Art for Hearts

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Something to get upset about?

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It's all true

I don’t really believe that there is a secret cabal that seeks to push unproven drugs on an unsuspecting public. I do however believe that Pharmaceutical companies are inherently greedy. If they can get drugs out early, they will. If they can use doctors to act as a salesforce, they will. Their primary loyalty is to their shareholders. None of this is in any way contentious. All of this was true when Thalidomide was made available ‘over the counter’ in Germany in 1957. One of the uses was to treat morning sickness but it caused severe birth defects in tens of thousands. It was taken off the market in 1961. It is now used to treat some cancers and leprosy among other things.

I am not here simply to vilify drug companies and doctors. I believe most ‘mistakes’ are made as a result of ineptness not malice. Nonetheless statins are probably one of the most profitable drugs of all time. Certainly one of the most widely prescribed. Another point around the whole issue is one of dogma. It was very certainly true that when I was put on statins in 2004, they were seen as the holy grail in cardiac medicine. Any dissent against their use was crushed. When I objected, I was roundly vilified and even warned that continued dissent may result in an existential threat to my life, that being from the medical profession itself. However, received wisdom has evolved. Doctors are much more willing, in general, to accept that statins are not necessarily the go to medication to treat mild risk of cardio-vascular disease. Many are, though. Dogma can evolve very quickly but mostly change happens slowly. Once you have an idea in your head and believe it to be absolutely true, it is very hard to get rid of it or change it even if you are presented with evidence that challenges that perceived truth. Perhaps the real point in all this is that treating heart disease is very profitable. Rates of death continue to rise. Surely it must be possible to prevent heart disease in the first place or at least do whatever you can to ameliorate its impact on society. But there’s no profit in that.

Artforhearts.org is all about preventing heart disease, I sincerely believe that stress is the principle cause of heart disease. Or rather that the effects of stress are not properly resolved by the body. Modern life does not really lend itself to offsetting the effects of stress particularly because most stress is chronic. Perhaps the real epidemic is caused by a dysfunction of the fight flight response to stress. I sincerely believe that so long as you do something that you feel passionate about as a way to reduce stress then rates of heart disease will decrease. I can’t see anything wrong with this argument. Please support Art for Hearts and spread the word.

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collaborative lie project

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collaborative lie project

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Collaborative lie project

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Collaborative lie project

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[npr]

“Trauma” is a heavy and haunting word. For many Americans, it conjures images of troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The emotional toll from those wars made headlines and forced a healthcare reckoning at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, a pediatrician, would like to see a similar reckoning in every doctor’s office, health clinic and classroom in America — for children who have experienced trauma much closer to home.

Burke Harris is the founder and CEO of the Center for Youth Wellness in San Francisco. She’s spent much of her career trying to spread awareness about the dangers of childhood toxic stress. Her 2014 TED talk on the subject has more than 3.5 million views; the message is simple and research-based:

Two-thirds of Americans are exposed to extreme stress in childhood, things like divorce, a death in the family or a caregiver’s substance abuse. And this early adversity, if experienced in high enough doses, “literally gets under our skin, changing people in ways that can endure in their bodies for decades,” Burke Harris writes in her new book, The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity.

What Do Asthma, Heart Disease And Cancer Have In Common? Maybe Childhood Trauma

Illustration: LA Johnson/NPR

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The real cost of stress 

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Roy back in hospital again. This time an infection on the incision site that would not heal with antibiotics. Once again, we were fearing for his leg. No amputation, surgery went well and we are hopeful. 2018 is going to be a great year! Roy will be stronger and more full of energy than he has been in 13 years. Peace and love.

[artforhearts]

1 way to spend Friday the 13th

Following Roy’s blood clot, his cardiovascular surgeon decided there was no choice but to do bypass surgery on his right leg. The stent in the aneurysm already clotted 2x... meaning it WOULD clot again. A ticking time bomb. Maybe in a year, maybe in a month, maybe next week. Each clot magnifies in intensity. Based on how close he was to losing his leg with this last one, the conclusion was obvious. One more clot = amputation. 

He went in yesterday, had an angio so the surgeon could see exactly what she’s dealing with. Bypass surgery today. He was on the slab for 10 hours!!!! The wonderful, charming, talented and delightful Dr. Obi ended up having to bypass from the groin to the ankle. Scarring to his veins caused by the fasciotomy this summer made her already tough job a whole lot tougher. 

