RIDGEWOOD, N.J. -- The Valley Hospital welcomed Dr. C. Noel Bairey Merz as the inaugural speaker for its new Women and Heart Disease lecture series, a part of the hospital's Heart Care for Women Program.Dr. Merz is a thought leader in the field of women and heart disease. Her talk focused on nonobstructive coronary artery disease and congestive heart failure with preserved ejection ...

RIDGEWOOD, N.J. -- As part of an innovative program aimed at reducing unnecessary emergency room visits and hospital stays, Valley paramedics, EMT and care nurses have begun providing home visits to recently discharged patients diagnosed with cardiopulmonary disease.“Patients with cardiopulmonary disease, particularly those with congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary ...

RIDGEWOOD, N.J. -- For a variety of reasons, many women choose to postpone childbearing until they are in their 30s or even 40s. But the difficult truth is that the biological clock waits for no one, and fertility declines with age. Increasingly, young women are turning to a procedure that allows them to freeze their eggs while they are fertile and store them until a pregnancy is ...

RIDGEWOOD, N.J. -- It's usually good to be back, except when that 'back' refers to a hospital visit. Unfortunately, almost a quarter of all heart failure patients nationwide who have been admitted to a hospital require readmission within 30 days of discharge.This stark statistic illustrates the ongoing battle to manage this chronic disease. At Valley Hospital's heart failure program, ...

RIDGEWOOD, N.J. -- We often think of heartburn as an old man's problem. However, if your child tends to have frequent stomach troubles, it could be a sign of pediatric gastroesophageal reflux disease, also known as GERD. GERD occurs when stomach contents travel back up into the esophagus during or after a meal. Reflux is common in babies: more than half of all infants experience the ...

RIDGEWOOD, N.J. -- Smokers across the country are getting ready to kick their butts this Thursday, thanks to the Great American Smokeout. The event is sponsored by the American Cancer Society and encourages smokers across the nation to use the date to make a plan to quit, even if only for the day. According to the ACS, tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease ...

RIDGEWOOD, N.J. -- The birth of a baby is a very exciting event. Yet, labor and delivery can be a long and challenging process. To help meet the emotional and physical needs of women in labor, Valley was the first in northern New Jersey to offer birth doulas as an option for all women delivering at the hospital’s Center for Childbirth.A birth doula is a woman trained and experienced in ...

RIDGEWOOD, N.J. -- Asthma is one of the most common chronic disorders in childhood: it affects an estimated 7.1 million children under 18 years, according to the American Lung Association, and it is the third leading cause of hospitalization among children under the age of 15. Although asthma is a serious and chronic disease, it can be managed with proper treatment so children ...

RIDGEWOOD, N.J. -- Childhood obesity is recognized as one of the most pressing pediatric concerns of this generation. One in three children in the United States is overweight or obese. This puts kids at risk for problems that were once almost always diagnosed in adults, including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and high cholesterol.“Introducing children to a ...

RIDGEWOOD, N.J. -- Let’s face it--food and the holidays go hand-in-hand. But take heart, says Joseph R. Juliano, D.T.R., Nutrition and Wellness Manager for the A Recipe for Life Program at The Valley Hospital, you can make it through Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's and beyond without gaining weight. Here are some tips from Valley’s 'A Recipe for Life' program to help you eat right ...