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Have a Heart

Welcome to the Have a Heart program! Under the medical direction of Dr. Jay Hsu, Cardiologist, our program is designed to provide additional support and assistance for members diagnosed with Hypertension (HTN) or Congestive Heart Failure (CHF). We encourage you to enroll and participate to receive special benefits!

BENEFITS

  • Financial savings: 0$ copay to see your Cardiologist
  • Educational material: printable handouts and resources available on my.wellhealthqc.com
  • Classes: Check the website for upcoming group classes and special events!
  • Support: via email and/or phone with our Have a Heart team

ENROLLMENT IS EASY

Simply fill out the enrollment form below and email to haveaheart@wellhealthqc.com. One of our team members will respond to your email and address your questions or concerns

Heart Health Enrollment Form

More information on Have a Heart

The day never seems to have enough hours for everything we want to do. At WellHealth, we recognize the importance of healthy living. Maintaining our cardiovascular health is an important component in building a healthy life. Cardiovascular disease is still the #1 killer amongst men and women. Our Cardiovascular team here at WellHealth is here to help reduce your risk. Here are few things you should know.

Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)
One in three Americans have elevated blood pressure, and that number continues to rise.

The arteries are the "pipes" that blood travels through to provide nutrients and oxygen to the brain and other vital organs. High blood pressure damages the walls of the arteries, increasing the risk of inflammation leading to plaque formation, along with damage with aneurysm formation risking rupture of the vessels.

There are risk factors that contribute to hypertension, including dietary choices, physical activity level, alcohol, tobacco and drugs, weight, genetics and metabolic conditions. Our program is a starting point to identify the more common causes of hypertension, along with providing recommendations for healthier living. We can also help provide a treatment plan that can work in conjunction with recommendations from your physician.

Hyperlipidemia (High Cholesterol)
Heart disease remains the #1 cause of death in the United States. There are typically no signs or symptoms of elevated cholesterol, so it is important to have your levels checked by your doctor. If your cholesterol level rises, so does your risk for coronary heart disease, heart attacks and strokes.

Your cholesterol level can be affected by your age, gender, family history and lifestyle. Although, you can’t control your age, gender or family history, you can control life style choices. Health dietary choices, limit tobacco exposure and exercise are most effective in reducing your risk of hyperlipidemia. Reading and understanding food labels and recognizing which fats raise your LDL is an important step to improving your diet.

There are two types of cholesterol that are highly associated with heart disease. These include low density lipid (LDL) and high density lipid (HDL) cholesterol; more simply, they are the “bad” and “good” cholesterol, respectively. Both are naturally produced by the body and circulate in the blood. However, many people can be genetically predisposed to make excessively high or low amounts of each. Also consuming foods with saturated fat or trans fats also increases the amount of LDL. Triglycerides are the third important factor in your cholesterol profile. Triglycerides are highly affected by your diet, and reflects how your body breaks down calories and fats. High triglycerides are associated with problems like pancreatitis and heart disease.

Increased LDL can cause a thick build up “plaque” on the blood vessels that lead to the heart and brain. This will narrow lumen of the blood vessel restricting blood flow and cause the blood vessels to be less flexible.

Your annual check up is an important part of maintaining and improving your heart health. Mark your calendar for your next appointment!

Congestive Heart Failure
Congestive heart failure refers to the symptoms of fluid congestion related to a "back up" of blood from the heart. If the heart has trouble with blood being pumped forward, the congestion would involve fluid in the lungs causing shortness of breath. Fluid can also back up to the legs and eventually to the belly, causing edema/swelling. People with uncontrolled heart failure have extremely poor quality of life, suffering from poor sleep, energy problems, difficulty breathing, and frequent doctor and ER visits.

We can help. Our congestive heart failure program can help guide you to the proper therapies, including medications to help heal the heart, and to help remove excess fluid. We can work with your cardiologist to identify early signs of congestive heart failure so that treatment may be started before significant problems arise. Additionally, we can help coordinate urgent care should the need arise.

Congestive heart failure is a serious issue that requires careful attention both from you and your loved ones, and from the medical community. We want to work with you to ensure you get the great care that you need.

Resources

Managing Blood Pressure

American Heart Association

American Lung Association

Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

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