HARLINGEN – Cardiac patients say it feels like their heart is banging against their chest. They feel light-headed, weak, nauseated, as if they are gasping for air. Others say they had no symptoms at all, but, discovered an abnormal heartbeat during an annual physical.

These patients are describing Atrial Fibrillation, also known as AFib or AF. It is the most common heart rhythm abnormality in both adult men and women. And, while it is not commonly fatal, Atrial Fibrillation doubles the risk of heart-related deaths and more than doubles the risk of a stroke.

Atrial Fibrillation was a topic of discussion in Wednesday’s Harlingen Medical Center Doc Talk Lecture presented by Dr. Frank Mazzola, Cardiac Electrophysiologist and Cardiac Electrophysiology Laboratory Director at Harlingen Medical Center.

“An abnormal heart rhythm can occur when an area of heart tissue fires abnormally, or when there is a short circuit, which allows electrical impulses in the heart to follow abnormal paths,” said Dr. Mazzola. “Both of these can cause the heart to beat very rapidly, and may cause severe dizziness, shortness of breath or fainting.”

Atrial Fibrillation is defined as a “quivering” or “irregular heartbeat,” also known as arrhythmia. If left untreated, experts agree that it may lead to more serious complications such as the development of a blood clot, stroke, heart failure, or other related heart issues.

The heart contracts and relaxes to a regular beat, normally, said Dr. Mazzola.

But, when a patient suffers from Atrial Fibrillation, the upper chambers of the heart, known as the atria, beat irregularly instead of beating normally to move blood into the ventricles. People who have strokes have often been diagnosed with this heart arrhythmia.

According to the American Heart Association, it is estimated that more than 2-million Americans suffer from AFib, but they may not even be aware of it.

Dr. Mazzola said it is important that patients be diagnosed and treated properly in order to effectively address Atrial Fibrillation. Treatment which he is offering at the Cardiac Electrophysiology Laboratory at Harlingen Medical Center. As one of the first Cardio Electrophysiologists in the Rio Grande Valley, Dr. Mazzola is performing complex ablation procedures.

Catheter ablation heart procedures are performed find and eliminate the source of an abnormal heart rhythm, without the need for surgery.

Dr. Mazzola said that during this procedure, a small catheter is inserted through the groin and threaded through the veins to reach the heart.

A 3D map of the heart’s geometry is created and electrical information is superimposed as different colors.

Radiofrequency energy is then delivered to the abnormal tissue to eliminate its ability to begin or conduct an abnormal rhythm, and the arrhythmia is cured.

The cardiac ablation procedure is considered a generally safe procedure and is not associated with a significant risk.

The Harlingen Medical Center Doc Talk Lectures, related to heart education, continue next Wednesday, February 24th, which will feature Dr. Juan Villarreal, a Harlingen Dentist and Partner-In-Care to Harlingen Medical Center. His lecture will make the connection between a healthy mouth and a healthy heart, including how a dental appliance can help prevent sleep apnea.

About the Cardiovascular Center

The Cardiovascular Center at Harlingen Medical Center is paving the way for progressive treatment of patients from across South Texas, and beyond. We specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease.

Our top-ranked heart team provides minimally-invasive diagnostic testing and treatment, as well as advanced cardiac and vascular interventions, such as angioplasty, stenting, cardiac ablation, open heart surgery, minimally invasive heart valve repair and replacement, and coronary artery bypass graft.

To learn more about this program and Harlingen Medical Center, log on to our website at www.harlingenmedicalcenter.com.

HARLINGEN — “Crack, crack, crack.”

The word itself has a rather disturbing sound. Repeated three times, it becomes even more harsh.

This is how repetition can become a powerful tool of expression, said Carmen Tafolla, the 2015 Poet Laureate of the State of Texas.

Tafolla was speaking to eight, ninth and 10th graders at the Harlingen School of Health Professions yesterday. She managed to hold their attention for more than an hour with performances of her work and by connecting poetry with popular music.

