OSF Holy Family Medical Center is teaming up with the Warren County Health Department to offer free Blood Pressure and Cholesterol screenings at Baconfest on Friday. Tina Canada, the Diabetes Education Coordinator at OSF, shares that your cholesterol level should be below 200:
“If your number is at that level or little higher, we are going to give you a voucher for the health department. They will do a full lipid panel. You will have to fast for, you have to fast 12 hours. That’s going to give you a breakdown on the types of cholesterol you have plus a triglyceride level,” Canada shares.
Having these levels checked helps to prevent a heart attack or stroke. Canada wants to remind listeners of warning signs to look out for:
“Pain in the chest, or sometimes it’s a discomfort or a pressure, a crushing feeling. You might feel light headed, some people even have nausea or even throw up. Sometimes they have pain in their jaw or neck that may radiant up or go to the shoulder or down the arm. A lot of times they feel short of breath. For warning signs for stroke we say FAST. So face you are looking for a droop to one side of the face. Then the arms are what you look at next, that’s what the “A” is for, you will have them hold them out to the side. One of them might want to go lower than the other or they can’t hold them out equally. Then “S” for sight. Usually there are some visual disturbances. Somebody may have some blackness where they can’t see. Then “T” is for time because time is brain, as we say,” states Canada.
It is important to have your cholesterol and lipid panel checked every so often to prevent heart attacks or a stroke. Call and schedule an appointment today at 734-3141.
written by Kelsey Crain
To hear more from Tina, listen to the link below:
