May ˜˚˛˜ Baylor BaylorHealth.com/ Health...

BaylorHealthMay 2012

A UNIQUE BOUTIQUEA new resource for women opens at Baylor Irving PAGE 7

HIGH-TECH HEART CARENew procedures are helping patients get healthy PAGE 3

IRVING EDITION

Visit BaylorHealth.com/Irving for informative videos, interactive quizzes, online event registration, and much more.

Man Up for Your Health

Men are notorious for avoiding the doctor. But WAYNE REYNOLDS is alive today because he sought treatment when he needed toPAGE 4

REAL PATIENTS. REAL STORIES.

Wayne is pictured with his wife, Martha.

Health

FdBL051205_Irving2.indd 1 3/21/12 4:22 PM

Let’s face it, stress is a part of life. If left unchecked, however, stress can lead to anxiety, high blood pressure, insom-nia, digestive upset and other health problems. “Stress can also affect your relationships and can intensify aches and pains,” says Crystal R. Foster, M.D., MPH, family medicine physician on the medical staff of Baylor Medical Center at Irving.

She offers five quick, calming techniques.

1. Deep breathing. Inhale for four seconds, hold for seven seconds and exhale for eight seconds. Do this three times. “It helps relax the mind, particularly if you’re in a stressful situation,” Dr. Foster says.

2. relax your muscles. First tense up your muscles and then relax, starting with your shoulders and moving down to the feet. (For example, with your shoulders, tense your upper arms and shoulders, hold

When Stress Won’t StopStress won’t go away? Sometimes bigger adjustments are neces-sary. The American Psychological Association recommends these strategies to ease chronic stress:

• Set limits• Reach out to your support

system• Make one health-related

change (such as exercising or quitting smoking)

• Enhance your sleep quality• Try to be positive• Seek help from a licensed men-

tal health professional

Baylor Medical Center at Irving 1901 N. MacArthur Blvd. Irving, TX 75061 • 972.579.8100; Baylor Health Center at Irving-Coppell 400 W. Interstate 635 at MacArthur Blvd. Irving, TX 75063 • 972.785.5500 President: Cindy Schamp; Marketing Director: Grant Farrimond; Main Switchboard: 972.579.8100; Patient Information: 972.579.4358; Physician Referral: 1.800.4BAYLOR (1.800.422.9567); Irving Cancer Center: 972.579.4300; Irving Women’s Pavilion of Health: 972.579.8240; Irving Imaging Centers (Mammography): 2001 N. MacArthur Blvd., Suite 250 • 972.254.1616; 440 W. Interstate Hwy. 635, Suite 120A • 972.785.5650; 2740 N. State Hwy. 360, Suite 200 • 972.579.4480; 24-Hour Emergency Department: 972.579.8110; Human Resources Job Line: 972.579.8750

Baylor Health Care System Mission: Founded as a Christian ministry of healing, Baylor Health Care System exists to serve all people through exemplary health care, education, research and community service. Visit BaylorHealth.com or call 1.800.4BAYLOR for information about Baylor Medical Center at Irving services, upcoming events, physician referrals, career opportunities and more.

BaylorHealth is published six times a year by McMurry. © 2012 Baylor Health Care System. The material in BaylorHealth is not intended for diagnosing or prescribing. Consult your physician before undertaking any form of medical treatment or adopting any exercise program or dietary guidelines. Physicians are members of the medical staff at one of Baylor Health Care System’s subsidiary, community or affiliated medical centers and are neither employees nor agents of those medical centers, Baylor Medical Center at Irving, Baylor Health Center at Irving Coppell or Baylor Health Care System. Photographs may include models or actors and may not represent actual patients. If you are receiving multiple copies, need to change your mailing address or do not wish to receive this publication, please send your mailing label(s) and the updated information to Robin Vogel, Baylor Health Care System, Marketing Department, 2001 Bryan St., Suite 750, Dallas, TX 75201, or email the information to [email protected].

Help When You Need ItOur mental health professionals are available 24/7 for crisis intervention or simply to help you understand treatment options. To learn more, call 1.800.4baylor (1.800.422.9567).

for five seconds, and then release.) “This helps relax your sympathetic nervous system—the one that says ‘fight or flight.’ You’re telling it to calm down, and this helps relax,” Dr. Foster says.