U of M is a wonderful hospital. Every doctor, nurse and tech have bent over backwards to make Roy comfortable and ease his pain. He’ll be in for 3 weeks. One week of bypass recovery and 2 weeks of physical therapy and rehab for the leg. Then we have another couple of months of recovery. It’s a lot for him to handle, but this one will seriously improve his quality of life. 

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Out of the Blue

Just as I thought that I was really making progress everything changed. Turmoil. I was helping with the July 4th fireworks set up, I was to be a shooter, a real honour. 6 hours in 95 degree heat wiring keg after keg was enough. It started with an ache which came and went. By the time the display started I could hardly walk. I hung in though and was part of the team at ground zero. It was truly exhilarating with the mortars shaking the ground percussive explosions rattling your rib cage.  I loved it.  I tried to ignore the pain, alcohol assisted. (only after the display, of course!).

It turned out that my denial was almost to cost me my life.  The stent behind my right knee had developed another blood clot and this time much more serious. I don’t remember much of the following 10 days except for a world in the morphine twilight, pain and fear.

It feels as though I’m still in the middle of it.  The surgery was successful in that it saved my leg but complications have set in which threaten it again.  The results of the contrast CT scan weren’t good.  I guess that’s what happens when no one takes you seriously. (Thank you NHS). Severely symptomatic with no diagnosis for 8 years. 

The fight goes on. The war not won. Fear once again shrouds me. 

Sorry. 

Roy Sims - Co-founder of Art for Hearts.

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Art for Hearts’ painful setback

Roy was doing better. Much, much better. So well, in fact, he hadn’t used his cane to walk in 8 maybe 9 months. He was active, working on Art for Hearts full time and feeling really up and energetic. Then, on July 4th he got a blood clot in the stent behind his right knee. He was helping set up our really awesome and amazing family fireworks display and got dehydrated. We didn’t know dehydration increased the risk of clots (would’ve been good to know!!!)

Instead of flying home from Kansas, he ended up in the University of Kansas hospital for nearly 2 weeks. They busted the clot with an angio through the femoral artery (twice) and then he got Compartment Syndrome. This is a rare situation where the trauma of the blood flowing again causes the muscles to swell and push on nerves. This is very dangerous... if not correctly diagnosed and treated it leads to permanent nerve damage or worse, loss of the limb. 

The surgeon called it correctly and performed emergency surgery called a fasciotomy. This is an absolutely gruesome procedure in which they do about a 5 inch incision on each side of the leg - right through the fascia, the muscle and so deep it’s almost to the bone. Then they leave it unstitched. That’s right, unstitched. It heals from the inside out.

Every day Roy has to “pack” the wounds, which means shoving them full of gauze and then wrap the whole thing in a very particular fashion. This is one of the most excruciating things you can imagine. 

He still has both legs, and he’s healing nicely. No set backs (knock on wood) and no infections AND no problems with Warfarin they put him on. But it’s been 6 weeks and he still can’t really drive, still in too much pain to work much and overall very, very exhausted. 

Thank you for reading and thank you for sending your well wishes that he gets better very quickly so he can continue the important work he’s doing with Art for Hearts. 

Angela

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Closed on Farmbrook house. Electrician already working... this is going to be a beautiful home for a local Detroit artist. So proud.

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(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVVkW06RqWI)

Watch Roy inspire local 6th graders on our wildly successful Livernois Art Walk in Detroit. The kids learned about a variety of artistic media, got to make their own ceramic tile and, most importantly, learned how important it is to have a creative outlet to reduce stress, a leading cause of heart disease. Keep your heart healthy and have fun while exploring your creative side!

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Four dumpsters full of debris have been removed from the Berkshire property over the past two days and we can finally see what we're actually dealing with. Oh man, it's gonna be a wild ride. Mould, leaky roof, rotted out everything. Okay, go!

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Amy's Angels, Roy Sims, Art for Hearts Initiative

Today's angel has a new lease on life and he's using it to try to make Detroit a healthier and happier city. Roy Sims has battled with heart disease for 12 years.

So, here it is our TV debut. I accept grey wasn’t the best choice and there were far too many erms and umms but there you go. 

Have a look and see what you make of it. No negative feedback though (please).

Much love - Angela and Roy

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Cover Page

We buy abandoned homes in Detroit and rehab them and let artists live in the homes rent-free for 12 months. In exchange, they bring arts programming to the community. We are alleviating the chronic stress that leads to heart disease.

#ArtForHearts #Detroit #HeartDisease