Wellness Wednesdays
Finding Inspiration in the Journey
Each week Rebecca Hendrixson, author and recent survivor of open heart surgery writes a blog, Wellness Wednesdays, about heart health, choices, life. You can read all of her blogs here and follow them weekly on The Bridge Street Health Facebook or Instagram. Heart health, especially women's heart health, is an important at Bridge Street Health. If your doctor isn't talking to you about your heart, they should. Dr. Michael Hendrixson, Bridge Street Health physician and Rebecca's husband, does as part of creating individualized wellness plans for our patients.
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Here's the backstory about Rebecca and her heart that is motivating us to inform women about the importance of taking care of their hearts.
Weekly Blogs
Week 11
May 14, 2026
Walk it Off
I know how difficult it is to get in 10,000 steps each day. It is a great goal, but do not be discouraged if you do not achieve that goal.
According to the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, there is growing evidence that any movement is better than none, and that even short bursts of activity can keep your heart, brain and lungs strong and healthy.
Researchers analyzed 57 studies including 160,000 adults around the world. Compared to people who walked 2,000 steps a day, those who took 7,000 daily steps experienced a wide range of health benefits, including:
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38% lower risk of dementia
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25% lower risk of cardiovascular disease
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22% lower risk of depression
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47% lower risk of dying from heart disease
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37% lower risk of dying from cancer
The team also found that taking just 4,000 daily steps was associated with a 36% lower risk of death, compared to 2,000 steps a day.
Please re-read all of those statistics. This is a medicine-free, FREE method to greatly improve your health. What are you waiting for? Get up and walk.
Week 10
May 14, 2026
What a Nut
I love nuts of all kinds: almonds, pecans, pistachios, and funny people.
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But the nut we should be most drawn to is the mighty walnut. The walnut is the only tree nut that is also an excellent source of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), a plant-based omega-3 essential fatty acid. ALA intake is linked to a reduce risk of early death from cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease. I know…these words get jumbled up and linked to things other people need to worry about. I used to think that way, too.
A 2021 study published in the journal Circulation found that when people included 14 to 28 walnut halves in their daily diet, they had a significant reduction of LDL (also called “bad” cholesterol). LDL was a problem for me and will continue to be, which means I have to make good choices.
So, love a nut today, preferably a walnut, but also love that goofy family member. Both of those things are good for your heart.
Week 1
March 4, 2026
March Forth!
March fourth is more than a date. It is a call to action - March forth!
For starters, your heart is amazing. With each beat, the heart sends blood throughout our bodies, carrying oxygen to every cell. The blood returns to the heart. The heart then sends the blood to the lungs to pick up more oxygen. This cycle repeats over and over and over again. What a faithful friend your heart is. It does what it is designed to do, every minute, every day, every month, year after year, until one day it doesn’t. We have much to talk about.
There is a lot of information to sort through when it comes to wellness. At Bridge Street Health we are doing just that - understanding the very latest medical updates and studies. We love the research. Our goal for ourselves as well as our patients is to find ways to have optimal health, not just normal health. Stay tuned. If you have specific question or subject you would like us to address, feel free to send an email to info@bridgestreethealth.com.
Week 2
March 11, 2026
Every Day We Have Choices
When I was recovering in the hospital, I remember thinking to myself “I will not eat another doughnut for the rest of my life.” I didn’t eat doughnuts very often pre-surgery, but I felt determined to put nothing into my body that was not good for my fragile heart. Seven weeks post-op, I feel the same. I will continue to eat well. Yet, as my friend says “You gotta live.” I have birthdays and anniversaries and victories to celebrate, and I will eat cake. Those occasions need to feel special; like an event, not a regular part of my diet.
Every day we have choices to make and those choices add up to big results. Small daily choices over time; weeks, months, years, decades, are truly what will make the difference in your current and future health.
Eat the burger, but skip the cheese. Add avocado slices or red pepper strips. Go a step further and forgo the bun and use a lettuce wrap. It’s certainly a bit messier, but grab more napkins.
Opt for grainy/sprouty breads with no added sugar. A favorite quick breakfast for me is a toasted piece of that bread with organic peanut butter or a mixed nut butter (low or no sugar added) with smushed raspberries on top. Pass on the sugary jellies and jams.
And…I will indeed eat a doughnut. A hot cup of coffee + doughnut is a hard-to-beat combo. But, it will be a treat and it will be an exception, not an expectation.
We will revisit the food subject multiple times in future posts. Stay tuned.
Week 3
March 18, 2026
Let's Move
On day one after my heart surgery, two physical therapists tapped on my door and said “Okay, we are getting you up to walk.” I was a bit like, “Wait, what? I just had my chest cracked open and you want me to get up and walk?” Thankfully, I did not say this aloud. What I did say was “Okay, I’ll try.” Those first few steps were indeed shaky. PT showed up twice a day, every day. And each time, I was better.
When I was being discharged from the hospital, the surgical nurse who was in the operating room told me very clearly that my recovery is an active recovery, meaning I have to participate. She said we fixed you and now it is up to you to stay healthy.
As we mentioned last week, food is a component and exercise is another component. I had a very regimented walk schedule that I followed to a tee. I walked many laps around my house during those first few weeks of snow piled high outside my window.
I am now in cardiac rehab three days a week and they also tell me I am in active recovery. They expect me to do a hearty walk two of the days that I am not in rehab, meaning five out of seven days a week I must exercise. The onus is on me to walk, to do squats, to do calf raises, to begin lifting weights when I am released to do so.
Active recovery. It fits so many other areas of our lives as well. If we want to recover and grow mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, we must actively participate. The bottom line is that we are responsible for our wellbeing. It’s time to move.
