Listen to your heart to stay in good health

Does your doctor listen to your heart every time you visit? Even the faintest murmurs heard through a stethoscope can be a sign of heart valve disease. A condition affecting more than 11 million Americans, heart valve disease happens when one or more of the heart’s four valves are damaged. Other common symptoms can include lightheadedness, chest pain, tiredness, edema, or feeling “off” in general — but these symptoms are too often shrugged off.

However, shrugging it off can be life-threatening. Undiagnosed heart valve disease kills more than 25,000 people a year, and most deaths are entirely preventable.

That’s why heart checks are so critical. Older age is the most common risk factor for developing heart valve disease, and those with a history of heart attack, hypertension, diabetes, heart failure and/or cancer are at especially high risk as they age. And, because these risk factors are more prevalent in younger Black Americans, heart valve disease detection in communities of color deserves more attention throughout the lifespan than is currently recognized.

Timing is everything, and we are glad February is both American Heart Month and Black History Month. On February 22, 119 organizations around the world will mark Heart Valve Disease Awareness Day to advocate for equitable early detection and treatment of this serious disease.

The first step is to Listen to Your Heart! Before February 22, schedule your appointment to get a stethoscope check, and visit ValveDiseaseDay.org to learn more. Then, help us spread awareness by posting your pic on your favorite social media using the #ListentoYourHeart and #ValveDisease Day hashtags. Together, we will improve detection and treatment and ultimately save lives.

— Lindsay Clarke, Alliance for Aging Research, Washington, D.C.

More to tell about ‘gold standard’ study

Regarding the article, “State becomes haven, advocates target crisis health centers,” printed on Sunday, Feb. 12, and written by Seth Klamann of the Denver Post, I was curious to find out about the gold standard study that was done in 2019 by Dr. Mitchell Creinin, a researcher at University of California, Davis. I had not heard about the abortion pill reversal treatment or this study so I did a little digging.

It turns out that this study was ended months after it was started because of three women hemorrhaging, but two of the three only received placebos instead of the reversal treatment and the one woman who did receive it aborted successfully and was able to self-limit her bleeding.

So it would seem that it was the abortion pill that caused the majority of the hemorrhaging and not the reversal treatment. Also, there were only 10 subjects in the study.

I don’t believe that this study can even be cited as proof that the reversal treatment is not effective. Indeed, of the five women that were in the progesterone treatment group, four had healthy pregnancies two weeks after taking mifepristone — an 80% success rate!

When I tried to look up the study itself, it had been taken down from the Obstetrics and Gynecology Journal.

I’m also not sure why using progesterone would be ineffective or even dangerous. Progesterone itself has been used safely in pregnancies for decades.

It is used in in vitro fertilization, infertility treatments, and high-risk pregnancies (such as those experiencing pre-term labor).

— Connie Baker, Berthoud

Whether from right or left, letters are articulate

I usually love the Daily Camera’s Letters to The Editor. Today is no exception! Whether from the right or the left, the letters are usually articulate and intelligent.

The three today, Wednesday, February 15, 2023, are no exception. Tom Stumpf, Ed Byrne and Chris Kelly all fill the bill. My opinions tend to follow Messrs. Stumpf and Byrne.

I see Ed Byrne as Boulder’s own land use Socrates! Think about “…losing our wisdom (the elderly)…” that’s me folks but I ain’t going anywhere! Think about “Regional thinking.” Think about “incremental regional sales tax.” We are so very fortunate to have had Ed Byrne around, lo these many years!

— Doug Thorburn, Boulder