‘Keep Louisiana Walking’ Program Motivates Louisiana Christian University Students to Get Active
Louisiana Christian University will host Dr. Gary Jones, a cardiovascular surgeon to discuss his campaign to “Keep Louisiana Walking.”
February is Heart Health Month, and walking is an easy way to start and maintain a physically active lifestyle.
LACVT Cardiovascular Surgeon Dr. Gary Jones says, “As we exercise, you help the blood vessels stay open, you can lower your cholesterol, you can lower your blood sugar, you can help hypertension, it’s a way to decrease some of the risk factors.”
Dr. Gary Jones urges students to participate in the “Keep Louisiana Walking” program on campus.
“I think starting early is the key, whether it is impressing the fact that they should not smoke cigarettes, they should not have a high sugar diet, carbohydrate diet, that they should exercise, they should use the trail to walk and hopefully prevent this problem from happening at all.”
The purpose of his walking program is to provide education, early diagnosis, and treatment of peripheral artery disease.
“It’s tissue not getting enough blood, therefore not enough oxygen, not enough nutrients to keep you alive, okay, so we want to intervene early to prevent that problem.”
Walking the Parrish Fuller Fitness Trail can improve the physical health of students.
LCU Student Nicklaus Stein says, “I decided to walk the trail today because it’s best for people to get their exercise in especially in the morning. The trail around campus is really nice. It’s free to the community. A lot of students and community members use it.”
KLAX News Reporter Keisha Swafford says, “For those who may not want to walk the trail, they can use the cardio walker to keep the heart pumping and it’s free and open to the public.”
LCU Division Chair for Allied Health Dr. Sonia Tinsley became proactive about her heart health through early screening.
“I didn’t think about it being scary until I got there, and they started the carotid artery test, and I was thinking, “Oh my God, what are they going to find?” But I know I’m not just taking care of myself but my family too and if there is a problem, I can find out what I need to do to fix it.”
His goal is to educate students on exercise and heart health to save them from serious leg surgeries.
“When that person has an amputation, it not only affects their life, but it affects their whole families’ lives. Everything is getting ready to change because that patient is not ambulatory, they can’t get up and do things they want to do, simple things, getting a glass of water, go to the bathroom so it’s very important.”
By taking of their heart health, Dr. Jones says students can prevent heart disease and stroke.
Dr. Gary Jones has been meeting with legislators to make them aware of the devastating effects of amputation.
