Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, April 9, 2022

Mountain Views-News Saturday, April 9, 2022 

A COMMON HEART PROBLEM THAT’S OFTEN IGNORED 

Dear Savvy Senior:
What can you tell me about atrial fibrillation? Every so often, I’ve noticed my heart starts beating 
rapidly for no particular reason. Is this something I should be worried about? Anxious Annie 

Dear Annie: 
Heart palpitations can be harmless if they are brief and infrequent. But if you’re experiencing an 
erratic heart rhythm, you need to get checked out 
by a doctor for atrial fibrillation, or AFib. 
AFib – which is marked by rapid, fluttering beats 

– can lead to serious complications such as stroke 
and heart failure, when the weakened heart can’t 
pump enough blood to the rest of the body. 
Normally, your heartbeat follows a steady rhythm as your heart contracts and relaxes. But when 
you have AFib, the upper chambers of your heart (atria) beat rapidly and irregularly, sending 
blood to the lower chambers (ventricles) less efficiently. These episodes can last for minutes to 
hours or longer, and can cause palpitations, lightheadedness, fatigue, and/or shortness of breath. 
Over time, AFib tends to become chronic. 

Age is a common risk factor for AFib, which affects roughly 10 percent of people older than 75. 
Other factors include genetics, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and alcohol and tobacco 
use. The condition has also been linked to viral infections, including COVID-19. 

Diagnosing AFib

If you’re experiencing AFib-like symptoms you need to see your doctor who will listen to your 
heart and likely recommend an electrocardiogram (EKG) or a treadmill heart test, or you may 
wear a portable monitor for several weeks to look for abnormal heart rhythms to confirm a diagnosis 
of AFib. Such tests can help distinguish AFib from less serious conditions that may cause the 
heart to flutter, like anxiety and stress. 

AFib affects some three million adults in the United States, a number that is expected to quadruple 
in the coming decade as the population ages and risk factors like obesity, diabetes and high 
blood pressure become even more common. The lifetime risk of developing AFib is greater than 
20 percent, yet many people don’t even know they have it. 

Treatment Options

A growing body of research underscores the importance of lifestyle steps such as exercise, a 
healthy diet, and limiting alcohol for treating AFib. 

Depending on your age and symptoms, your doctor may prescribe drugs to help control your 
heart rate, like beta blockers such as metoprolol (Toprol XL); and/or rhythm, such as antiarrhythmics 
like flecainide (Tambocor). 

You may also need an electrical cardioversion, an outpatient procedure that delivers an electrical 
shock to the heart to restore a normal rhythm. You will be sedated for this brief procedure and 
not feel the shocks. 

Catheter ablation is another outpatient treatment for AFib that scars a small area of heart tissue 
that causes irregular heartbeats. This procedure is becoming more common based on evidence of 
its safety and ability to normalize the heart rhythm and ease symptoms. Ablations can be effective 
in people 75 and older, but medication may still be required afterward. 

If you’re at higher risk for stroke, you may be prescribed a blood thinner, too. In the past, Coumadin 
(warfarin) was the only such drug widely available, but it requires monitoring with regular 
blood tests. Newer anticoagulants, like apixaban (Eliquis) and rivaroxaban (Xarelto), don’t have 
that requirement and have been shown to be just as effective at preventing strokes. 

Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.
org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” 
book. 


FAMILY MATTERS

 By Marc Garlett 

THE KEY BENEFITS OF A LIVING TRUST 

Unlike a will, if your trust is properly set up and maintained, your loved 

ones won’t have to go to court to inherit your assets. Instead, your succes


sor trustee can directly transfer the assets held by the trust to your loved 

ones upon your death or in the event of your incapacity. And since you 

can include specific instructions in a trust’s terms for how and when the 

assets held by the trust are distributed to a beneficiary, a trust can offer greater control over how 

your assets are distributed compared to a will. 

