Dr. Bala K. Nandigam joins Heart Center
cardiologists
An established interventional
cardiologist, Dr. Nandigam has been practicing in Charlotte county for
the past 14 years. He is board certified in internal medicine and cardiology.
His medical degree
is from the Andhra Medical College in Visakhapatnam, India. Dr. Nandigam
served his internship and residency at New York Medical College, Lincoln
Medical and Mental Health Center. His post-doctoral cardiology fellowship
was at the Misericordia Medical Center, New York Medical College; and he
completed his cardiac catherization fellowship at the University of Massachusetts’
St. Vincent Hospital in Worchester.
At Charlotte
Regional Medical Center in Punta Gorda, Florida, Dr. Nandigam is director
of the Cardiac Catherization and Intervention laboratory and was chief
of medical staff at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Port Charlotte, Florida until
very recently.
He enjoys travel,
tennis and time spent with his family. Dr. Nandigam’s two office
locations are 2400 Harbor Blvd., Port Charlotte and 713 E. Marion Ave.,
Punta Gorda.
New Clinical Research Manager
Terri Lynn
Burghart brings an extensive background to the Heart Center as our Clinical
Research Manager. Her six year history of research work includes
a variety of disease states such as hypertension, cholesterol, women’s
health, diabetes, migraines and Alzheimer’s disease. She has been
director of clinical research at two separate research facilities in Florida.
Currently pursuing
a masters degree in business administration at the University of South
Florida; Terri already has a BS in psychology from Baylor University in
Waco, Texas.
At the Heart
Center, Terri’s responsibilities will include overseeing the research department
and developing research programs.
Terri and her
husband, Scott came to Florida so he could study biological oceanography
at the University of South Florida. They have a three year old daughter
named Scarlett.
Welcome to Florey Lee Miller, Registered Dietitian
Florey will
be helping our patients reduce their risk of heart disease by teaching
them about healthy nutrition guidelines. She is teaching a free nutrition
information class called “Heart’s Desire Nutrition” each Thursday at 10:00
AM. She will also be teaching an alternative class called “New Wave
Nutrition” which will discuss other nutrition theories such as vegetarianism,
Dean Ornish, low carbohydrate and Mediterranean diets. In addition,
Florey is available for individual consultations for diabetes, weight loss,
cholesterol reduction or any other nutrition need.
Florey has a
master’s degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition from the University
of Florida. She passed the national board exam and became a Registered
Dietitian in 1994. She has specialized experience in the field of
diabetes and is a caring counselor.
Cooking and eating
are her passions in life. She and her husband, T.J. have a three-year-old
daughter named Haven. You can reach Florey at 365-0433, ext. 455.
Dr. Michael Mollod, Marathon Man
“I’m probably
one of the fastest runners in Sarasota”, states Dr. Mollod proudly.
And with good reason: he once finished a marathon in under three hours.
Remember, a marathon is 26.2 miles. Just finishing a race of this
distance is an accomplishment; it takes a great deal of dedication and
training in order to break the three hour mark. This 34-year-old cardiologist
has been running since high school and now runs approximately 60 miles
per week. He mainly runs on Siesta Key but travels all over the country
to participate in marathons. Dr. Mollod feels part of the enjoyment of
running marathons is the competition, “there’s no one my age in town that
can beat me.” That’s for sure!
Watch the Heart Center fly
When Dr.
John Puleo drives his drag race car at 130 miles per hour the Heart Center
flies along. Its logo appears on the side of the car and thereby
races with Dr. Puleo at top speed. Dr. Puleo plans on racing 12 or
13 events this year. Look for him in his Heart Center race car at
DeSoto speedway. If you can catch him, that is.
Mort Steiger: The man with two birthdays by Sande Hartnett,
volunteer coordinator
You may recognize
Heart Corps volunteer Mort Steiger. He is a regular exerciser on
our fourth floor and helps on Tuesday mornings doing whatever is needed,
as he has for the last six years.
Due to his versatility,
Mort may find himself filling in as a receptionist on the first floor,
shredding paper or chopping vegetables in the kitchen in preparation for
the monthly cooking class. He may be delivering copy paper in preparation
for making multiple copies of a form or educational information to be distributed
to patients or associates. Before retirement, Mort worked in a chemical
plant in the repair department, so a paper jam is child’s play to him.
Although we utilize
him as much as possible, he still has time to work as Treasurer for the
local Shriner’s Mariner Unit and this year is Housing Chairman for their
convention.
Mort celebrates
two birthdays each year: the date of his birth and the date he was ‘reborn’
in cardiac rehab. In August, 1994, he went into full cardiac and
respiratory arrest while exercising in our fourth floor rehab department.
He was revived by the Heart Center code team, attending physicians and
the rehab staff. After bypass surgery, Mort returned to exercising
and volunteering with an added appreciation for the Heart Center and the
friends that helped extend his full and rich life. We cherish Mort
and all that he does for the patients and staff at the Heart Center.
Shocking information by Lisa Chmielewski, MD
Anti-theft
systems and metal detectors may interact with pacemakers and internal cardiac
defibrillators
Anytime you visit
the mall, the supermarket or even the library, you are apt to come
in contact with an EAS system (electronic article surveillance otherwise
known as an anti-theft system). When you walk through the airport
you will likely pass through a metal detector or have a hand held wand
passed over your body for security purposes. If you wear a pacemaker
or internal cardiac defibrillator (ICD) there is a chance it may be affected
by the electromagnetic fields produced by metal detectors or EAS systems.