3. exercise. “We know for sure that exercise helps increase ‘happy hormones,’ ” Dr. Foster says, adding that a quick walk around the block or a jaunt up a few flights of stairs can help beat stress.

4. guiDeD imagery. With this strategy, which Dr. Foster frequently employs in between patient visits or during breaks, “go to a pleas-ant or relaxing image in your mind,” she says. “This puts unpleasantness or stress to the side.”

5. tap the power of prayer. For spiritual people, Dr. Foster says tak-ing a moment to meditate or pray can help you relinquish control and trust a higher power for the outcome.

2 BaylorHealth.com/Irving

Fight Stress on the FlyThese quick, calming techniques can help you cope with life’s challenges


Healing HeartsNew procedure for clearing clotsWith neW equipment and new techniques, doctors on the medical staff at Baylor Medical Center at Irving can remove clots and masses from the heart, major veins or pulmonary arteries through an incision in the groin, eliminating the need for open heart surgery and reducing recovery time and the risk of complications.

Michal Savcenko, M.D., a cardiothoracic surgeon on the medical staff at Baylor Irving, says that just a handful of hospitals in the United States are offering this treatment option.

With the system, called the AngioVac® aspiration system, doc tors thread a tiny tool from a vein in the groin to the clot or mass. Once the tool reaches the blockage, doctors can aspirate and remove it, allowing blood to again flow freely through the vessel.

Faster recovery, easier HealingWithout the system, people with these clots or masses would face open heart surgery. “In open heart surgery we’re cracking the chest, stopping the heart and putting the patient on a heartlung machine,” Dr. Savcenko says. It’s a major surgical procedure. Afterward,

people typically spend seven to 10 days in the hospital and a month recovering at home.

With AngioVac, people can sometimes go home after a day. (Those who require blood thinners after the procedure may need another day in the hospital to adjust their medication.)

The hybrid operating room at Baylor Irving, which combines a traditional operating room with a cardiac catheterization lab, provides the specialized space and equipment doctors need to treat patients with AngioVac.

The aspiration system works best in acute cases, when clots are fresh and relatively easy to aspirate, Dr. Savcenko says. “Those who fit the criteria can avoid major surgery.”

Know the SignsIt’s important to call 911 immedi-ately upon signs of a heart attack. These signs include:

• Pain or discomfort in your back, neck, jaw, stomach, or one or both arms

• Shortness of breath• Cold sweats• Nausea• Lightheadedness• Fatigue or lack of energy

About 1.2 million people in the United States have heart attacks every year.

1.2 million

Get Smart About Heart Care

Take steps now to avoid heart disease in the future. Talk to

your doctor about what you can do to build a healthier heart. Need a doctor? Visit FindDrright.com or call 1.800.4Baylor for a physician referral.

BaylorHealth.com/Irving 3


Like Reynolds, you may think you’re too busy for an annual physical, screening test or minor medical procedure. But “sacrifi cing an hour or an afternoon or even two or three days of your life is a lot more effi cient than sacrifi cing weeks and months of your life” for treating more-advanced disease, Reynolds says.

Here’s what you can do to guard against common diseases that strike men:

THREAT: CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASEStrategy: Get your numbers in line

“The number-one killer of men is cardiovascular disease,” says Shaun McMurtry, M.D., a family medicine physician on the medical staff at Baylor Regional Medical Center at Grapevine. When fatty plaque deposits build up in blood vessels, they can cause heart attack or stroke.

Just like tracking business goals, you can’t measure your progress if you don’t know your numbers. Keep an eye on your blood pressure, cholesterol and weight.

“Generally speaking, you’re not going to feel bad from high blood pressure or cholesterol,” Dr. McMurtry says. “So you don’t know you have them until you get the screening done.”

Improving your diet and exercise habits can help modify weight and cholesterol and blood pressure levels. If lifestyle changes aren’t enough, medication may help reduce your heart disease risk.

