteer for this very worthy project, you can contact the project coordinator, Anna Clarke, B.Sc. at 613-696-7000 ext. 15944, or send an email to aclarke@ottawaheart.ca .

This study may have very little effect on the challenges faced by teenagers in love, but it could make a great and positive difference for some 350,000 Canadians who have left adolescence behind, but still face the challenges of a fluttering heart.

For more info visit: http://ottawaheart.ca .

Photo Caption: Dr. Jennifer Reed of the U of O Heart Institute is hopeful that Newswest readers and their friends, will help populate a heart-health study looking into irregular hearbeat and how exercise may affect its treatment. Photo courtesy of http://OttawaHeart.ca