Some of the adverse effects include interference with pacemakers, receiving
a shock from an ICD or the ICD reverting to ‘monitor only’ mode.
Although these
interactions are extremely rare, (only 44 reports to the FDA of adverse
events in the past 10 years) and are unlikely to cause clinically significant
symptoms in most people, there are some simple precautions to take to be
on the safe side.
1. Be aware that EAS systems may be hidden or camouflaged in entrances
or exits where
they are not readily visible.
2. Do not stay near the EAS system or metal detector longer than is
necessary and do not
lean against the system.
3. If scanning with a hand held metal detector is necessary, warn the
security personnel that
you have an electronic medical device and ask them
not to hold the metal detector near
the device any longer than is absolutely necessary;
or you may wish to ask for an
alternative form of personal search.
Why diets don’t work by Florey Lee Miller, MS, RD
From 1960
to 1980 twenty-five percent of Americans were obese; now that figure is
up to thirty-three percent. That’s one third of our population!
Obviously all these diets we are following are not working.
What is a diet,
anyway? My definition of a diet is ‘a temporary restriction of food
or eating behaviors”. The important word here is temporary.
Anyone can lose weight quickly on one of the very restrictive ‘fad diets’.
But can you keep it off? The simple truth is that we need permanent
lifestyle changes in order to keep weight off.
A lot of diets
are really an unhealthy way of eating. How can you tell if a diet
is an unhealthy one? There are seven warning signs.
1. Seems extreme to you; If it seems weird, it probably is and may do
weird things to your
body.
2. Does not focus on permanent lifestyle changes. Remember, this
is the only way weight
will stay off.
3. Does not include an exercise component. Exercise is needed
to rev up the metabolism so
fat burning can take place.
4. Says you can eat as much as you want
5. Restricts whole groups of food. A diet with a wide variety
of foods is best for maximum
exposure to vitamins, minerals, antioxidants
and phytochemicals.
6. Requires you to take supplements or pills
7. Requires you to eat or drink special foods or buy food in special
stores
Is it truly possible
to make the permanent lifestyle changes to keep the weight off? Anne
Fletcher wrote a book called “Thin for Life.” She interviewed people
who had been overweight or repeat dieters for most of their lives who then
lost the weight they wanted and kept it off. She found out first
and foremost: people have to want to lose weight. Once they made
the decision to lose weight, then they stuck to this decision. As
soon as weight crept up, they went into action to prevent a major problem.
We all know its much easier to lose five pounds, than ten or fifteen pounds.
No one technique works for everyone. Some exercise more, some eat
less, some eat certain low fat foods, some avoid treats.
Other good ideas
and strategies for weight loss or maintaining weight:
1. Be flexible – meaning not everything you eat can or should be low
in fat. You just need
to balance high fat foods with lower fat foods or
else do some exercise. For example, if
you want to eat a bacon and eggs breakfast, eat
a vegetarian supper or go for a bike ride.
2. Be sensible – this is the ‘all foods can fit’ idea. If it
is a high calorie or high fat item, eat a
smaller amount or eat it less often.
3. Be realistic – don’t set your sights too high with trying to change
things in a drastic way.
Remember, lots of little things add up.
4. Be active – walk the dog, don’t just watch the dog walk. There
are so many more
benefits to regular exercise besides weight loss
like reducing the risk for heart disease,
osteoporosis, high blood pressure and diabetes.
5. Be adventurous – try some new foods, shop in a new place, try a
vegetarian meal.
6. Plan ahead – If you shop for healthy food, you will have it in the
house and you will tend
to eat it. Then you won’t have to order a
pizza!!!
Beyond Cholesterol by Becky Fullam, MS, ARNP
The benefits
of lowering cholesterol according to the guidelines suggested by the National
Cholesterol Education Panel include decreased risk for heart attack.
However, many people with low cholesterol readings require angioplasty,
bypass surgery, or suffer a heart attack. How do you know which percentage
you fall into? How do you predict your risk?
Clearly, other
factors contribute to these cardiac events. Certain inheritable traits
alter the good and bad cholesterol particles or the blood vessel lining
itself. This in turn can promote the development of cholesterol blockages
even when cholesterol readings are normal or even low! In some cases,
these traits lie dormant but are activated by weight gain, sedentary lifestyle,
smoking or an unhealthy diet.
Research into
this field of hereditary risk factors has revealed several measurable and
treatable traits. Your hidden risk may be identified through several
blood tests. One of the leading experts in this exciting field is
Dr. Robert Superko. He is the medical director of the Berkeley Heart
Laboratory. Lawrence Berkeley National laboratory has developed several
tests over a 40 year period to measure these inheritable traits.
In the past, these results were used for research only. Two years
ago, this lab began offering these tests to any physician who wished to
more specifically tailor cholesterol treatment to the individual patient’s
inheritable traits.
The Heart Center
is excited to be on the forefront of this research and offer our patients
this sophisticated testing. Your Heart Center cardiologist makes
treatment recommendations based on the results of the cholesterol test.
More information on this topic will be offered as part of the February
Heart Month lecture series when Becky Fullam, MS, ARNP speaks on “Beyond
Cholesterol” February 26th at 5:30 PM.
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