Forum Friday Night To Educate Blacks On Heart Disease
POSTED: Thursday, January 6, 2005
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Medical officials hope a free forum Friday evening on heart disease and black Americans will help save lives like that of a Middleburg man.Edward Prater, 53, was eating his way to an early grave until he learned that plates piled high with bacon, eggs and fried potatoes were going to prove deadly.
The retired military man said when he started to feel really tired about 10 years ago, he knew something was wrong."I ... didn't have any energy and I had a hard time breathing," Prater said.One day, Prater was rushed to the emergency room."I found out that I had ... congestive heart failure, so they hospitalized me ... and released a lot of fluid around my heart," he told Channel 4's Tammie Fields.Prater has changed a lot in his diet since then.Dr. Alan Miller, who treated Prater, is encouraged by how well he's doing, but knows there are many more people out there who don't even know they're at risk for heart failure.That's why the Cardiovascular Center at Shands-Jacksonville Medical Center is putting on a free forum about heart failure to arm blacks with the knowledge they need."The personal score you should know are your risk factor numbers ... particularly your blood pressure," Miller said. "And it would be nice to know your cholesterol numbers, too, so you could alter your diet .. .alter your lifestyle."Under a doctor's care, Prater is taking some medication, he's cut the salt out of his diet and started eating heart-healthy. He has lost 52 pounds."It was a long battle, but thank God I got through it," Prater said.The Forum on Heart Failure in African Americans is at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the Radisson Riverwalk Hotel. Those attending can get free checks of blood pressure and cholesterol, ask questions and listen to experts talk about the latest major breakthroughs in treating blacks with heart failure.Dinner is also free, but space is limited. Call (904) 244-4245 to reserve space.
Copyright 2005 by News4Jax.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
HEART DISEASE RESOURCES |
Copyright 2005 by News4Jax.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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