THREAT: CANCERStrategy: Talk to your doctor about necessary screenings

Lung, prostate and colon cancer are the top three cancers in men. “Screening is the biggest way to catch colon cancer in its early stages,” Dr. McMurtry explains. “Anytime you can catch a cancer early, before it spreads, you have a better outcome.” If everyone older than 50 would get recommended screening tests, colon cancer deaths could be reduced by as much as 60 percent, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.

“It’s important to have regular visits with your primary care doctor

so you know if you need to screen earlier,” Dr. McMurtry

says. You can also discuss the risks and benefi ts of

screening for prostate cancer by means of a digital rectal exam or prostate-specifi c antigen testing.

Smoking is the culprit for about 90 percent of lung cancer deaths in men. “If you don’t smoke, don’t start,” Dr. McMurtry says. “If you do, quit.”

See your doctor if you experience symptoms such as chest pain, chronic cough, coughing up blood or unexplained weight loss.

THREAT: DIABETESStrategy: Be physically active and lose a little bit of weight

Being overweight and inactive are two major risk factors for type 2 diabetes. “Losing weight and exercising have been proven to decrease your risk of developing diabetes,” Dr. McMurtry says. Losing just 5 to 7 percent of your body weight can delay or prevent diabetes, according to a National Institutes of Health study. Even without weight loss, exercise can help lower blood sugar, other research has shown.

“Diabetes aff ects every system in the body,” Dr. McMurtry says. Uncontrolled high blood sugar puts you at risk for heart disease, stroke, vision loss, kidney disease, erectile dysfunction, and nerve damage that causes a loss of feeling in the feet and legs.

It can be hard to make time for your health in the midst of work and family responsibilities, Reynolds acknowledges. “But if I’m gone, I can’t take care of my family. Your physical health is more important than anything else.”

Acting now can preserve your ability to enjoy life in the future. “You need to catch these health conditions in their early stages,” Dr. McMurtry says, “so you can prevent complications as you get older that can limit your ability to be active.”

Watch Wayne’s StoryTo hear more about Wayne’s story, visit BaylorHealth.com/Healthcast today.


SSmart strategies to defuse men’s top health threats

Live Longer, Live Stronger

Wayne Reynolds survived colon cancer, thanks to his good sense to see a doctor when he did and the support of his wife, Martha.


Smart strategies to defuse health threats

Live StrongerSmart strategies to defuse Live StrongerSmart strategies to defuse


4 To download a tipsheet about men’s health at midlife, visit BaylorHealth.com/Healthcast

Staying in shape is a priority for Wayne Reynolds. “I’ve always been extremely health conscious,” says the 55-year-old bank senior vice president. Because of bleeding polyps when he was 35, Reynolds had several colonoscopies in his 30s and 40s before getting an all-clear report when he was 48. Later, when bleeding cropped up again, internal hemorrhoids were diagnosed. But Reynolds felt that it wasn’t a big enough deal to want to take time away from his busy work and family life.

When Reynolds fi nally scheduled repair surgery in 2010, the surgeon discovered Reynolds also had a tumor in his colon. It took almost a year of chemotherapy, radiation and surgery to treat the stage-three cancer.

“If I had acted sooner, I might have been diagnosed with stage-one colon cancer,” Reynolds says. “It’s best to err on the side of current inconvenience instead of long-term inconvenience.”

Although he still struggles with chemo-induced peripheral neuropathy, making it diffi cult to feel his feet and be as active as he would like, today Reynolds’ cancer is gone and he is relieved.


Like Reynolds, you may think you’re too busy for an annual physical, screening test or minor medical procedure. But “sacrifi cing an hour or an afternoon or even two or three days of your life is a lot more effi cient than sacrifi cing weeks and months of your life” for treating more-advanced disease, Reynolds says.

Here’s what you can do to guard against common diseases that strike men:

THREAT: CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASEStrategy: Get your numbers in line

“The number-one killer of men is cardiovascular disease,” says Shaun McMurtry, M.D., a family medicine physician on the medical staff at Baylor Regional Medical Center at Grapevine. When fatty plaque deposits build up in blood vessels, they can cause heart attack or stroke.

Just like tracking business goals, you can’t measure your progress if you don’t know your numbers. Keep an eye on your blood pressure, cholesterol and weight.