Week 4
March 25, 2026
How's Your Head and Heart?
Heart health is not only about what we eat or how much we exercise. It is about what we feel, what we hold, what we harbor. It is how we handle continual disappointments, quarrels, hurt, fear, setbacks, frustrations, unforgiveness; things that sit deep in our hearts. They brew and stew and very slowly, but surely, begin to build a wall, like sandbags shored up for a flood.
One of the things that will pop up when you do a search about what causes heart disease is “long periods of unrelieved stress in your life”.
Mine always felt very benign, like something I could control, like something that could not possibly physically affect my heart. It was not something I could hold in my hands or perform with my hands, like eating a doughnut or doing pushups. It was far too intangible, too ethereal to impact my physical body. Or so I thought.
According to Circulation, a high-impact weekly journal from the American Heart Association, psychological stress significantly increases cardiovascular risk through both acute and chronic mechanisms, with meta-analyses showing 27-50% increased risk of incident cardiovascular disease depending on the type and duration of stress exposure.
Heart issues are impacted by heart issues, not solely by diet and exercise. It’s the rule of three, the trifecta, the three blind mice, three strikes and you’re out. They are singular and unique, yet cannot be separated.
Week 5
April 1, 2026
Eat the Elephant
The question is: “How do you eat an elephant?” The answer is: “One bite at a time.” ​
And that sums up how we get things done; one bite, one step, one small change. Taking one bite at a time out of an elephant will take longer than we like and will get more challenging than we like. But if we stick with it, that elephant will diminish. ​
If you normally walk about 800-1000 steps a day, stating that you will now walk 10,000 steps a day is a noble goal but you must make realistic, doable changes. Just begin walking more, aim for 1200 steps a day. Do it. Stick with it. Don’t let yourself off the hook. Start slowly, but start.
Small, sustainable steps are the way to make big changes. Drink one extra glass of water today. Then slowly increase. Switch to olive oil or avocado oil for cooking. Throw in last night’s leftover broccoli to your scrambled eggs. Pack your lunch and pass on the fast food lunch. Give your body what it really needs, and save your money.
Have that difficult conversation when you are rested and calm. Let go of things you cannot control or change. We can’t fix everything.
Let the small changes pile up. Keep taking those bites. You will be amazed at what begins to happen to your body and mind and heart.
Week 6
April 8, 2026
Golf May Be Good for Your Heart
It’s Masters week. I’ve heard people (okay, my husband) call it holy week in golf. I hope God has a sense of humor. The Masters tournament kicks off the golf season. It is a weekend of azaleas and pimento cheese sandwiches, gnomes and best manners, and dreams of green jackets.
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Could playing golf reduce the risk of heart disease and in turn reduce the number of deaths attributable to it? Research, particularly from a Swedish study involving 300,000 golfers found they had a 40% lower mortality risk than non-golfers, which translated to golfers living an average of five years longer than non-golfers.
​​Research has shown that golf is associated with improvements in multiple known risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including body composition, fitness, blood lipid levels, and insulin and glucose levels. The regular exercise time spent outdoors, the social interaction and even friendly competition of a round of golf can all contribute to mental health and physical well-being. It seems to be the blend of physical and cognitive challenges, as well as social connections that have longevity benefits.
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And there you go. If you are looking for one more reason to play golf and/or convince your significant other that you need to play more golf, this may be your opportunity.
April 15, 2026
Week 7
Choose Your Hard
Being overweight is hard. Choosing healthy foods and using good discernment is hard. Being sedentary and slothful are hard. Rising early to do a workout is hard. Sitting in front of the TV is hard (well, maybe not at the moment, but it will prove to be). Getting up and turning off the TV and taking a 15 minute walk is hard. Lowering your climbing cholesterol level is hard. Ordering steamed broccoli instead of French fries is hard. Are we seeing a pattern here?
We are not getting out of this life with 100% ease and comfort. So we have to choose our hard. Both options are hard. What will you choose today? Temporary comfort and empty joy at bad choices and lethargy, which will indeed to lead to hard things? Or good choices and movement, which is hard, but will lead to better things.
Things to ponder, my friend. Decisions you make every day are leading you on a path where difficulty will be encountered. You just have to choose which hard you prefer.
Week 8
April 22, 2026
I Don't Want to be Normal
I have noticed that when my doctor orders lab work for me, I am often in the normal range, which could mean a couple of things. Am I in the very top of that scale, meaning my levels are close to being too high? Am in the very low part of that scale, meaning I am nearing a state of deficiency?
Since my emergency heart surgery, I have felt an increasing dissatisfaction of being in the normal range. I no longer want my cholesterol level to be at the high end of normal. In certain testing, I believe there may be a danger with being normal. I want optimal.
I am happy to report that at Bridge Street Health, my doctor (who happens to be my husband), is also not satisfied with normal. He wants my lab work to be optimal. Though I may indeed be his favorite patient, he wants that for all of his patients. Come and see us if you want to be a bit better than normal.
Week 9
April 29, 2026
Go to the Ant and Consider Its Ways - God
Have you noticed how hard ants works? A single ant can carry up to 50 times its body weight, equivalent to a human lifting a car. They live in community, which motivates them and identifies the power of their individual roles.
Research has shown that solitary ants typically die within days, whereas those in groups can live for months. Isolated ants become hyperactive, stop digesting food properly, stop grooming (which makes them vulnerable to pathogens), and they wander constantly.
​Ants, living in community, allow them to deter much larger threats. Let’s think about that - living in community allows us to deter much larger threats; fear, anxiety, depression, and other illnesses.
We are created to belong. That is where we are most healthy; physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. It is where safety can be found.
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Let’s take a health lesson from the mighty ant. Find your people. They are waiting for you.