For example, you could stipulate that the assets can only be distributed upon certain life events, 
such as the completion of college or marriage, or when the beneficiary reaches a certain age. In 
this way, you can help prevent your beneficiaries from blowing through their inheritance and offer 
incentives for them to demonstrate responsible behavior. And if the trust is set up in a specific 
way, the inheritance can be protected from the beneficiaries’ creditors, lawsuits, and divorce—
which is something else wills don’t provide. 

Finally, trusts remain private and are not part of the public record. So, with a properly funded 
trust, the entire process of transferring ownership of your assets can happen in privacy, not a 
courtroom, and on your family’s time, rather than being subject to an overfilled court calendar. 

Transferring Assets into a Living TrustFor a trust to function properly, it’s not enough to simply list the assets you want the trust to cover. 
When you create your trust, you must also transfer the legal title of any assets you want to be held 
by the trust from your name into the name of the trust. Retitling assets in this way is known as 
“funding” a trust. 

Funding your trust properly is extremely important, because if any assets are not correctly funded 
to the trust, the trust won’t work, and your family will have to go to court to take ownership of 
that property, even if you have a trust. Considering this, it’s critical to work with an attorney who 
not only drafts your documents, but also guides you through the funding process to ensure your 
trust works as intended. 

While many lawyers will create a trust for you, few will ensure your assets are properly inventoried 
and funded into your trust, and then ensure the inventory of your assets is kept up to date as your 
life and assets change over time. Don’t settle for that. You want a lawyer who will not only make 
sure all your assets are properly titled when you initially create your trust but will also ensure that 
any new assets you acquire over the course of your life are inventoried and properly funded to 
your trust. This will keep your assets from being lost, as well as prevent your family from being 
inadvertently forced into court because your plan was never fully funded or kept up to date. 

Living Trusts, Taxes, Creditors, & LawsuitsWhen you create a revocable living trust, you are free to change the trust’s terms or even completely 
terminate the trust at any point during your lifetime. Because you retain control over the 
assets held by a living trust during your lifetime, those assets are still considered part of your estate 
for estate tax purposes. Similarly, assets held in a living trust are not protected from your creditors 
or lawsuits during your lifetime. This is an important and often misunderstood point. 

Again, a revocable living trust does not protect your assets from creditors or lawsuits, and it has 
no impact on your income taxes. However, if the assets are passed to your beneficiaries through a 
Lifetime Asset Protection Trust (which can be included as part of your living trust), those assets 
can be protected from your beneficiaries’ creditors, lawsuits, and even divorce settlements. 

The primary benefit of a living trust is to pass your assets to your loved ones without any need 
for court or government intervention, and to ensure your assets pass in the way you want to the 
people you want. 

Life & Legacy Planning: Do Right by Those You Love MostAlthough a living trust can be an ideal way to pass your wealth and assets to your loved ones, each 
family’s circumstances are different. This is why a lawyer should not create any documents until 
he or she knows what you actually need and what will be the most affordable solution for you and 
your family—both now and in the future—based on your family dynamics, assets, and desires. 

The best way for you to determine which estate planning strategies are best suited for your situation 
is to find a lawyer who will take you through an analysis of your assets, get to know what’s 
most important to you, and then empower you to feel 100% confident that you have the right 
combination of estate planning solutions to fit with your unique asset profile, family dynamics, 
and budget. 

Estate planning is far more than simply planning for your death and passing on your assets to your 
loved ones—it’s about planning for a life you love and creating a legacy worth leaving, all by being 
intentional in the choices you make today. 