“Generally speaking, you’re not going to feel bad from high blood pressure or cholesterol,” Dr. McMurtry says. “So you don’t know you have them until you get the screening done.”

Improving your diet and exercise habits can help modify weight and cholesterol and blood pressure levels. If lifestyle changes aren’t enough, medication may help reduce your heart disease risk.

THREAT: CANCERStrategy: Talk to your doctor about necessary screenings

Lung, prostate and colon cancer are the top three cancers in men. “Screening is the biggest way to catch colon cancer in its early stages,” Dr. McMurtry explains. “Anytime you can catch a cancer early, before it spreads, you have a better outcome.” If everyone older than 50 would get recommended screening tests, colon cancer deaths could be reduced by as much as 60 percent, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.

“It’s important to have regular visits with your primary care doctor

so you know if you need to screen earlier,” Dr. McMurtry

says. You can also discuss the risks and benefi ts of

screening for prostate cancer by means of a digital rectal exam or prostate-specifi c antigen testing.

Smoking is the culprit for about 90 percent of lung cancer deaths in men. “If you don’t smoke, don’t start,” Dr. McMurtry says. “If you do, quit.”

See your doctor if you experience symptoms such as chest pain, chronic cough, coughing up blood or unexplained weight loss.

THREAT: DIABETESStrategy: Be physically active and lose a little bit of weight

Being overweight and inactive are two major risk factors for type 2 diabetes. “Losing weight and exercising have been proven to decrease your risk of developing diabetes,” Dr. McMurtry says. Losing just 5 to 7 percent of your body weight can delay or prevent diabetes, according to a National Institutes of Health study. Even without weight loss, exercise can help lower blood sugar, other research has shown.

“Diabetes aff ects every system in the body,” Dr. McMurtry says. Uncontrolled high blood sugar puts you at risk for heart disease, stroke, vision loss, kidney disease, erectile dysfunction, and nerve damage that causes a loss of feeling in the feet and legs.

It can be hard to make time for your health in the midst of work and family responsibilities, Reynolds acknowledges. “But if I’m gone, I can’t take care of my family. Your physical health is more important than anything else.”

Acting now can preserve your ability to enjoy life in the future. “You need to catch these health conditions in their early stages,” Dr. McMurtry says, “so you can prevent complications as you get older that can limit your ability to be active.”



SSmart strategies to defuse men’s top health threats

Live Longer, Live Stronger


4 To download a tipsheet about men’s health at midlife, visit BaylorHealth.com/Healthcast

Staying in shape is a priority for Wayne Reynolds. “I’ve always been extremely health conscious,” says the 55-year-old bank senior vice president. Because of bleeding polyps when he was 35, Reynolds had several colonoscopies in his 30s and 40s before getting an all-clear report when he was 48. Later, when bleeding cropped up again, internal hemorrhoids were diagnosed. But Reynolds felt that it wasn’t a big enough deal to want to take time away from his busy work and family life.

When Reynolds fi nally scheduled repair surgery in 2010, the surgeon discovered Reynolds also had a tumor in his colon. It took almost a year of chemotherapy, radiation and surgery to treat the stage-three cancer.

“If I had acted sooner, I might have been diagnosed with stage-one colon cancer,” Reynolds says. “It’s best to err on the side of current inconvenience instead of long-term inconvenience.”

Although he still struggles with chemo-induced peripheral neuropathy, making it diffi cult to feel his feet and be as active as he would like, today Reynolds’ cancer is gone and he is relieved.

It’s A Guy ThingJoin men around the community for a free men’s health day, It’s a Guy Thing, on Saturday, June 23 from 7:30 to 11 a.m. at the Conference Center in Medical Offi ce Building II.

“When it comes to screenings we’re trying to save lives and pre-serve quality of life,” says Bryan Wasson, D.O., an internal medicine physician on the medical staff at Baylor Medical Center at Irving. Screenings can pick up warning signs for heart disease, stroke, peripheral vascular disease, kidney disease, diabetes and some cancers before you notice symptoms. “When you intervene earlier you have less of a problem,” Dr. Wasson adds.

