Saturday, June 9, 2018 • Page 1B
Are you curious about Curling? It’s a lot harder than it looks
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By Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com Like thousands of others, Oak Forest’s Iain Kinloch and his daughter Ainsley watched the curling competition at the Winter Olympics. But unlike most viewers, after the Olympics were over, the father and daughter decided to try it out for themselves. Fourteen year old Ainsley who will be a freshman at Lutheran High North said that she and a friend were talking about curling during a school basketball game and as a lark found the Curling Club of Houston online. They signed up for the two hour Learn-to-Curl class, and then Ainsley brought her dad back for another class. Then she and her dad signed up for an eight week league which they finished up this spring. Iain said that while the Learn-to-Curl class entailed a few attempts to curl the stone on the ice and education about the curling signals, the league offered the chance to play a real game. And it was a sport he could
enjoy with his daughter. The Curling Club’s activities take place in a facility right behind Sharpstown Mall, about a 20 minute drive from Oak Forest, that is also used for hockey games and figure skating. For those who didn’t watch it on the Olympics, the How Stuff Works web site shares the basics of curling. It’s a team sport with four members on each side. The object of the game is to get your team’s stones closer to the target — which is a 1-foot diameter circle called the tee or button — than your opponent’s stones. The button is located in the center of a 12-foot bull’s-eye called the house. Each curler on both teams gets to shoot two stones for a total of 16 stones per end. An end is like an inning in baseball. At the completion of each end, points are tallied. You get one point for each of your team’s stones that is closer to the button than your opponent’s. There are 10 ends in each game of curling, and the team with the most total points wins. As Iain learned, “it’s a lot
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Contributed photo Ainsley Kinloch and her dad joined a curling league this spring and both say they enjoyed it.
harder than it looks, especially the sweeping portion.” He related his efforts to bear down with the broom, which he describes as more of a scouring pad, and polish the ice to make the stone move more smoothly. The teams were made up
of a skipper and a vice skipper, who were the more experienced players, and then Iain and Ainsley. The least experienced team member heads on the ice first and the skipper directs them, by calling out instructions, and by signals,
which way to curl the stone. That means that you have to both aim it and spin it. There were six games going on simultaneously so the signals were important. “You never knew when to See Curling P. 2B
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St. Joseph encourages heart health basics at luncheon For The Leader Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of American women, regardless of race or ethnicity. It kills one of every four women in the U.S. and results in three times more deaths than cancer. While attendees of the 5th Annual Women’s Heart Health Luncheon hosted May 11 at St. Joseph Medical Center were informed of the hard facts about heart disease, they also learned it can be prevented or controlled. The annual luncheon was presented by Women of Wellness, a St. Joseph health and social program to empower women as healthcare consumers by providing educational information and social events that celebrate women’s roles in their own wellness. Jaime Benrey, M.D., a cardiologist on the medical staff of St. Joseph, presented heart health information to the audience and described the human heart as the most dependable pump in the world. “The average heart beats 70 times per minute and that’s about 100,000 times a day,” said Dr. Benrey. “It is an incredible hard-working muscle, so let’s protect it. All of the risk factors for heart disease can be prevented, except for genetic factors.” Dr. Benrey said that hypertension, or high blood pressure, is the most common symptom for heart disease and urged women to check their blood pressure often because their arteries are smaller than men’s and can clog faster. High blood pressure risk factors include obesity, drinking too much alcohol, smoking, and family history. Beta-blockers are a common treatment for hypertension, said Dr. Benrey. He advised women in particular to recognize the signs of a heart attack, which are different than the symptoms experienced by men, and may include any or all of the following: • Chest pain or discomfort • Upper back or neck pain • Indigestion
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Photo courtesy St. Joseph Medical Center Center for Learning Nurse Educator Maria Ontoy explains Hands-Only CPR at the 5th Annual Heart Health Luncheon at St. Joseph Medical Center.
• Heartburn • Nausea and vomiting • Extreme fatigue • Upper body discomfort • Shortness of breath Dr. Benrey stressed that individuals experiencing these signs must call 9-1-1 immediately and wait for an ambulance to treat and then transport them to the emergency room. “There is a 90-minute window in which to restore blood flow to save the heart muscle,” said Dr. Benrey. “The first line of treatment for a heart attack is angioplasty, in which the doctor threads a thin tube with a tiny balloon on the end through a blood vessel. When the tube is in
place, the doctor inflates the balloon to widen the artery and restore blood flow.” The best thing to do is have a heart-to-heart with your doctor, said Dr. Benrey. “Discuss your risk of heart disease, have a list of questions to ask before your visit, and tell your doctor about your lifestyle so you can understand your risks and what you can do about them,” he said. “Once a woman is older than 45, her risk of heart attack is equal to that of a man. So learn what you can do to lessen your risk today.” Hands-Only CPR Center for Learning Nurse Educator Maria “Tet” Ontoy provided a
demonstration of hands-only CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation. She reviewed the steps to take if someone is having a heart attack. “Hands-Only CPR has just two easy steps, performed in this order,” said Ontoy. “First, if you see an adult or teen suddenly collapse, determine if he or she is unconscious by shaking the shoulders and asking if the person is okay. If there is no response, call 9-1-1 immediately. Then, begin CPR by pushing hard and fast in the center of the person’s chest to the beat of a song that has 100 to 120 beats per minute. Lock your elbows and compress two
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