Tafolla’s visit to the school was part of the Planting Poet Trees project she created to bring presentations to children in the state’s poorest districts.

The school applied in August and learned in October it had been selected.

Tafolla, in a deep purple dress and aqua blue shawl, spoke eloquently about poetry.

“We are not going to be poets,” she said, taking on the voice of someone in the medical field resisting the idea.

She then recounted a retired oncologist whose work has been published in “Voices de la Luna: A Quarterly Poetry & Arts Magazine.”

“His poetry says something about his life,” she said.

Poetry, she said, allows people to say things they can’t say any other way.

“I really feel really bad,” she said, offering an example of a statement that doesn’t really say much.

“I was looking for sunshine and only got rain,” she said. “You understand that.”

Poetry can even be in music. She asked a student about his favorite songs and then asked him to replace the words with “la-la-la”, causing everyone to laugh.

“What would happen if the songs didn’t have words?” she asked the audience.

She really grabbed the students’ attention when she talked about discrimination and how, in years past, children were spanked for speaking Spanish. Hispanics were frisked entering and leaving the cafeteria, and she deepened her voice as she imitated someone saying, “Those Mexicans carry knives.”

One of the most powerful messages she extended was the importance of writing from the heart.

“The best writing comes from being who you are,” she said. The presentation was followed by a workshop with 55 selected students.

The students felt inspired.

“I really learned more about writing,” said O.J. Cerda, 14, a freshman. “I’m going to write a little bit more and make it more insightful.”

Genesis Garay, 16, felt the presentation would help her writing.

“I think I got motivated by her,” said Genesis, a sophomore. “She made everyone feel special. Everyone has a voice.”

SAN BENITO — A San Benito man has been arrested after police say he punched an elderly man.

Police were called Feb. 14 at 11:30 p.m. to the Wing Shack Bar and Grill on South Sam Houston where they made contact with a 67-year-old man and his wife.

The couple told police they were having dinner when they saw a friend identified as Raul Martinez, 39.

A conversation began and a comment was made that angered Martinez, police said.

The couple decided to leave the establishment to avoid further problems. Martinez followed them and began to physically assault the elderly man by repeatedly punching him in his face, police said.

He then fled the area.

Police said there was visible swelling and blood on the elderly man’s face.

The victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment where police confirmed he suffered a fracture to his right orbital bone.

Martinez was later located at his home and arrested. He was arraigned on a first-degree felony for injury to an elderly or disabled person, with bond set at $25,000.

He was transported to Cameron County Detention Center. He has since been released.

HARLINGEN — Downtown Harlingen is inviting the world to “Come Play in the Street.”

Modeled after Austin’s and Brownsville’s successful festivals, Viva Streets Harlingen on April 23 will shut down Jackson Avenue between South Commerce and Sixth Street. Sixth Street will close to the north from Jackson to the library.

“We wanted to bring something to Harlingen to get people excited to be on the road, to be on the street,” said J. Joel Garza Jr., director of the Harlingen-San Benito Metropolitan Planning Organization. The planning group is sponsoring the event.

“Obviously, safety is important, and that’s why we’re closing the street,” Garza added. “We’ll be allowing any healthy activity to be conducted on the street itself.”

Those include a 5K race for runners, and a 1K run-walk. Also, a bike rodeo will be held, along with skateboarder activities. Crossfit and Zumba are on the agenda for the day, and live music will be offered as well.

Food trucks will be on hand for festival-goers, and water stations will be available.

The street fest will open with the 5K race beginning at 9 a.m. The events will shut down at 2 p.m. and the streets will re-open.

“We’re very pleased they chose to host this even in the downtown area,” said Cheryl LaBerge, downtown manager for the city of Harlingen. “I know there were other parts of town they considered … but I think the businesses are excited, and they think it will bring a new audience to downtown.”

Entry to the festival is free.

HARLINGEN — It’s not a race, it’s a challenging bike ride that’s been around a long, long time.

This year marks the 26th annual Jalapeno 100 bike ride.