SENIOR HAPPENINGS 


HAPPY BIRTHDAY! …APRIL Birthdays* 

Howard Rubin, Anita Hardy, Hattie Harris, Wendy Senou, Mary Harley, Bette 
White, Doris Behrens, Freda Bernard, Beth Copti, Terri Cummings, Marilyn 
Diaz, Virginia Elliott, Elma Flores, Betty Jo Gregg, Barbara Lampman, Betty 
Mackie, Elizabeth Rassmusen, Maria Reyes, Marian DeMars, Anne Schryver, 
Chrisine Bachwansky, Colleen McKernan, Sandy Swanson, Hank Landsberg, 

Ken Anhalt, Shannon Vandevelde

* To add your name to this distinguished list, please call the paper at 626.355.2737. 
YEAR of birth not required 
THE HART PARK HOUSE SENIOR CENTER IS OPEN!!!! 
SIERRA MADRE SENIOR CLUB Every Saturday from 11:30am-3:30 pm in the 
Hart Park House Senior Center. Join us as we celebrate birthdays, holidays and pay 
BINGO. Must be 50+ to join. For more information call Mark at 626-355-3951. 

DOMINOES TRAIN GAME Wednesday, 4/6 & 4/20 11:00 am— 12:30 pm Hart 
Park House The object of the game is for a player to play all the tiles from their hand 
onto one or more trains, emanating from a central hub or “station”. Call Lawren with 
questions that you may have. 

PAINT PALS 

Tuesday, 4/12 & 4/26,, 10:30 am—Hart Park House If you enjoy painting, sketching, 
water color, or making some other form of artistic creation please join our new 
program, PAINT PALS!!! Bring a project that you are working on to the HPH and 
enjoy some quality art time with other artists looking to paint with a new pal. 

TEA AND TALK SENIOR BOOK CLUB Tuesday, 4/6 & 4/20— 9:00 am Staff has 
launched a new book club series, Tea and Talk, which meets twice a month to discuss 
the fun, suspense, intrigue, love and so much more that each selection will have in 
store! 

FIBER FRIENDS Tuesday, 4/5 & 4/19 —10:00 am If you enjoy knitting, crocheting, 
embroidery, needlepoint, bunka, huck, tatting or cross stitch then we have a 
group for you! Bring your current project, a nonalcoholic beverage, then sit and chat 
with likeminded fiber friends. We meet in the Hart Park House 

BINGO Tuesday 4/12 and 4/16 1:00 pm- 2:00 pm Come on down to enjoy this 
time with friends. We are trying a new spin on BINGO fun so please bring your good 
luck charms and BINGO markers! 

TAX ASSISTANCE WEDNESDAYS 1:00 -2:00PM LAST DAY APRIL 6TH Don 
Brunner is available for income tax consultation. Please call 626-355-5278 x 704 

CHAIR YOGA Every Monday and Wednesday, 10-10:45 am Please join us for some 
gentle stretching, yoga, balance exercise and overall relaxation with Paul. Classes are 
ongoing and held in the Memorial Park Covered Pavilion or the Hart Park House.. 

HULA AND POLYNESIAN DANCE Every Friday, 10-10:45 am Bring a lei, your 
flower skirt or just your desire to dance! Hula in the Park is back and waiting for you 
to join in on all the fun! Memorial Park Pavilion. 

SENIOR CINEMA WEDNESDAY, 4/13 1:00 PM 
EASTER PARADE PG 1H 43M 

Don Hewes and Nadine Hale are a dancing team, but she 
decides to start a career on her own. So he takes the next 
dancer he meets, Hannah Brown, as a new partner. After a 
while, this new team is so successful that Florenz Ziegfeld 
is interested in them, but due to the fact that Nadine Hale 
also dances (and stars) in the Ziegfeld Follies, Don says no. 
Despite the fact that he is in love with Hannah, he keeps the 
relation with her strictly business. So Hannah is of the opinion that he is still in love with 
Nadine, and her suspicion grows when he dances with Nadine in a Night Club Floor Show. 


OUT TO PASTOR 

A Weekly Religion Column by Rev. James Snyder 

I'D GIVE HER A PIECE OF MY MIND IF I HAD 

ANY TO SPARE! 

I do not know if grouchy 

comes with old age or 

if in old age you are too 
weak to subdue it. I guess it does not really 
matter because I am having a little 
bit of trouble along this line. My grouchy 
seems to be getting out of control. 

I remember the good old days, those 
carefree days, days when I did not let 
anything bother me. Oh, how I wish they 
would return. 

