Heart health subject of Samaritan Healthcare program

MOSES LAKE — Heart health and how to maintain it will be the subject of a program Thursday – and the answers might not be as obvious as people imagine. “The Unexpected Faces of a Heart Attack” will begin at 6 p.m. at the Pillar Rock Grill.

The program is sponsored by the Samaritan Healthcare Foundation. Admission is free, but due to limited seating advance registration is requested, said Gretchen Youngren, Samaritan’s director of development and communication.

The foundation has been sponsoring health programs for a couple of years, but this is the first one focusing on heart health, she said. Other programs have focused on cancer and cancer detection, and on aging and the challenges that come with it.

There are risk factors for heart disease, and ways people can reduce their risks. But at the same time heart attacks and heart disease do not care “who it happens to, how it happens to you or what time in your life it happens to you,” Youngren said.

Four survivors of heart attacks will tell their stories – and none of them necessarily saw it coming. The speakers include Renee Ballinger, who’s a runner; “travel enthusiast” Rocky Terry, local physician Jill Simon and college professor John Peterson.

Their stories will be supplemented by a panel of cardiac care specialists. They include Alan Roy and Jennifer Avery from the hospital’s cardiac rehabilitation program and representatives from the Confluence Health Cardiac Clinic. Moses Lake dentist Craig Harder will discuss how dental care and disease can impact heart health. “The expert panelists will share some key points to think about when it comes to cardiac care, and debunk myths people may think of surrounding heart attacks and general heart health,” Youngren wrote.

Along with learning more about heart health and preventing heart disease, Youngren said the goal is to give Columbia Basin residents a better understanding of the resources available to them. While any individual health care organization might offer all services, “together we are working collaboratively to support cardiac patients,” Youngren wrote.

Organizers want attendees to “draw connections with each other and ultimately walk away feeling like they have a greater network of support and resources at their fingertips.”