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Heart attack rate higher than average
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| H&N photo by Andrew Mariman Ray Rutler, right, Betty Senser and Jerry Budy joke around as they participate in a cardiac exercise class Friday at Harbor Isles Tennis and Fitness Club. |
6 percent of Klamath adults have had a heart attack
By STEVE KADEL
H&N Staff Writer
Ray Rutler of Klamath Falls was living a risky lifestyle for anyone hoping to avoid a heart attack.
His job as a U.S. Navy flight engineer was often stressful. To unwind, he smoked cigarettes and drank alcohol on a regular basis.
Rutler, who will be 73 on Jan. 1, was a five-pack-a-day smoker for much of his Navy career.
“I felt good, but they were always after me for my weight,” he said, adding he weighed 180 pounds but the Navy wanted him at 150. “I told them I never weighed 150 since the sixth grade.”
He finished his Navy career in 1980, retiring after 23 years with no apparent health problems.
That changed in 1994 when he suffered a heart attack.
The first symptoms were tiredness and numbness in his left arm. He was hospitalized for a couple of days before undergoing quadruple bypass heart surgery.
Afterward, doctors recommended rehabilitation classes that included exercise and nutritional information. Rutler, who used to enjoy eating tasty but unhealthy treats, willingly complied.
“I was one of Marie Callender’s best customers before that,” he said. “I ate a lot of pie.”
The new Ray Rutler was much more aware of what he consumed.
“I knocked off my drinking and my sweets, and the food with high cheese content,” he said. “I cut back on the salts. I still have a problem with chocolates, but I’ve cut back a lot.”
In addition, he faithfully did all the aerobic exercise that doctors prescribed. Still, by 2002 his blood vessels were clogging up again.
“I started feeling some of the same symptoms,” Rutler said. “Little pangs in my heart.”
He traveled by ambulance to Medford, where a heart team at Rogue Valley Medical Center put three stents in his heart to keep the vessels open and blood flowing freely.
“I got back to feeling good again,” Rutler said.
He continued the same rehabilitation regimen, exercising on a treadmill for a half hour every day and exercising with a group three times a week. He also attended nutrition classes, and his wife helped by cooking low-fat meals for them both.
“She made me into a rabbit,” Rutler said with a chuckle.
He did OK for a few more years, but last January he needed yet another stent in one of his bypasses. Again, the procedure was done in Medford.
Today, Rutler is part of the three-times-per-week exercise group that meets at Harbor Isles Racquet and Fitness Club. The group used to work out at Sky Lakes Medical Center in its cardiac rehabilitation program, but that outpatient program was discontinued May 30 as a cost-saving measure.
Despite regular workouts and careful eating, Rutler still carries more weight than he should. That’s something Dr. George Kubac of the Klamath Heart Clinic preaches against.
“We can all be lighter by 25 pounds,” he said, adding that extra weight carries the possibility of diabetes, high cholesterol, and increased pulmonary problems.
“Weight is a big, big thing,” Kubac said.
The physician is a proponent of regular daily exercise, saying aerobic exercise can have profound benefits. He suggests walking 20 to 30 minutes three or four times a week. The pace should be fast enough to prevent carrying on a conversation, he said.
Such exercise elevates HDLs, the so-called “good” cholesterol, lowers blood pressure and even reduces depression, Kubac said.
He mentioned several symptoms that may signal an oncoming heart attack. Those include a heaviness or tightness in the chest.
“It’s not a stabbing pain, sometimes it’s mild,” he said.
The doctor also said nausea can be a symptom, as can breathlessness, weakness or sweating.
Kubac recommends a diet rich in fiber, vegetables and fruits. But he said genetics play a big role in predicting a heart attack.
That’s evidently true in Rutler’s case. His mother and father both had heart surgery.
Rutler is concentrating on exercise and diet — two things he can control. He advises people to reduce their red meat and cheese consumption.
“Pizza is one of the worst foods to have because of all the cheese,” he said.
If you eat meat, he added, the portion should be no bigger than a deck of cards.
“Reduce the size of your dinner plate,” he said, and eat garlic and onion.
He acknowledged that the older a person gets, the more difficult it is to lose weight. “It seems like you just look at food and you gain,” he said. But he keeps trying, and healthy eating habits and exercise are everyday concerns.
“It’s just a lifestyle,” Rutler said.
How Klamath County compares
Heart attack is one of eight chronic conditions that make Klamath County residents among the unhealthiest in the state, according to a survey by the Klamath County Health Department and the Healthy Active Klamath Coalition.