Lately, it seems everywhere I go I run 
into people that irritate me. It does not 
matter if I am driving in a car or walking 
down the street or sitting in a restaurant, 
irritating people seem to be everywhere. 
At least, they seem to be everywhere that 
I am. Every time I turn around there is 
somebody irritating me. I am at the point 
where I am tempted to stop “turning 
around.” 

Driving across town the other day I ran 
into, almost literally, some driver not 
watching where she was going. Barely 
missing her, I noticed she was talking on 
her cell phone. I am quite sure she did 
not even see me. I wanted to stop everything, 
get out of my car and give her a 
good piece of my mind. 

But I didn’t. 

It took me a few minutes to settle down 
and quiet my nerves and so I decided to 
go to a little café for a cup of coffee. Nothing 
seems to soothe my nerves quicker 
than a nice hot cup of Joe. Let them say 
what they will, coffee is my best friend. 

Fortunately, I was not in a hurry, but it 
still was a situation that irritated me and 
stirred up the grouchy within. 

I was standing in line waiting to order 
my coffee when the lady in front of me 
was trying to figure out what she wanted. 
I am not sure if this person had ever been 
in a café before, but she acted as if she did 
not know what she was doing or what she 
wanted. 

Then she did something that accented 
the positive in my grouchy. 

“Could I have a sample taste of that coffee?” 
she said to the person behind the 
counter. 

At first, I did not know what she was 
saying. But he agreed and went back and 
got a little cup and gave her a sample. 

“I’m not sure,” she said quite hesitatingly, 
“can I try another one?” And pointed 
to one of the coffees she was interested 
in. 

I am absolutely positive that people 
should have the ability to make their own 
choices. I have no problem with that. My 
choice at that moment was to give that 
woman a good piece of my mind. 

But I didn’t. 

Finally, after tasting about 10 different 
coffees, she picked one and finally I was 
able to order my coffee and find a seat 
and enjoy it. 

I say, “Enjoy it,” but it was rather difficult 
because my irritableness just would 
not go away. After all, there should be 
some respect for the person behind you 
when you are standing in line. Especially, 
if that person standing in line is me. 

As I was sipping my coffee alone in the 
corner, some thoughts began to rattle in 
my head. The main thought emerging 
was that grouchy may be an inherited 
condition. 

I began thinking of my father and his 
father and unfortunately, I did not know 
my great-grandfather, but the two that I 
did know had a wide streak of grouchy in 
them. If my memory serves me correct, 
the older they got, the more grouchy became 
predominant. 

So, if grouchy is inherited I am really not 
to blame. Just thinking about that made 
me chuckle a little bit. In fact, I began to 
chuckle so much that my grouchy ran 
away in fear of his life. And so he should. 

As I sat in that café enjoying my 2nd 
cup of coffee, I began evaluating my life. 
I think I have found out why grouchy is 
becoming more dominant in my life. 

Everybody is born with a certain 
amount of “mind.” We can do with that 
“mind” whatever we want to do with it. 
And so, if I begin giving people a “piece 
of my mind,” I am going to diminish my 
supply of “mind.” 

When the “mind” gets low it introduces 
the level of grouchy. The last phase is 
when a person comes to the point where 
he “loses his mind.” Now, once you lose 
your mind, you can never get it back. 

I am at the grouchy stage and so I need 
to take a little bit of inventory. I have only 
so much “mind” left and I better take 
care of because that is all I got. Whenever 
I am tempted to give somebody a piece of 
my mind, I am going to stop and think it 
over a little bit. 

Does that person really does serve a 
piece of my “mind?” If I give that person 
a piece of my mind, will I miss it? 

I like what Peter says, “Wherefore gird 
up the loins of your mind, be sober, and 
hope to the end for the grace that is to 
be brought unto you at the revelation of 
Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13). 

I am going to protect my mind and use 
it wisely because it is all I got. 

Dr. James L. Snyder lives in Ocala, FL with the 
Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. Website is 
www.jamessnyderministries.com. 

Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 
Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com