Dr. Zielke gives tips on proper heart care

By Lethbridge Herald on February 6, 2026.

submtted photo Dr. Sayeh Zielke says it is vital that residents in southern Alberta take care of their heart and they know their risks factors.

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman

Lethbridge Herald

February is heart health month, and it provides an opportunity for individuals to evaluate how well they are taking care of their heart. 

Dr. Sayeh Zielke, lead of the Cardiac Sciences Physician for the Alberta Health Services South Zone, says she believes the heart to be the most important organ in the body, and as people only have one, they need to take good care of it. 

“One of the best ways to take care of it is to make sure that you know your numbers. I encourage everyone I know to make sure that they know what their blood pressure is, their blood sugar, and their cholesterol so they can get early help and intervention if needed,” says Zielke. 

She explains it is important to know those numbers as they are cardiac risk factors, and they can determine the risk of having a cardiovascular event such as a heart attack or a stroke.

“We often review a person’s cardiac risk factors, which include things that we don’t have control over such as family history or genetics,” says Zielke. “And things that we do have some control over and should control, like diabetes, blood sugar, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and smoking status.” 

She adds that it is important for people to know their blood pressure number, because often their blood pressure can be high, and they wouldn’t know. 

“This is often referred to as a silent killer because unless it’s really high, there are no symptoms. You wouldn’t know,” says Zielke. 

She says some people get headaches with high blood pressure, or swelling in their legs, but that is usually with significantly high blood pressure.

“But even having mild hypertension, mildly elevated blood pressures, is a significant risk for developing heart disease, and you wouldn’t know that unless you’re monitoring it,” says Zielke. 

She says having a primary care provider involved in your healthcare routinely for health checkups is very important. 

“And of course, a good lifestyle is a major asset. Eating eight to 10 servings of food, some vegetables every day, getting a minimum of 150 minutes of aerobic activity per week, two strength training sessions per day, managing stress, getting good rest, and adequate hydration,” says Zielke. 

She says this is particularly important in southern Alberta, as there is a 15.5 per cent increased risk factor profile, within our region. 

“We have more people in our community who have diabetes or high blood pressure, or are a smoker, and that feeds into the fact that we experience approximately a 30 per cent increased rate of mortality from cardiovascular disease in our zone compared to the rest of Alberta,” says Zielke. 

This is where the Bringing Heart Home Campaign comes into play, as this will bring cardiac services closer to home, and Dr. Zielke says is where early intervention can be done. 

“Creating a Cardiac Catheterization Lab and Electrophysiology Lab, where we can open up the arteries quickly when someone is having a blockage or a heart attack is important,” says Zielke. 

She says they also need to look at the full spectrum of the need of the community, which includes cardiac prevention and addressing their risk factors, which this something else the campaign is fundraising towards.

“This campaign will help support development of cardiac sciences and the cardiac centre of excellence across the zone. It also includes a new ICU in the Chinook Regional Hospital, as well as the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital,” says Zielke. 

She says the campaign has been going incredibly well and she is truly humbled by the support of our community. 

“It’s been truly mind blowing. Our goal has been to raise $30 million by January 2027 and we are currently at $25 million raised,” says Zielke. 

She says she hopes the community continues to support the campaign by taking part in some upcoming events. 

“There is a hockey game on Feb. 13 Friday and the Hurricanes are donating certain amount of the proceeds from the hockey sales to the campaign,” says Zielke. “And there is also a Valentine’s Day gala being organized by Sky and Table at Norland historic site with dueling pianos, and some of the proceeds are going to support the campaign, and we would love to see our community participate in those events.”