“It’s just a fun time,” said Kelly Roberts, event organizer.

And all the proceeds from the event are donated to the Harlingen Boys & Girls Club.

Last year, the Jalapeno 100 brought in more than $3,500 for the club.

The Jalapeno 100 took over where the Border Surf and Citrus 100 ended.

When Citrus 100 stopped happening, the Bicycle World owners moved the event to Harlingen, changed the name and the starting and finishing line.

Before the Jalapeno 100, the Citrus 100 started and ended on the Island.

“My parents started this race,” fellow organizer Tracy Roberts said. “It’s real exciting this year because we have the highest number of participants we have ever had already pre-registered.”

Tracy reported more than 500 riders and more riders are welcome to register on site Saturday morning before the start of the ride.

“This is something we are super pumped about,” Tracy said.

Tracy used to participate in the event when he was in high school and college. Now he is in the front lines of organizing the event with other volunteers six months in advance.

“We’ve got riders coming from all over,” Tracy said. “We have riders from as far as Chicago, San Antonio, Houston and Mexico.”

Tracy said he expects more than 100 cyclists to complete the full ride.

The event organizers and riders know very well the ride is no joke.

“The hot shots will do it in four hours,” said Kelly Roberts, event founder. “The regulars are just going to enjoy it and take their time.”

Riders take on a long stretch of road, hot weather and fight gusts of winds up to 50 mph strong.

The event is mapped out and has directions and pit stops along the way for the riders.

“We have a lot of people that are going to take about eight hours to do it, but their going to finish their first century ride,” Kelly said.

IF YOU GO

DATE: Saturday, February 20, 2016

TIME: 6:00 a.m. – Registration & Packet Pickup (ride)

7:15 a.m. – Announcements

7:30 a.m. – 100 mile

7:45 a.m. – 62.5 mile and 50 mile

8:00 a.m. – 25 mile and 12 mile

11:00 a.m. – Post ride celebration begins

4:00 p.m. – Course Closes

LA FERIA — The small and quiet town of La Feria may just have become a little safer with the addition of two new officers on patrol.

Three cadets right out of the police academy joined the La Feria police force and are helping fight crime and keeping the community and streets safe.

Chief Don Garcia said as the city grows, the need for new officers also grows.

The city’s new police officers are Nestor Hernandez and Miguel Pina.

Jose Medina was hired as a reserve officer and dispatcher.

The addition of the officers bumps the total number of police in La Feria to 13, and four non-commissioned dispatchers.

The officers graduated from the Lower Rio Grande Valley police Academy at Texas State Technical College.

“We are very proud to have these new men on the force,” Garcia said. “They are well-trained.”

La Feria Mayor Victor Gonzalez hosted a ceremony commissioning the new officers at City Hall recently.

The three officers took the oath to protect and serve the community with their family, city leaders and police in attendance.

“The new officers are enjoying their job and seem to be doing well,” said Esmeralda Sanchez, city secretary. “We’re very pleased with their work.”

The families of the new officers were in attendance and pinned the police badges on the uniforms.

“We swore in two officers and one reserve officer,” Sanchez said. “They had their staff meeting and then they were off to work.”

HARLINGEN — Difficult times can sometimes call for difficult decisions.

However, when you’re following something you whole-heartedly believe in, the decisions that were once difficult become a bit more manageable.

For 34-year-old Cynthia Cantu De Lara, tough decisions are nothing new.

Around seven years ago, Cantu, a former attorney in Mexico, made the choice of a lifetime when she decided to leave the lucrative field of law to follow a passion that began as a hobby — cosmetology.

Why, one might wonder?

For Cantu the decision was as clear as day and night.

“Family,” uttered Cantu. “When I was an attorney in Mexico, it was good for me financially, but it would leave me with little time for my family,” she said.

“You can say that it’s in fact a drastic change going from a lawyer to a cosmetologist, but all the things that I do are a part of me and who I am.”

