Cardiac health program educates and motivates Powell River participants

74-year-old Powell River resident Ron Salome was in his backyard when he had his heart attack four-and-a-half years ago.

“I was outside cutting the grass,” he said, “and I felt a pressure on my chest.”

Although Salome had recently had stents installed in his heart for angina, he knew right away that something was wrong. He described the sensation as feeling like an elephant squashing his chest.

His wife drove him to hospital, and from there he was quickly airlifted to Vancouver.

“I had to have surgery for a triple bypass,” said Salome.

It was a life-changing experience. Salome said he knew he was going to have to take steps to recover his health and reduce the risk of future cardiac problems.

“My daughter said, ‘I never want to see you like that again,’” he recalled.

However, shortly after his surgery, Salome found that his nearest option for a rehabilitation program was located in the lower Sunshine Coast area.

“I’m not going to go to Sechelt two or three times a week for rehabilitation,” he said.

Luckily, in 2016, a group of local volunteers teamed up with Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) to establish the Brave Hearts program, an initiative aimed at tackling risk factors in victims or at-risk patients of heart disease.

“This is a very good and essential program,” said Salome. “We’re very lucky to have it.”

City of Powell River health and fitness coordinator Christine Parsons was one of the local professionals who initiated the program, which was formed in partnership with VCH, Tla’amin Health and the city. The program is overseen by Ray Boogaards, the city’s director of parks, recreation and culture.

“We had been hearing that a cardiac health program was needed,” said Parsons. “The initiative was being worked on in the fall of 2014, but it wasn’t until the fall of 2016 when the program got off the ground. Those who suffered from a cardiac event were having to travel, or were opting not to participate in a program.”

The Brave Hearts program emerged out its predecessor, the Happy Hearts program. The program’s founders travelled to Sechelt to observe cardiac health classes there, before tailoring the new program to suit the needs of Powell River residents.

Brave Hearts is now in its fifth session, with classes taking place twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“There are 12 different curriculum modules compressed into 10 weeks,” said Parsons.

Classes begin with an educational component, covering key focus areas in maintaining a healthy heart. These include motivation and goal setting, nutrition, and cholesterol and diabetes management.

“We then move into the physical activity side of things, with a focus on cardiovascular activity,” said Parsons.

Participants perform the exercise for 10 minutes, recording their heart rate and perceived level of exertion based on a scale of one to 10.

“This is really important, because we strive to teach self-management tools,” she added. “We want to make sure they are doing exercise safely.”

A key aim of the program is to make the recovery process less daunting for victims of heart disease.

“One of the biggest components of this program is to provide a safe environment for participants who’ve experienced a traumatic event like a cardiac event,” said Parsons, “and a safe environment for them to start back into physical activity.”

The classes have forged friendships, too.

“There is a huge social bond amongst participants within the group that we didn’t anticipate,” said Parsons. “They have found that they’ve really connected as a group.”

Salome said he is glad to have the Brave Hearts program in the city, because heart disease is responsible for more deaths per year than any other cause.

“People don’t realize how deadly this is,” he said. “Heart attacks kill more people than anything.”

According to data published by Statistics Canada, one in 12 Canadians, 2.4 million people, are currently living with heart disease. Every hour, 12 Canadians (aged 20 and over) die from the disease. Key risk factors include poor diet, being overweight, smoking and type-2 diabetes.

In order to enrol into the Brave Hearts program, patients do not necessarily need to have experienced a cardiac event. If they have at least two of the above risk factors, patients can get a referral from their doctor

There are also plans to raise funds to assist patients who are unable to afford the costs associated with the program.

“I brought it up at the Rotary Club [of Powell River] because there are people in our city who can’t afford the $350 for the program,” said Ron, “so Rotary made a $600 donation for the people who can’t afford to pay.”

Patients interested in enrolling for the program can ask their doctor for a referral.