This Weekend Only: Oscar Documentary Shorts Nominees Two weeks ago, in my regular column, I described the process through which the Oscar-nominated short films are selected. At that time, I reviewed the five animated narrative shorts and the five live action narrative shorts. Those two programs continue in regular release at Sacramento’s historic Crest Theatre. Additionally, this weekend, for two days only, the Crest will screen the five documentary shorts nominees. Shorts, in Academy terms, are shorter than feature films but can still reach 40 minutes in length. This year’s nominees are collectively long enough that the Crest will screen them in two programs this weekend, on Saturday an

SACRAMENTO – Lions and tigers and bears (and sugar), oh my! Halloween to most children means candy, a lot of candy. With childhood obesity on the rise in the United States, what can families do to stay healthy amongst the candy corn, chocolate nougat bars and gummy bears? Healthy and Halloween aren’t usually two words that are seen together, but there are good and easy alternatives that will make Halloween a little less scary for your family’s health.  Here are a few recommendations from the American Heart Association: Think about a healthier version of treats to give out at your house: Mini boxes of raisins, 100% juice juice-boxes, snack-sized pretzels, pre-packaged trail mixes, pre-pac

SACRAMENTO – A sea of red shirts will overtake Crocker Park as hundreds of walkers and runners come together this Saturday, June 16, to participate in the 2nd Annual Go Red Race to benefit the American Heart Association. The Go Red Race, presented by The Golden 1 Credit Union and Sutter Heart & Vascular Institute, is another event in the line-up for the Go Red For Women movement in the Sacramento area. The movement seeks to increase awareness of heart disease as the number one killer of women and to inspire the local community to take charge of their heart health. Funds raised from the event will go toward the American Heart Association’s overall goal to help fund research and find better

Cost of chronic illness will break healthcare system If people do not change their ways, healthcare will become the largest segment of the economy, estimated to reach $4.2 trillion, in three years (2015). It will severely impact the quality of life for all Americans as it drains the federal budget of funds needed for other services. As the cost of healthcare rises, individuals and employers alike will bear the burden not only in larger deductions, co-payments and cost of prescriptions, but in funding the rest of the system. Baby boomers are the most obese generation ever. One-third struggle with being overweight or obese. Baby boomers aren’t the only ones. One in three children and a

Susan has been on the cusp of modern medicine her whole life. Having been born with a heart defect, she is no stranger to heart conditions. In 1959, Susan was born with an interatrial septal defect, also known as a hole in the heart. When Susan was only 2 years old, she had open heart surgery to repair her heart. The procedure, which was still very new, was performed by the famous pioneering heart surgeon, Denton A. Cooley, M.D. The hole was surgically closed and Susan went on to have a happy, healthy and normal childhood. It wasn’t until Susan was in her late 20s that her heart started having problems – problems that were completely unrelated to her heart condition as a child. In June

Since her twenties, Linda felt like she had the word "smoker" tattooed on her forehead whenever she'd see a doctor. Her symptoms – shortness of breath, dizziness, fatigue – were always chalked up to her smoking habit. "Of course, I knew that my smoking contributed to my symptoms, but I wished I had a doctor who would be proactive about my health, even though I'm a smoker," she said. As Linda got older, she became increasingly concerned about her health. “I was diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse,” she said. “It’s a common condition that explained a lot of my symptoms. But I found out later that was a misdiagnosis – my condition was much worse.” Around her 50th birthday, suspected she may

William Land Park will come alive Saturday with over 3,000 community members walking together to fight against heart disease in the Sacramento Heart Walk.  Start! Heart Walk is locally sponsored by Sutter Heart & Vascular Institute, and aided nationally by the American Heart Association.  The event is scheduled to begin from 8 a.m. to noon. The Sacramento community is very much involved, said Kristine Mosqueda-Kelly with American Heart Association.  Families and individuals are participating in this event to share their stories and hopefully raise community awareness about the fight against heart disease and stroke.  The event is driven by volunteers and walkers to fund lifesaving researc