can't hear the tv? it might not be your...

We need your help engaging TAVR patients as phone visitors. Help us reach our goal by en-gaging one to five TAVR patients in your chapter! Many chapter presidents and visiting chairs have begun establishing relationships with their hospital's TAVR nurse coordinators so that they can begin visiting patients undergoing a TAVR procedure. Ask those

TAVR patients to get involved and give back to others by asking each to be a Mended Hearts phone visitor! If you have been able to involve TAVR patients as visitors, please let us know, as we are tracking TAVR visitor names. For ques-tions, call Marcia Baker at (214) 390-6233 or email [email protected].

TAVR

APRIL 2017

Mended Hearts

Fancy new flat-screen TVs might be smart, or so they say, but their audio is proba-bly worse than the old sets.

One reason: Most new TV speakers are not facing you. They are either pointing down or toward the back.

For this reason, sometimes just moving a television can help with the sound. In one test, Wall Street Journal tech-nology columnist Geoffrey A Fowler found that simply taking a flat screen off the wall and setting it on a table made sounds easier to under-stand. The downward facing speakers needed something to bounce sound off of.

In fact, a TV that is very close to a wall or inside a cabinet may sound brassy.

Special audio modes can also be a culprit. So-

called Surround or Sleep modes can be responsible for muddy sound. Test them to see if you agree.

TVs and TV service are ex-pensive enough as it is, but if those tips didn't help your sound, try buy-ing external speakers. Most televi-sions are manufactured today with the idea that the consumer will buy speakers. In fact, few do.

Seniors might try the Zvox AccuVoice AV200 soundbar (about $250). It works with hearing aids, making voices louder and clearer than the TV alone, Fowler says.

In fact, some premium hearing aids can also act as wire-

less headphones. Ask your audiologist about this if people think your television is too loud.

Can't hear the TV?

It might not be your ears

Mended Hearts—8150 N. Central Expressway, Suite M2248—Dallas, TX 75206

Mended Hearts Elections: Mended Hearts has concluded the ballot count of our 2017-2019 elections and we are pleased to announce the election results.

Executive Committee President Donnette Smith Executive Vice President Millie Henn Vice President Patrick Farrant Treasurer Gordon (Gus) Littlefield MLH Vice President Angel Olvera Regional Directors Central G. Bruce Norris Mid-Atlantic Bill Carter Mid-West Larry Mantle Northeast Robert Hoffman Rocky Mountain Bob Oberfield Southern Marvin Keyser Southwest Lynn Berringer Western Ron Manriquez

We would also like to announce the appointment of our three new appointed board members, as follows. MLH Vice President Angel Olvera MLH Board Director Beth Gray Appointed Board Director Jack Britt

The idea was worked on by Saatchi & Saatchi New York, and the five different animation levels were created by Oscar-nominated company Studio AKA, with music by Stabbiolo Music. Watch Max's day out at giveafullerlife.com and share with #GiveAFullerLife

Mended Hearts National Conference Register today for the 65th Mended Hearts Education and Training Conference! 'Let Freedom Ring...Let Your Heart Sing' is this year's conference theme as chapter leaders, members, caregivers and professionals gather in Nashville for the Mended Hearts Education and Training Confer-ence. The July 3 - 7, 2017 event will be held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, 2800 Opryland Dr., Nashville, TN. This year's conference will offer invaluable ses-sions and breakout seminars, with keynote speakers focusing on heart-related topics for patients and care-givers. Exhibitors will include sponsors and vendors offering attendees an opportunity to ask questions and gather educational materials. When planning your trip to Nashville, consider coming in early or extending your stay. The Nash-ville fireworks show is known to be one of the best in the country. Invite your family to join you to en-joy all that Nashville offers! Conference details and online registration is now available at www.mendedhearts.org, or call 1-888-432-7899 for additional information.

Connections in a Heartbeat Launch Our new and exciting online support community for heart patients and CHD families is now open to both members and the public. To join the community, go to con-nect.mendedhearts.org and click on "I can't log in". An email asking you to create a password and login will be sent to the email we have listed for you in our data base. Once you are logged in you can join our communities, build a profile, connect with oth-ers, and ask questions. This powerful outreach tool will build a way for local chapters and groups to find members, will im-prove our ability to support others, and will help spread the message of Mended Hearts and Mended Little Hearts. We hope you will join us and get in-volved! If you have any questions or concerns getting started please feel free to email an-

'Give a Fuller Life' The more you donate, the better this animation gets... Mended Little Hearts recently launched our cam-paign called 'Give A Fuller Life' which shows how donating more money can improve the life of kids with congenital heart disease. The animated short follows a day in the life of Max Page, a real 11-year-old born with a Congenital Heart Disease (CHD). As you pledge to donate more money, Max's day gets more joyful, the animation grows more sophisticated and the music more beauti-ful.


Health Notes

Don't see a chiropractor if you have these conditions

About 27 million Ameri-cans see a chiropractor each year, according to a National Institutes of Health report. Most people are seen for back pain. You should not see a chi-ropractor for spinal manipu-lation if you are taking blood-thinning drugs such as war-farin. Other reasons to avoid the chiropractor, according to the newsletter Health After 50: Severe osteoporosis. Cancer in your bones or spine. Bone infection (osteomyelitis) Numbness or tingling in an arm or leg. Paget's disease, a condition that prevents the replacement of old bone tissue with new bone tissue. Rheumatoid arthritis, pso-riatic arthritis, or ankylosing spondylitis. Increased risk of stroke. Unstable spine. Most chiropractors do screen for these bone condi-tions.

Gender-based cancer treatments

Males have a 20 percent higher risk of cancer than females and part of the rea-son might be genetic. A study by the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Massa-chusetts General Hospital suggests that females carry an extra copy of protective genes in their cells. These protective genes reside on the X chromosome. Females have two X chromosomes and men have one. If the pro-

tective gene mutates, causing uncon-trolled cell division, cancer could de-velop. In females, protective genes on each X chromosome would have to mutate to cause cancer. Males have only one X chromosome so only one mutation could cause cancer. According to Duke Medicine, this study could lead to new gender-based cancer treatments focused on the mo-lecular mechanism for disease.

The headline is a clue to the answer in the diagonal.

Across

1. Computer monitor,

for short

4. Like thick smoke

9. "So that's it!"

10. Gray

11. "Buenos ___"

13. Basilica feature

14. Last in a series

16. Hence

17. Harvest goddess

18. "Life of ___"

20. Last syllables

22. Full house, e.g.

24. Heating device

25. Extraterrestrial

27. It's next to nothing

28. Newspaper section

29. ___ publica

Down

1. Ciphers

2. Safari sight

3. Warty amphibian

4. "Stubborn ___ a mule"

5. Enduring literary work

6. Absorbed

7. "___ alive!"

8. Batiking need

12. Do a slow burn

15. Make a choice

18. "Common

Sense" writer

19. British ___

20. The U of "Law

& Order: SVU"

21. Anchor

22. Lunch meat

23. A pint, maybe

26. Nyet

Triumphant winners


Personal digital assistants: Some uses for seniors

Amazon Echo and Google Home -- both Personal Digi-tal Assistants -- could be a great help to seniors. Or may-be not. The jury is somewhat out on the usefulness of these devices for seniors. The devices, which can serve as a smart librarian or DJ for your home, still have some limitations for seniors but they do have some useful features: * Time, date and weather - Ask any time you want and ask how many times you want. Echo's Alexa and Goog-le's Home will answer every time. * Encyclopedia - Information is big with these devices. Ask about history, famous people, literature, anything and you'll get an answer. * News - Both devices will read the news, even local news. * Jokes - They will tell you one (or more) every single day. * Music - Great for playing music from accounts like spotify. * Books - Buy books from Audible.com and these de-vices will read them. * Buying supplies - You can buy things like paper tow-els from Amazon with the Echo. Google Home also has some ordering capabilities. * Coming next: telephone answering with emergency calling. A senior with little technological experience will need help from a caretaker with a smartphone to set up the sys-tem. Once set up, the devices can be accessed with voice with fairly good results. But, buying new books or adding a music account will require a smartphone, computer or a helper.

Kids started this U.S. Easter tradition

In the 1800s, the rolling lawns of the U.S. Capitol were an irresistible target for kids on Easter Monday. One of the few days off for kids and adults, Easter Monday also included lots of leftover hard-boiled eggs. Naturally, the Capitol soon became the site of egg rolls, in which children would compete to see whose egg could roll farther without breaking. It became quite the thing. In fact, around 1876, 10,000 kids showed up to egg roll. According to history.com, the spectacle was so noisy that no business could be done in the House and Senate chambers. By the end of the day, the lawns were in ruin. Outraged Congressmen immediately wrote legislation protecting the Capitol turf. President Ulysses S. Grant signed the bill two weeks later. A showdown was avoided the next year when rain dis-couraged the annual invasion of egg rollers. Police discouraged the children the following year but, to the rescue, came President Rutherford B. Hayes who, on April 22, 1878, welcomed players to the White House backyard, the first official White House Easter Egg Roll. In those more innocent years, families picnicked on the lawns while the kids rolled eggs, leaving behind dead grass, trash, broken egg shells, and many hidden and -- increasingly smelly -- eggs. Cut to 1937 when the annual crowd grew to 50,000 people, inadequately accommodated on the South Lawn. Only WWII stopped the event and the increasingly enthu-siastic crowds. When the Roll resumed after post-war ra-tioning ended, it began to assume its modern, and much more controlled, form with an egg roll for little kids and various activities. Today, the White House holds a lottery to distribute 35,000 tickets for the Egg Roll. If you win one, get ready for hours of lines and a fairly short experience on the White House lawn, but a very memorable family photo.

100 years ago… US enters The Great War As the years of the 20th century opened, signs of war were everywhere and by 1914 Europe was fully involved in a war that would eventually kill 9 million soldiers and 7 million civilians. The United States stayed neutral until 1917. But, in the Atlantic, German submarines attacked any shipping ves-sel, even neutral ones. The subs sunk five American mer-chant ships by March 1917. At the same time, Germany tried to ally with Mexico in a war against the U.S. On April 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson called for war and Congress approved his resolution on April 6. Memorials planned National commemorative activities are planned for April 6, 2017 at the National World War I Museum in Kansas City, MO.

can't hear the tv? it might not be your...

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