Posted November 26, 2008
Going with the flow
Mobile exhibit offers an arterial journey
| In a routine heart exam, you might be told you have hardening of the arteries, but would you truly understand what that means? Those who recently took a virtual ride through the bloodstream in AstraZeneca’s Artery Explorer at Temple University Hospital got a first-hand look. Designed to demonstrate the causes of heart disease and promote heart health, the interactive exhibit shows the effects smoking and other factors have on blood as it travels through the arteries. During a five-minute video simulation inside a gyrating capsule, riders see what blocked arteries look like and face a blood clot head on. As the movie plays, the unit shifts from side to side, providing a sense of how |
 Photo by Betsy Manning/Temple University
Sara Sirna, M.D., FACC, outside the 32-ton Artery Explorer.
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| red blood cells travel through the human circulatory system. The educational display arrived at Temple as School of Medicine faculty prepare to launch the new Temple Institute for Preventive Cardiology (TIPC), which will open in January. Sara Sirna, TIPC director and associate professor of medicine, says her team will work to aggressively identify those at risk of heart disease. Sirna, along with Nima Patel, Pharm.D., associate professor, School of Pharmacy, and dietician Parichehr Sami, M.S., R.D. will also offer nutrition counseling and help with medications. |
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 Photo by Betsy Manning/Temple University
Participants hold on as they ride the virtual “artery,” which simulates the blood’s journey through the body.
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“Even if you smoke, even if you are overweight or have high cholesterol and high blood pressure, there are ways to reduce those risk factors, even eliminate them,” says Sirna. “And it all starts with education and how you treat your whole body, not just your heart.” Each year, more than a million Americans are diagnosed with coronary heart disease. Atherosclerosis, or the buildup of plaque in the arteries, is the leading cause of coronary heart disease and stroke. Because plaque builds up slowly, there are typically no symptoms until the artery becomes narrowed or blocked, earning the nickname the “silent killer.” |
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The Artery Explorer came to Temple as part of a nine-month tour of major cities throughout the United States. |
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