The popular annual event will include panels of physicians special-izing in cardiology, orthopedics, family medicine, urology and other areas available to answer men’s health questions. Also off ered are screenings for:

• Blood pressure• Cholesterol• Glucose• Lung function• Vascular disorders• Body mass index and body fat

percentageHealth information will be avail-

able on:• Nutrition• Weight loss surgery• Spine conditions• Diabetes education

Don’t Miss This Men’s Health Day!It’s a Guy Thing is a free event, focused on men’s health, that features screenings and helpful health information. To fi nd out more or to register, call 1.800.4BAYLOR or visit BaylorHealth.com/Irving.

FdBL051205_Irving2.indd 5 4/9/12 9:07 AM

33.5%More than a third of U.S. adults have high blood pressure.

UNCONTROLLED HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE can lead to serious health issues, including heart disease, kidney disease and stroke. Baylor researchers are studying a new approach that could help normalize blood pressure—without medication.

The Symplicity trial is testing a minimally invasive procedure known as renal denervation. The experimental procedure uses heat that is generated by radio frequency to disrupt nerve communication to and from the kidneys. This can reduce overactivity in the sympathetic nervous system, a frequent cause of chronic high blood pressure.

“The sympathetic nervous system controls blood pressure and can cause hypertension initiated by life and stress,” says David L. Brown, M.D., principal investigator at THE HEART HOSPITAL Baylor Plano. “This investigational device is being tested to determine if it will disrupt

the sympathetic nervous system, which may signifi cantly lower blood pressure, stop multiple antihypertensive medications, and have an eff ect on other conditions aff ected by the sympathetic nervous system.”

Blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHg). Less than 120/80 is considered healthy. To enroll in the Symplicity trial, patients must have a blood pressure level in which the top (systolic) number is above 160. They must also be taking the maximum dose of three to fi ve diff erent blood pressure medications simultaneously

but not achieving the desired lower blood pressure levels.

“In previous studies of this device in limited numbers of people, this simple procedure reduced patients’ blood pressure by an average of about 30 mmHg, a reduction that persisted throughout subsequent assessments,” says Sonia Prashar, M.S., CCRC, research coordinator at THE HEART HOSPITAL Baylor Plano. Baylor Jack and Jane Hamilton Heart and Vascular Hospital also is participating in the study.

Participants will be randomly assigned into two groups: One group will have the renal denervation

procedure and the other group will not. (No one but the surgical team will know who is in each group.) Patients will be given home blood pressure monitors and followed up with frequently. After six months, participants who did not have the procedure may be given the option of having it done, if they still qualify.

If the study confi rms that renal denervation can result in a large, persistent decrease in blood pressure, it could be excellent news for people who have high blood pressure that isn’t being successfully controlled with medication.

“Improving blood pressure has a profound eff ect on longevity and reducing the risk of stroke,” says James W. Choi, M.D., primary investigator for the Symplicity trial at Baylor Hamilton Heart and Vascular Hospital. “Catheter-based renal denervation is an exciting, investigational treatment for patients with resistant hypertension who otherwise might not be able to be helped.”

Easing the PressureBaylor study investigates alternative to blood pressure medication

Do You Have High Blood Pressure?To enroll in the Symplicity trial, visit BaylorHealth.com/AdvancingMedicine.

6 BaylorHealth.com

FdBL051201_BUMC.indd 6 3/23/12 9:45 AM

ALL DOLLED UPSurvivor Gals boutique opens at Baylor Irving

About 2.6 million U.S. women have had breast cancer.

2.6 million

THINKSTOCK

33.5%More than a third of U.S. adults have high blood pressure.

UNCONTROLLED HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE can lead to serious health issues, including heart disease, kidney disease and stroke. Baylor researchers are studying a new approach that could help normalize blood pressure—without medication.

The Symplicity trial is testing a minimally invasive procedure known as renal denervation. The experimental procedure uses heat that is generated by radio frequency to disrupt nerve communication to and from the kidneys. This can reduce overactivity in the sympathetic nervous system, a frequent cause of chronic high blood pressure.

