You At Your Best

L O C A T I O N & T I M E : Call 479-717-7710 to reserve your seat. Or register online at www.senior-smart-talk.com LO C AT I O N & T I M E : Embassy Suites - Rogers 3303 S. Pinnacle Hills Parkway 10-11:30 AM JOIN US FOR A SERIES OF CANDID CONVERSATIONS WITH LOCAL EXPERTS FOCUSED ON THE UNIQUE AND COMPLEX ISSUES FACING NWA'S SENIORS. FREE Seminar! February 20th Seminar: how to enjoy Life on a Fixed income! e golden years used to seem a little more "golden". It used to be that in ad- dition to social security benefits, many people would retire with a pension and could live off the interest earned on retirement savings. Add a lower cost of living and higher home equity to the equation, and living the good life was easy. Nowadays, retiring mostly means living on a fixed income. How do you live abundantly during your retirement years? Future Free eventS: march 12th: Getting your Personal Affairs in Order april 9th: Selling the Family Home may 14th: Nutrition and Overall Wellness you at your beSt StaFF Exercise can help people feel better about themselves and their appearance, and it has considerable effects on various parts of the body, including the heart. It can be one of the most effective ways to reduce the risk for cardiovascular issues like heart attack, high cholesterol and more. In fact, cardiologists at the New England Baptist Hospital say exercise is not only a risk preventative, but also a healing balm of sorts for heart health. Exercise can help the heart become more efficient and more capable of pumping blood throughout the body, and even light to moderate exercise can be highly effective at improving heart health. Harvard Medical School says exercise also promotes positive physiological changes, such as encouraging the heart's arteries to dilate more readily. Exercise also can help with the body's sympathetic nervous system (which controls heart rate and blood pressure) to be less reactive. Ischemic preconditioning is another way that exercise can potentially benefit the heart. According to a 2017 article in JAMA Cardiology, heart disease patients who exercised found that exercise could trigger short periods of ischemia, or reduced blood flow to the heart. After resting for a few minutes, these people saw improved performance when they renewed exercise and got their heart rates up. It is believed that small doses of IPC can help the heart adapt more readily with ischemia and avoid a major response issue down the road. Those at the Cardiovascular Performance Program at Harvard- affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital found that IPC could reduce damage from heart attack by as much as 50 percent. Physical activity also allows better blood flow in the small blood vessels around the heart, potentially preventing clogs that can lead to heart attacks. Furthermore, there is some evidence that exercise can help the body grow more blood vessel branches so there are additional routes blood can take if a usual path is blocked by fatty deposits or narrow arteries. Johns Hopkins Medical Center says exercise also works like a beta-blocker medication that can slow the heart rate naturally to alleviate hypertension. It also can raise levels of HDL, the good cholesterol in the body, helping to improve overall cholesterol levels. There are several reasons why exercise is important to heart health. It's never too late to get with a fitness regimen to prevent or reverse cardiac episodes. how exercise benefits your heart Northwest Arkansas seniors concerned about issues like housing, reverse mortgages, senior living options, selling a house in today's market and aging-in-place will want to attend an ongoing series of free education seminars happening in our community. The monthly Senior Smart Talk seminars, held at the Embassy Suites in Rogers, welcome adults 55+, seniors, and caregivers to learn about home ownership and post-retirement issues. The series is moderated by Alison Van Hecke, a leading authority on issues related to senior living solutions in Northwest Arkansas. As a Certified Senior Housing Professional, Alison has made it her mission to educate and guide clients on best practices related to post-retirement living. "People are tired of being 'sold' something only to find out later that there were either strings attached or they didn't get all the facts," Van Hecke asserts. "People deserve to know the reality before they make a significant life- changing decision. They don't want or need a sales pitch. They want truthful information from people they can trust so they can consider their options. And that's exactly what we're sharing in this series of educational expert seminars." Upcoming Senior Smart Talk seminars include "Let's Talk: Enjoying Life to the Fullest on a Fixed Income" on February 20, 2020, followed by "Let's Talk: Getting your Personal Affairs in Order" on March 12, 2020, and "Let's Talk: Selling the Family Home" on April 9, 2020. Sponsors of the series include: Lighthouse Group NWA - Keller Williams Market Pro Realty; Circle of Life; Grandbrook Memory Care; Home Instead Senior Care; RMP Law; Todd Whatley, PA; Senior Services NWA; Springwoods Behavioral Health; Handle With Care Move Management and Village on the Park. The seminars run from 10-11:30 a.m. and there is no cost to attend for those age 55 or older. Registration for professionals is $25. Reservations can be made online at www. senior-smart-talk.com or by calling 479-717-7710. Space is limited and pre-registration is required. Free Senior Smart Talk series continues alison Van Hecke, LMSW, CSHp, SreS SponSor Content SATURdAY, JAnUARY 25, 2020 | FEBRUARY - HAppY HEART nwAdg.cOm/YOUATYOURBEST | YOU AT YOUR BEST | 7

• Cover