Recently, students of the Cardiovascular Technology program at Central Georgia Technical College volunteered at the Coliseum Medical Center and Blue Bird Corporation at a Virtual Cath Lab to assist local residents with cardiovascular education. By taking part in this community service project, CGTC students gained hands-on experience and participants benefitted by learning vital information about their own health.

Students in the Cardiovascular Technology program at CGTC set up booths and provided those served with height, weight, body mass index, and blood pressure numbers. They also provided information packets on cardiovascular health.

Kristen Nelson, Elizabeth Roberts, and Brandy Johnson, all CVT students and members of SkillsUSA, used this opportunity to target heart-related illnesses to satisfy requirements for the club’s community service project.  SkillsUSA is an organization of students, instructors, and industry professionals who support career and technical education. As members of SkillsUSA, students are given the opportunity to showcase skills they’ve learned through local, state, and national competitions.  

“Helping people who may not know they need help was always the mission,” Nelson said. “A lot of people in central Georgia do not know that they are living with high blood pressure, and making them aware of the issue is what motivated us to do this.”

Persons who are unaware of their own high blood pressure could suffer from coronary artery disease, stroke, and heart failure, among other medical issues. CVT students encouraged participants with concerning preliminary tests to see a physician who can assist individuals in making healthier lifestyle choices to ultimately lower their blood pressure.

Roberts stated “We wanted to educate people on the effect of high blood pressure. For me, being able to make a difference in the life of one person makes it all worth the effort.”

For one person, that difference was made. Janie Phillips, former stroke patient, regularly monitors her blood pressure. When she attended the Virtual Cath Lab event at Coliseum Health Systems, a student from CGTC offered to take her blood pressure. Initially, she declined because she believed her blood pressure was under control. Phillips came to the event because she had been a cath lab patient before and was curious to see the equipment that was used during her procedures. She finally agreed to allow the student take her blood pressure and was alarmed to find out that her blood pressure was 190/82.  She was in disbelief, but continued to monitor her blood pressure every few hours when she returned home.  By 12:30 a.m., her blood pressure had risen to 226/111. At that point, she went to the emergency room at the Coliseum Medical Center where they administered medications while they kept her under observation. 

Phillips credits this seminar to potentially saving her life.  She said, "Were it not for this seminar during the week, I would not have known my blood pressure was that high."

Visit www.centralgatech.edu for more information on CGTC’s Cardiovascular Technology program. Summer semester begins May 19.