Red Heel Socks

Mayo Clinic Health Letter, June 2011 Highlights: Prevent Heart Failure with ...

Mayo Clinic Health Letter, June 2011 Highlights: Prevent Heart Failure with Healthy Lifestyle and Medication; Correct Shoes Help to Prevent Falls; Healthy Eating Beyond Meat and Potatoes

ROCHESTER, MINN., June 22, 2011 /NewsRelease/ - Here are highlights from the June issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter. You may cite this publication as often as you wish. Reprinting is allowed for a fee. Mayo Clinic Health Letter attribution is required. Include the following subscription information as your editorial policies permit: Visit www.HealthLetter.MayoClinic.com or call toll-free for subscription information, 1-800-333-9037, extension 9771.

Preventing Heart Failure — A Serious and Increasingly Common Chronic Disease

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Heart failure happens when the heart can’t pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs. The American Heart Association says heart failure is a growing epidemic. The June issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter covers some reasons for the increased prevalence of heart failure and options to help prevent it.

Heart failure often develops after the heart has been damaged or weakened by other conditions. The dramatic increase in heart failure coincides with an aging population, more people with heart disease and increased survival rates for those who experience heart attacks.

Over time, a heart that is compromised by underlying disease changes and loses function. The ventricles, the main pumping chambers, may become stiff and not fill properly between beats. The heart muscle may weaken. The ventricles can stretch, decreasing pumping efficiency. High blood pressure, faulty heart valves, abnormal heart rhythms, diabetes and other factors also can contribute to heart failure. Signs and symptoms of heart failure can include shortness of breath and leg swelling.

Medication may be necessary to treat underlying conditions that increase the risk of heart failure. There are many options, including:

- Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors — These medications relax the blood vessels to lower blood pressure, improve blood flow and decrease the heart’s workload. Examples include enalapril (Vasotec), lisinopril (Prinivil, Zestril) and captopril (Capoten).

- Angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) — ARBs offer many of the same benefits as ACE inhibitors and are an option when ACE inhibitors aren’t well tolerated. Options include losartan (Cozaar), valsartan (Diovan) and others.

Red Heel Socks « Big Socks to Fill

History in the Making – America’s Work Sock and Americana Craft

Fox River and the Rockford Red Heel® sock share a history of American innovation and industry that goes back over a hundred years.

Both Fox River and Nelson Knitting Mills, the original maker of the Rockford Red Heel® sock, began business in the Midwest at the turn of the century. Both companies knit socks on innovative machines that allowed for the massproduction that the expanding country needed.

In 1932, Nelson Knitting Mills first introduced the red heel on the Rockford sock, to distinguish their product from the many imitators.

The making of sock monkeys came about on its own by clever crafters using a humble sock to make a beloved toy. In support of this phenomenon, in 1951 Nelson Knitting started enclosing sock monkey instructions with each pair of socks, a tradition Fox River has carried on to this day. In 1992, Fox River purchased the remaining assets of Nelson Knitting, including the trademark for the Rockford Red Heel® sock, as Nelson Knitting closed their doors.

I heard Joel Anderson, VP of Branding for Fox River Mills speak at the Central Library, Des Moines, IA. He described  two innovative materials developed in collaboration with the U.S. military. One fabric disintegrates in high heat as from an explosion, reducing skin burn. The second fabric has silver woven in and can be pressed over an open wound to stop bleeding.