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Spirit e-Newsletter | February 2009 | Krist Samaritan Center | Touching Lives, Healing Hearts
“The best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard, but must be felt with the heart.” ~ Helen Keller | The heart is a miraculous thing. It pumps life into all human beings. It is the international symbol of love. And in religious texts, the heart is believed to have spiritual or divine attributes. The heart is everywhere, especially during the one month devoted to it. February is American Heart Health Month; and in tribute we’re taking a look at the connection between the heart and the mind. So sit back, relax and catch this month’s Spirit.
Take It to Heart: How Mental Health Can Affect Your Cardiovascular Health You’ve heard it before. Maintaining a good diet and exercise can help ward off heart disease. But were you aware that the state of your mental health can also affect your risk as well? Good mental health is just as important as other factors in the prevention of heart disease. So, what’s the connection? Psychological and social factors affect heart disease in many ways. The contribution of these factors to heart attacks is on par with smoking, high blood pressure, obesity and cholesterol problems. But how does mental health increase your risk? Mental health problems like stress, depression, anger, anxiety and isolation can take a toll on your heart. Depression, for instance, is linked to different chemical signals that affect the immune system. The signals contribute to the long-term development of heart disease; changing stable heart disease to unstable heart disease. Stress hormones constrict blood vessels, speed up the heartbeat and make the heart and blood vessels more reactive to further stress. Increases in C-reactive protein, interleukin-1 and tumor necrosis factor have been linked to psychological factors; which can signal an increased inflammation in artery-clogging atherosclerosis. What can I do? Ultimately, the mind and body are one system. Research strongly supports the idea that psychological factors are related to cardiovascular disease. Anger, depression, chronic stress and loneliness are all negative psychological factors that signal that there is a problem. So, to help you heart now and in the future, you should learn to better manage stress, address depression or control your anger. It may pay dividends for better heart health tomorrow.
Location Spotlight Each month, Spirit spotlights one of our partnering congregations to reveal how the Krist Samaritan Center is touching lives and healing hearts all across Houston. Katy Location – Living Word Evangelical Lutheran Church The Living Word Evangelical Lutheran Church in Katy encourages its congregation to experience the graciousness of God through singing, sharing, nurturing, education and service. Located at 3700 South Mason, the Center’s Katy counseling location is staffed by Dr. Jo Ann Formby on Mondays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Wednesdays 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.
[Photo: The Living Word Evangelical Lutheran Church in Katy]
Mark your calendars! A Samaritan Celebration 2009 - November 5, 2009 @ River Oaks Country Club
The Krist Samaritan Center graciously welcomes three new members to the 2009 Board of Directors.
[Photos: New 2009 Board Members]
17555 El Camino Real | Houston, Texas 77058 | 281.480.7554 | www.samaritanhouston.org
 
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