Heart of the matter

EDITOR’S COLUMN

We are fully emerged into February, the month each year when medical professionals and healthcare organizations try to bring more awareness to heart health. While it should be a year-round priority for everyone, February is speci cally aimed at putting a focus on cardiovascular health.

I am extremely proud of my name. To be called “ elma” comes with some pride every time I hear it. You see, I was named after my grandmother who died months before I was born. As I am often told, my grandmother wanted a granddaughter so badly.

I never go to meet her. So, I got the next best thing — her name.

My grandmother was 50 years old when she died of a heart attack. My mom’s side of the family is a mess when it comes to genetic health, but the heart is the biggest concern.

My mom was afraid to turn 50 because of heart issues that owed through her family. When 50 came and went — she was relieved, but she de nitely keeps up with heart testing and taking preventative measures. For me, now in my 40s, I tend to ask my doctor a lot of questions about my heart. I share a name with a woman I never met because in the 1970s there was a lot less information available to people about heart health.

ere really wasn’t a month aimed speci cally at raising hearth health awareness.

A heart problem can be sneaky, since symptoms can present di erently in every individual. Someone with heart disease or heart failure may not experience the same symptoms as another person with the same condition.

While breast cancer tends to get a lot of attention in terms of women’s health and preventative measures — heart disease is actually a bigger culprit each year.

According to the CDC, despite e orts to increase awareness, only 56% of women recognized heart disease as the top killer. As the leading cause of death for women in the U.S., heart disease was responsible for 314,186 women dying in 2020. at equates to 1 in every 5 female deaths.

For personal reasons I write about women, but in reality, heart disease has a huge e ect on the entire U.S. population.

According to the CDC, one person dies every 34 seconds in the U.S. of cardiovascular disease. In total, 697,000 Americans died in 2020 of heart disease. at equates to 1 in every 5 deaths.

According to the CDC, the term heart disease refers to several types of heart conditions because it all goes toward issues a ecting the blood ow around the heart. Decreased blood ow, for instance, can cause a heart attack.

Sometimes heart disease can go completely unnoticed and undiagnosed until a person su ers from a heart attack, heart failure or arrythmia.

Instead of waiting for something major to happen, health o cials continue to stress the need to be proactive in healthcare, meaning taking preventative measures and tests as directed each year.

For more information on issues of the heart, visit the American Heart Association website at heart.org.

elma Grimes is the south metro editor for Colorado Community Media.

LINDA SHAPLEY Publisher lshapley@coloradocommunitymedia.com

MICHAEL DE YOANNA Editor-in-Chief michael@coloradocommunitymedia.com

THELMA GRIMES South Metro Editor tgrimes@coloradocommunitymedia.com

TAYLER SHAW Community Editor tshaw@coloradocommunitymedia.com

Rising above the noise

Starting in 1996 I began living in Highlands Ranch and in 2001 bought a small a condo in Edwards, Colorado. e elevation in Highlands Ranch is about 5,800 feet, and Edwards is just over 7,500 feet. Coming from sea level on the East Coast, it took a little time to acclimate to the elevation. And soon enough all was well and everyone was just ne. Having spent the past few years traveling back to the East Coast and spending most of my time at sea level again, I knew coming back to Colorado was going to be an adjustment, but since I work out, and have been back skiing, I didn’t think much of it.

Well, what I didn’t realize is that the house I would be living in for ve weeks was situated at 10,200 feet. Skiing at 11,000 feet or 12,000 feet never really impacted me because I didn’t stay at that elevation for long as heading down the mountain was the goal, not camping at 12,000 feet. e home I am staying in has an awesome view. Now that I have acclimated I am enjoying it so much more as the views on a blue-sky sunny day are phenomenal. And with the amount of snow we have received, the mountains seem more majestic than ever.

Living at 10,200 feet brings with it a few extra bene ts as the solace and quiet bring a sense of tranquility that escapes us in and around any city we may nd ourselves living in. e rush and crush of daily life down at

ERIN ADDENBROOKE Marketing Consultant eaddenbrooke@coloradocommunitymedia.com

AUDREY BROOKS Business Manager abrooks@coloradocommunitymedia.com

ERIN FRANKS Production Manager efranks@coloradocommunitymedia.com

LINDSAY NICOLETTI Operations/ Circulation Manager lnicoletti@coloradocommunitymedia.com lower elevations is replaced up here with the hush of the wind whispering through the pine trees. It’s one of the most refreshing and relaxing places I have ever had the privilege to work from, even as I take calls, virtual meetings with customers and team members, while also nding time to write. ere is something else I have noticed, the people who live up here are used to living and rising above the noise and chatter going on in the city, in the news, and on social media. Not that there aren’t any concerns about the realities of life, they simply choose to nd their peace by letting what others think about, worry about, and post about, to do it somewhere else and not up here.

Stopping into the local saloon there are people actually having conversations and not glued to their phones. Conversations are happening about the snowfall, the skiing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing and other pleasures of living in the mountains. And not just during winter, I have heard all the stories of shing, hunting, hiking, mountain biking, hang gliding and gol ng in the other seasons. Since I have lived up here for this brief time and have tried to settle in with the locals, I haven’t heard any conversations about politics from either side, no discussion of the pressures of society, and no attacks on anyone in the small town or community.

When they talk, they talk about family, friends, travel, life experiences, the fresh mountain air and how they still stand in awe and wonder at mountains and sights

SEE NORTON, P13

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