Information that could save your life

I got this long letter from my friend Patti, who likes to find out things. I have made no attempt to verify this information, but it all seems reasonable. I’ve ignored newspaper style because her way of writing is personable and folksy and fun to read. Enjoy and learn!

How many folks do you know who say they don’t want to drink anything before going to bed because they’ll have to get up during the night?

Heart Attack and Water ­— I never knew all of this! Interesting ...

Something else I didn’t know ... I asked my doctor why people need to urinate so much at nighttime. Answer from my cardiac doctor — Gravity holds water in the lower part of your body when you are upright (legs swell). When you lie down and the lower body (legs and etc.) seeks level with the kidneys, it’s then the kidneys remove the water because it’s easier. This then ties in with the last statement!

I knew you need your minimum water to help flush the toxins out of your body, but this was news to me. Correct time to drink water ...

Very important. From a cardiac specialist!

Drinking water at a certain time maximizes its effectiveness on the body:

2 glasses of water after waking up — helps activate internal organs.

1 glass of water 30 minutes before a meal ­— helps digestion.

1 glass of water before taking a bath — helps lower blood pressure.

1 glass of water before going to bed — avoids stroke or heart attack.

I can also add to this ... My physician told me water at bed time will also help prevent nighttime leg cramps. Your leg muscles are seeking hydration when they cramp and wake you up with a charley horse.

Dr. Virend Somers is a Cardiologist from the Mayo Clinic, who’s lead author of the report in the July 29, 2008, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. He notes:

Most heart attacks occur in the day, generally between 6 a.m. and noon. Having one during the night, when the heart should be most at rest, means that something unusual happened. Somers and his colleagues have been working for a decade to show sleep apnea is to blame.

1. If you take an aspirin or a baby aspirin once a day, take it at night.

The reason: Aspirin has a 24-hour “half-life;” therefore, if most heart attacks happen in the wee hours of the morning, the aspirin would be strongest in your system.

2. FYI, aspirin lasts a really long time in your medicine chest, for years, (when it gets old, it smells like vinegar).

Something that we can do to help ourselves — nice to know. Bayer is making crystal aspirin to dissolve instantly on the tongue. They work much faster than the tablets.

Why keep aspirin by your bedside? It’s about heart attacks.

There are other symptoms of a heart attack, besides the pain on the left arm. One must also be aware of an intense pain on the chin, as well as nausea and lots of sweating; however, these symptoms may also occur less frequently.

Note: There may be no pain in the chest during a heart attack.

The majority of people (about 60 percent) who had a heart attack during their sleep didn’t wake up. However, if it occurs, the chest pain may wake you up from your deep sleep.

If that happens, immediately dissolve two aspirins in your mouth and swallow them with a bit of water.

Afterwards: Call 911. Phone a neighbor or a family member who lives close by. Say, “Heart attack!” Say you have taken two aspirins.

Take a seat on a chair or sofa near the front door, and wait for their arrival and ... don’t lie down!

A cardiologist has stated if each person after receiving this email sends it to 10 people, probably one life could be saved!

I have already shared this information. What about you?

Do forward this message. It may save lives!

A “life risking” test

In prep for my annual visit to Burning Man I have been beefing up my normally right lunches. So the other day I went to a major fast food franchise for lunch — cheeseburger, French fries and iced tea.

Not very good. All was done according to franchise rules — paper sack, napkins and all — but the meal itself was a loser. The hamburger was soggy and mushy, fries dried sticks with no taste. But the iced tea was fine. Not a good or satisfying lunch, so then I went to the Viet Pho on Highway 50. A half Vietnamese sandwich of slightly spicy pork in a fresh all encompassing roll. Filled with fresh lettuce and a light sauce.

Cost was about the same, but pleasure much greater. (I name the outlet because it’s not a national franchise so we don’t have advertising battles).

Tomorrow I will try a sandwich from the supermarket. Don’t look forward to it.

Sam Bauman writes about senior affairs, among other things, for the Nevada Appeal.