Melissa Klegseth of the Health Department said the prevalence of adult heart attack is statistically higher here than the state average. Six percent of Klamath County adults have had a heart attack, compared with 4 percent of all Oregon adults, she said.
Read more about how to prevent heart attacks in Sunday's print edition of the Herald and News.
His job as a U.S. Navy flight engineer was often stressful. To unwind, he smoked cigarettes and drank alcohol on a regular basis.
Rutler, who will be 73 on Jan. 1, was a five-pack-a-day smoker for much of his Navy career.
“I felt good, but they were always after me for my weight,” he said, adding he weighed 180 pounds but the Navy wanted him at 150. “I told them I never weighed 150 since the sixth grade.”
He finished his Navy career in 1980, retiring after 23 years with no apparent health problems.
That changed in 1994 when he suffered a heart attack.
The first symptoms were tiredness and numbness in his left arm. He was hospitalized for a couple of days before undergoing quadruple bypass heart surgery.
Afterward, doctors recommended rehabilitation classes that included exercise and nutritional information. Rutler, who used to enjoy eating tasty but unhealthy treats, willingly complied.
“I was one of Marie Callender’s best customers before that,” he said. “I ate a lot of pie.”
The new Ray Rutler was much more aware of what he consumed.
“I knocked off my drinking and my sweets, and the food with high cheese content,” he said. “I cut back on the salts. I still have a problem with chocolates, but I’ve cut back a lot.”
In addition, he faithfully did all the aerobic exercise that doctors prescribed. Still, by 2002 his blood vessels were clogging up again.
“I started feeling some of the same symptoms,” Rutler said. “Little pangs in my heart.”
He traveled by ambulance to Medford, where a heart team at Rogue Valley Medical Center put three stents in his heart to keep the vessels open and blood flowing freely.
“I got back to feeling good again,” Rutler said.
He continued the same rehabilitation regimen, exercising on a treadmill for a half hour every day and exercising with a group three times a week. He also attended nutrition classes, and his wife helped by cooking low-fat meals for them both.
“She made me into a rabbit,” Rutler said with a chuckle.
He did OK for a few more years, but last January he needed yet another stent in one of his bypasses. Again, the procedure was done in Medford.
Today, Rutler is part of the three-times-per-week exercise group that meets at Harbor Isles Racquet and Fitness Club. The group used to work out at Sky Lakes Medical Center in its cardiac rehabilitation program, but that outpatient program was discontinued May 30 as a cost-saving measure.
Despite regular workouts and careful eating, Rutler still carries more weight than he should. That’s something Dr. George Kubac of the Klamath Heart Clinic preaches against.
“We can all be lighter by 25 pounds,” he said, adding that extra weight carries the possibility of diabetes, high cholesterol, and increased pulmonary problems.
“Weight is a big, big thing,” Kubac said.
The physician is a proponent of regular daily exercise, saying aerobic exercise can have profound benefits. He suggests walking 20 to 30 minutes three or four times a week. The pace should be fast enough to prevent carrying on a conversation, he said.
Such exercise elevates HDLs, the so-called “good” cholesterol, lowers blood pressure and even reduces depression, Kubac said.
He mentioned several symptoms that may signal an oncoming heart attack. Those include a heaviness or tightness in the chest.
“It’s not a stabbing pain, sometimes it’s mild,” he said.
The doctor also said nausea can be a symptom, as can breathlessness, weakness or sweating.
Kubac recommends a diet rich in fiber, vegetables and fruits. But he said genetics play a big role in predicting a heart attack.
That’s evidently true in Rutler’s case. His mother and father both had heart surgery.
Rutler is concentrating on exercise and diet — two things he can control. He advises people to reduce their red meat and cheese consumption.
“Pizza is one of the worst foods to have because of all the cheese,” he said.
If you eat meat, he added, the portion should be no bigger than a deck of cards.
“Reduce the size of your dinner plate,” he said, and eat garlic and onion.
He acknowledged that the older a person gets, the more difficult it is to lose weight. “It seems like you just look at food and you gain,” he said. But he keeps trying, and healthy eating habits and exercise are everyday concerns.
“It’s just a lifestyle,” Rutler said.
How Klamath County compares
Heart attack is one of eight chronic conditions that make Klamath County residents among the unhealthiest in the state, according to a survey by the Klamath County Health Department and the Healthy Active Klamath Coalition.
Melissa Klegseth of the Health Department said the prevalence of adult heart attack is statistically higher here than the state average. Six percent of Klamath County adults have had a heart attack, compared with 4 percent of all Oregon adults, she said.
Read more about how to prevent heart attacks in Sunday's print edition of the Herald and News.
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