In fact, Cantu has always had a thirst for knowledge — so much so that most times you can find her hunched over a textbook looking for a new adventure.

When she had her sights set on law, she studied and studied until she was at the top of her class. When she was in cosmetology she settled for nothing less than perfection.

Now that she has had her own hair and mini spa for almost a year, she gives her clients every bit of attention they deserve.

“I’ve always studied subjects that dealt with the public,” said Cantu. “When I was an attorney I would work for public clients, when I was a medical assistant I would care for the sick and their families and now that I’m in cosmetology I still work directly with people. I’m always striving to educate myself in the latest product.”

For now, the Reynosa native is still happy to be where she is because it’s given her more time to travel with her family.

However, Cantu hasn’t taken a break from learning. In fact she is already thinking of her newest endeavor — massage therapy.

SAN BENITO — Engineers predict the Shafer Road construction project will be done within three weeks.

Completion will relieve the traffic headache that has plagued the area since the summer, when construction started.

Rather than in-house crews working on Shafer Road, city officials contracted with Foremost Paving, an outside company, to construct the busy street used by school buses, parents and staff at Berta Cabaza Middle School.

For the rest of this story and many other EXTRAS, go to our premium site, www.MyValleyStar.com.

Subscribe to it for only $6.99 per month or purchase a print subscription and receive the online version free, which includes an electronic version of the full newspaper and extra photo galleries, links and other information you can’t find anywhere else.

HARLINGEN — Refinancing $2.1 million in bonds at a lower interest rate will save the city about $165,000.

Last night, city commissioners approved an ordinance authorizing the refinancing of the general obligation bonds to save the money.

Anne Burger Entrekin, managing director of First Southwest, the city’s financial adviser in San Antonio, recommended commissioners refinance the bonds amid market forces that have driven down interest rates to about 3.5 percent.

“The current interest rate market we are in could achieve savings for the city,” Burger Entrekin told commissioners.

For the rest of this story and many other EXTRAS, go to our premium site, www.MyValleyStar.com.

Subscribe to it for only $6.99 per month or purchase a print subscription and receive the online version free, which includes an electronic version of the full newspaper and extra photo galleries, links and other information you can’t find anywhere else.

How is everyone in Harlingen doing with the potholes in your streets and alleys? Especially after last fall’s heavy rains. How many vehicle repairs have you incurred or twisted ankles trying to clean your alley. Well, my friends, get use to it, because our dear mayor and commission of Harlingen have determined that your needs of your immediate neighborhoods are no longer a priority.

The potential of attracting big monies of wealthier people than you, has taken center stage. Your concerns have been moved so far back of the line that you will need binoculars to see them.

So everybody is all in a panic abut Donald Trump’s eminent domain philosophy. Guess what citizens of Harlingen? Eminent domain is alive and well right here in Harlingen. It has just confiscated all our tax dollars that we were designated for our streets and infrastructure that is falling apart under our feet, to serve outside elite corporations.

Forgive my lack of understanding, but I still cannot see why our homes have to be placed on the sacrificial altar of multimillion dollar corporations.

If they are so wealthy, prominent and good for us, why can they not pay their own way in without a welfare handout from us? No one was there for us when we started our way into life. No tax breaks, CDC funds, Federal grants, Section 8 or daddy’s inheritance. It was blessings from above and our sweat and tears to survive.

How easy is it for politicians to saddle us with more debt by the stroke of a pen? Remember Fruit of the Loom and a parade of broken promises from past corporations that have left us in a hole.

Keep in mind what happened in Flint, Michigan, with the drinking water and other cities around the country that simply went bankrupt. They are not unpredictable incidents. They were the direct result of the community being ignorant of what their city leaders were doing and not holding them accountable.

The state and feds are not responsible for our local issues and we don’t want them to be. A socialist dictatorship begins when you invite outside mandates.

Elections are just around the corner. Remember on your way to the voting booth, when you slam into that pothole you thought had disappeared as your tax dollars have.

Respectfully, Elias Torres Harlingen