Please read, the life you save may be your childrens HCM

Monday, March 19, 2012

I have Hypertropic Cardiomyopathy


I found out earlier this year I have Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, SCARY, HELL YES! Especially when my mom died from Dilated Cardiomyopathy, which the specialist believe start out as HCM (the kind I have) Even more scary is that this condition carries a 50% inherited rate!
This is the kind of heart problem that you hear most you athletes dropping dead of with sudden cardiac arrest! If you have a chance check out the story of Ben Breadlove...... you will forever be changed!



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/27/ben-breedlove-teen-tells-_n_1170854.html

let me know what you think of Ben's story!

What is Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM)?


To better understand what Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, HCM, is lets first talk about how cardiomyopathies are described.Cardiomyopathy is a condition in which the muscle of the heart is abnormal in the absence of an apparent cause. This terminology is purely descriptive and is based on the Latin deviation. HCM is a primary and usually familial cardiac disorder with heterogeneous expression, unique pathophysiology, and a diverse clinical course, for which several disease causing mutations in the genes encoding proteins of the cardiac sacomere have been reported. There are some forms of HCM, that are currently being debated by the medical community regarding how they should specificly be defined because the causethe hypertrophy in these cases is now understood to be from other mutations impacting either the storage of glycogen or lysosomal storage within the heart.While HCM has typically been recognized by its structure ie., hypertrophy, the electrical function of the heart are also adversely affected. There are four types of cardiomyopathy: "hypertrophic", "dilated", "restrictive" and "right ventricular".The main feature of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is an excessive thickening of the heart muscle (hypertrophy literally means to thicken). Thickening is seen in the ventricular septal measurement (normal range .08-1.2cm), and in weight. In HCM, septal or wall measurements may be in the range of 1.3cm to 6.0+cm anywhere in the left ventricle. Heart muscle may also thicken in normal individuals as a result of high blood pressure or prolonged athletic training. Furthermore, there is a fine line between and athletic heart, hypertensive heart disease and a heart with HCM.In Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), the muscle thickening occurs without an obvious cause. In addition, microscopic examination of the heart muscle in HCM is abnormal. The normal alignment of muscle cells is absent and this abnormality is called "myocardial disarray".Myocardial DisarrayThese diagrams contrast the regular, parallel alignment of muscle cells in a normal heart with the irregular, disorganized alignment of muscle cells or "myocardial disarray" found in some parts of the heart in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

To read more, http://www.4hcm.org

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Wow.... last post 2009! What's up with that!





















OK.... here we are on "Fat Tuesday" folks and I am resolving to vamp this blog up a bit! So for TODAYS blog post, I am going to show you all the last 2 club cards I did with my Thursday night gals! Let me know what you think!


















Monday, December 21, 2009

Kids dancing to the new "Just Dance" Wii Game!

This game is such a riot!
We had so much fun dancing to it!
Check out the boy's! .......Sorry about the camera drop!

This game, can be used with a camera that sits on your TV, and it rates your dance moves ( who is dancing closest to the game)
Kinda like karaoke but with dancing!
It is SO SCARY how this game can tell the difference between the 2 dancers!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Christmas decorating....or not




















You get the 20 boxes of Christmas decorations out, and look at them sitting in your living room for 4 days.

Add 4 little excited kids asking to help you decorate,

hey, stop running, don't touch those, sit on the couch please....

You rub your head wondering what you were thinking...

Glance over at the chair in the corner, spy your lovely kitty Link....

He has the right idea.....

Come on kids, back downstairs to play....

Guess for now I will continue looking at the boxes in my living room.....

If life after death is real...I want to come back as my cat link =}

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

I made some Christmas cookies....yum!!


Well,

last night I tried out a new Sugar cookie recipe, and all I can say is YUM!!!!

I did give in and eat one! =}


The cookies were nice and soft, but be sure to take them out BEFORE they brown on the edges, if you are going for soft, otherwise they are still great, just crisp!

The frosting came out GREAT!

You will find both recipes below!

Merry Christmas all!

Enjoy!
~Smiles~
Cathy



Soft Christmas Cookies


By: Georgie Bowers





Prep Time:20 Min
Cook Time:8 Min
Ready In:3 Hrs

Original Recipe Yield 4 dozen

Ingredients
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions
Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together, set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Gradually blend in the sifted ingredients until fully absorbed. Cover dough, and chill for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. On a clean floured surface, roll out small portions of chilled dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out shapes using cookie cutters.
Bake 6 to 8 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are barely brown. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.
Nutritional Information
Amount Per Serving Calories: 97 Total Fat: 4g Cholesterol: 9mg








The Best Icing EVER!!





Sugar Cookie Icing...By: JBS BOX





Prep Time:15 Min
Ready In:15 Min

Original Recipe Yield 1 dozen cookies' worth

Ingredients
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons milk
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
assorted food coloring



Directions



In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup.
Divide into separate bowls, and add food colorings to each to desired intensity. Dip cookies, or paint them with a brush.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Win a HP TouchSmart 600

Blog Candy!!! From Totally together!!

CHECK IT OUT!!!

HP TouchSmart 600


I've got a super cool computer I'm giving away, courtesy of HP and BlogHer. You can read all about it and enter for a chance to win over at Totally Together Reviews. The contest will run until 12/24/09, 5pm pacific.