Heart Happenings Video Archive

The following presentations were made at the Brigham and Women's Hospital Shapiro Cardiovascular Center as part of a community education series, Heart Happenings. Click on each title to view the video in a separate window.

Living with Heart Failure: How to Be a Proactive Self-Advocate
Eldrin Foster-Lewis, MD, MPH
This workshop is designed to help patients with heart failure and their family members manage their disease and be proactive about their health. While new medications, approaches and devices have the potential to help heart failure patients to live longer, often only those patients most engaged in their care achieve benefits. In this session Dr. Lewis reviews simple ways to advocate for high quality heart failure care. Taped Feb 16th, 2011.


Could My Leg Cramps Be Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD)?
Joshua Beckman, MD, MS
This program will help you learn if you have the least recognized form of atherosclerosis (cholesterol plaques in blood vessels) resulting in blockages in the leg blood vessels. In this program, Joshue Beckman, MD, MS, will discuss who is at risk, what symptoms on should look for, and treatment approaches to help those with PAD to continue to walk and reduce the risks of heart attack and stroke. Taped Mar 16th, 2011.

Heart Failure: Your Questions Answered
Lynne Warner Stevenson, MD, FACC
This program will provide critical answers to the most common questions about heart failure: What is heart failure? What causes heart failure?  What are the symptoms?  How do we treat it? Taped April 20th, 2011.

Structural Heart Disease: New, non-surgical Approaches in a New Decade
Dr. Frederick Welt, MD
In this program, Dr. Welt will review new approaches to non-surgical therapies for valvular heart disease. Dr. Welt will review new devices and procedures, which are transforming care and weighing the risks and benefits of the options. Taped May 18th, 2011.

Women and Heart Disease: Know Your Numbers, Know Your Risk
JoAnne Foody, MD, FACC, FAHA
Although many people think of heart disease as a man's problem, women can and do get heart disease. In fact, heart disease is the number one killer of women in the United States. It is also a leading cause of disability among women. In this session, Dr. Foody will cover risk factors and prevention of heart disease in women, as well as treatment. Taped June 15th, 2011.

Living Better with Heart Failure: Diet, Exercise and Sex
Michael Givertz, MD
A discussion of lifestyle changes needed to improve heart failure management including diet, exercise, and advice about sexual activity will be the focus of this talk. Taped July 20th, 2011.

Taking Care after a Heart Attack
Payal Kohli, MD
We will discuss the general care of the patient after a heart attack.  This includes the key medications, treatment goals, and therapeutic lifestyle changes, including diet, exercise, and weight management. Taped August 17th, 2011.

Screening for Carotid Artery Disease: Am I at risk for a stroke?
Marie Gerhard-Herman, MD
Carotid artery disease is a chronic condition in which fatty deposits build up in the arteries, leading to clotting. Health screening for this condition can help predict risk of stroke as well as heart disease. This program will review important aspects of carotid artery disease and when screening might be appropriate. Taped September 21st, 2011. 

Minimally-invasive Heart Surgery: When Less is More
Michael Davidson, MD
Less is more when it comes to highly advanced heart surgeries these days. Smaller incisions that eliminate the need for sternotomy, or splitting of the chest bone, allow patients to get back on their feet faster and spend less time in the hospital. Join Dr. Michael Davidson as he reviews new approaches and options for heart surgery including specially designed smaller instruments and even robotically assisted techniques to perform minimally invasive procedures. Taped October 19th, 2011.

Diabetes and Heart Disease: Am I at Risk?
Jorge Plutzky, MD
Diabetes is a serious, lifelong condition in which the body can’t properly control the level of sugar in the blood. Insulin is a hormone that regulates sugar ( glucose) levels in the blood. Diabetes increases your risk for early death, heart disease, heart attack, and stroke, as well as kidney, nerve, and eye damage. This program will specifically review the risk of heart disease in patients with diabetes. Taped Nov 16th, 2011.