“The sympathetic nervous system controls blood pressure and can cause hypertension initiated by life and stress,” says David L. Brown, M.D., principal investigator at THE HEART HOSPITAL Baylor Plano. “This investigational device is being tested to determine if it will disrupt

the sympathetic nervous system, which may signifi cantly lower blood pressure, stop multiple antihypertensive medications, and have an eff ect on other conditions aff ected by the sympathetic nervous system.”

Blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHg). Less than 120/80 is considered healthy. To enroll in the Symplicity trial, patients must have a blood pressure level in which the top (systolic) number is above 160. They must also be taking the maximum dose of three to fi ve diff erent blood pressure medications simultaneously

but not achieving the desired lower blood pressure levels.

“In previous studies of this device in limited numbers of people, this simple procedure reduced patients’ blood pressure by an average of about 30 mmHg, a reduction that persisted throughout subsequent assessments,” says Sonia Prashar, M.S., CCRC, research coordinator at THE HEART HOSPITAL Baylor Plano. Baylor Jack and Jane Hamilton Heart and Vascular Hospital also is participating in the study.

Participants will be randomly assigned into two groups: One group will have the renal denervation

procedure and the other group will not. (No one but the surgical team will know who is in each group.) Patients will be given home blood pressure monitors and followed up with frequently. After six months, participants who did not have the procedure may be given the option of having it done, if they still qualify.

If the study confi rms that renal denervation can result in a large, persistent decrease in blood pressure, it could be excellent news for people who have high blood pressure that isn’t being successfully controlled with medication.

“Improving blood pressure has a profound eff ect on longevity and reducing the risk of stroke,” says James W. Choi, M.D., primary investigator for the Symplicity trial at Baylor Hamilton Heart and Vascular Hospital. “Catheter-based renal denervation is an exciting, investigational treatment for patients with resistant hypertension who otherwise might not be able to be helped.”

Easing the PressureBaylor study investigates alternative to blood pressure medication

Do You Have High Blood Pressure?To enroll in the Symplicity trial, visit BaylorHealth.com/AdvancingMedicine.

6 BaylorHealth.com

WOMEN WHO ARE UNDERGOINGCANCER TREATMENT no longer have to travel to Dallas, Fort Worth or Plano for products and services they need. A new boutique, Survivor Gals Specialty Products and Salon, is now open at Baylor Medical Center at Irving.

Jo Darling, R.N., nurse navigator at Baylor Irving, calls it “the most amaz-ing shop our survivors could hope for.” The women-owned, -operated and -staff ed shop off ers stylish wigs, fun scarves and hats, a range of clothes, a full line of mastectomy products, items that off er encouragement and more.

“There’s not another service like this within 10 miles,” Darling says. “Now, women don’t have to drive that distance at a time when they least feel like traveling.”

The location off ers private rooms for trying on wigs and mastectomy products with the assistance of car-ing certifi ed fi tters. And a licensed hairstylist can help convert wigs into desired styles.

REALIZING A DREAMThe boutique fulfi lls a desire of Darling’s that began in 2009, when, just six weeks after she started as oncology nurse navigator, she looked up from her desk to see the husband of one of her patients standing in the doorway. Mike Wietecha’s wife, Debbie, was undergoing breast surgery and he came to Darling asking for something pretty to help her recover when she woke up from surgery.

“That was the day I resolved no other husband would leave empty handed,” she says. “I wanted to be able

to provide services and support for anyone with a similar situation.”

The Wietechas were the guests of honor at the boutique’s grand open-ing. “This store is going to make such a diff erence for survivors in the Irving area,” says Debbie Wietecha. “When you go through treatment, you still want to feel beautiful, and the staff at Survivor Gals know what you’re going through and do everything they can to make you feel beautiful.”

Survivor Gals, in Irving Medical Offi ce Building I, is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with extended hours available by appointment. It accepts most insurance plans and will process the insurance paperwork for clients.

We’re Here to HelpSurvivor Gals off ers a unique line of services and products. To learn more about the boutique, or for location and direction information, please call 972.579.9700.

At Survivor Gals, You Will Find:

• Wigs• Scarves• Eyelash enhancers• Specialty pajamas• Skin care products• Compression garments

BaylorHealth.com/Irving 7


Baylor Health Care System 2001 Bryan Street, Suite 750 Marketing Department Dallas, TX 75201

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