Sports Icons Visit Seattle to Help Residents Get ‘Back in Full Swing’ After a Damaging Heart Attack
SEATTLE, July 12 /PRNewswire/ — Nancy Lopez, Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Hall of Famer and winner of 48 LPGA titles, and her husband Ray Knight, former third baseman for the Mets and 1986 World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP), arrive in Seattle this week as part of the “Back in Full Swing” campaign to share their personal experiences to help families get back on track after a heart attack and take pleasure in daily activities again. The husband and wife team will share their personal stories and provide tips for living life after a heart attack. More than two thousand Washington residents die from heart attacks each year. The “Back in Full Swing” campaign is sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline.
“I always thought of myself as bullet proof because of my generally healthy lifestyle and athletic career,” said Ray Knight. “When I found out that I had suffered a heart attack that damaged my heart, I was scared, concerned, anxious and upset. Fortunately with the help of my strong and supportive family and the medical direction of my doctor, I have a new sense of hope and optimism about my life and am back to doing the type of activities I used to do before my heart problems were discovered.”
“After witnessing my father die from heart failure, you can imagine how incredibly frightened I was when we learned Ray had suffered a heart attack,” stated Nancy Lopez. “The thought of losing Ray is unbearable, so we work together to make sure he lives a long, healthy life — hopefully one without another heart attack. I am glad to be here in Seattle to share my story.”
As part of the “Back in Full Swing” campaign, Nancy and Ray will visit several cities, including Seattle, sharing their stories and tips to inspire others to live an active life after a damaging heart attack and take action to reduce the risk of a future heart attack. To download a list of Nancy and Ray’s tips, learn more about their stories and the campaign, log on to http://www.backinfullswing.com/ .
Nancy Lopez and Ray Knight: A Grand Slam Combination
Nancy is widely recognized for being one of the most important contributors to popularizing women’s golf. Ray is known for his career as a professional baseball player and manager, as well as an established commentator and sports analyst for ESPN. While both have mastered their careers as professional athletes, one important challenge remains in their personal lives — heart disease, a condition that affects over 70 million Americans. Since Nancy’s father’s death from heart failure, and in light of Ray’s recent damaging heart attack, the husband and wife team continue to be passionate about taking heart health seriously. They work together as a family to prevent future heart problems by healthy eating, routine exercise, a positive attitude and seeking appropriate medical interventions.
“Ray and I work as a team to protect him from another heart attack. Health is a top priority in our lives so we arm ourselves with important information about eating right, staying active and taking regular trips to the doctor,” said Lopez. My father took Coreg for his congestive heart failure and I believe it helped extend his life. “Recently, Ray’s cardiologist also prescribed Coreg to help protect his heart. Since focusing on his health, Ray has a more positive outlook on life.”
Heart Attacks: The Most Visible Heart Problem
Each year in the United States, nearly one million people suffer from heart attacks, known medically as myocardial infarctions, which occur when the blood supply to part of the heart muscle is severely reduced or blocked. This narrowing of the coronary vessels is often linked with risk factors such as smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, physical inactivity and obesity. Family history may also be a risk factor.
About Coreg
Coreg(R) (carvedilol) is part of a class of medications called beta- blockers. Beta-blockers inhibit the action of certain hormones, including adrenaline, that can cause negative effects on the heart and blood flow in heart attack patients.
Coreg is marketed by GlaxoSmithKline in the United States and is the only beta-blocking agent FDA approved to save lives in heart attack patients with left ventricular dysfunction (or a damaged heart). Coreg was the first agent with beta-blocking properties to be approved by the FDA for the treatment of heart failure and is the only beta-blocking agent indicated to increase survival in mild, moderate and severe heart failure. Coreg also is indicated for the treatment of essential hypertension.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
Patients taking Coreg should avoid stopping therapy abruptly. With certain beta-blocking agents, stopping therapy abruptly has led to chest pain, and in some cases, heart attack and serious heartbeat problems (also known as ventricular arrhythmias). The dosage of Coreg should be reduced gradually over a 1- to 2-week period, and the patient should be carefully monitored.
As with any medicine, there are some people who should not take Coreg. The people who should not take Coreg include those with severe heart failure who are hospitalized in the intensive care unit. Also, people who require certain intravenous medications that help support their circulation (inotropic medications) should not receive Coreg. Other people who should not take Coreg are those with asthma or other breathing problems, those with a very slow heartbeat or heart that skips a beat (irregular heartbeat), those with liver disease, and those who are allergic to Coreg.
If you have diabetes, overactive thyroid disease, or peripheral vascular disease, or are planning to have any type of surgery soon, you may not be able to take Coreg.
Some common side effects associated with Coreg include shortness of breath, a slow heartbeat, weight gain, fatigue, hypotension, dizziness or faintness. People taking Coreg who have any of these symptoms should call their doctor. Additionally, if patients experience fatigue or dizziness, they should sit or lie down and avoid driving or hazardous tasks. People with diabetes should report any changes in blood sugar levels to their physician. Contact lens wearers may produce fewer tears or have dry eyes. As with any medicine, patients taking Coreg should also first tell their doctor what other medications they are taking. For more information on Coreg, visit http://www.coreg.com/ .
For full prescribing information on Coreg, call GSK’s U.S. Customer Response Center at 1-888-825-5249 or visit http://www.gsk.com/ .
About GlaxoSmithKline
GlaxoSmithKline — one of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies — is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer.
GlaxoSmithKline
CONTACT: Michael Fleming of GlaxoSmithKline, +1-919-483-2839; MelissaFurrie of Cohn & Wolfe, +1-212-798-9845, for GlaxoSmithKline
Web site: http://www.backinfullswing.com/http://www.coreg.com/http://www.gsk.com/