Introducing Amber Smith, medical journalist specializing in health, fitness, nutrition

Hi everyone! Welcome to my "Heart Beat" blog, where I endeavor to report on all things cardiac. My goal is to provide news and information of interest to patients, family members, caregivers and researchers who have anything to do with heart disease, our nation's No. 1 killer.

Who I am
For 22 years I've covered health and medicine in some capacity for The (Syracuse) Post-Standard. I'm a devoted and passionate journalist who likes learning, enjoys writing and feels grateful to play a role in helping to make sense of our often-confusing healthcare system.

My background includes training (and volunteering) as a paramedic until parenthood provided other things for me to do with my spare time. I also spent three years to obtain a master's degree in Health Services Management and Policy. For a while, I taught at Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

I'm a runner. I do yoga. And when I miss either, I'm not at my best. I'm a lifetime Weight Watchers member--but could still stand to lose a few pounds. Heart disease runs in my family, though I'm blessed with low blood pressure and low cholesterol, myself.

What I want to do
This blog hopefully can answer your questions, tell you something new, keep you up to date and share information related to the vast field of heart disease. I'll blog about new discoveries and developments, significant research and what experts tell us we can do to keep our hearts healthy.

My plan is to provide heart-healthy recipes once a week.

I also plan to stock this blog with explanatory posts about, for instance, "What is an EKG?" and "How can I lower my cholesterol?" and "I've never heard of Antiphospholipid Syndrome; what is it?"

When & Where
Check this blog regularly, or subscribe to it and you'll get an email every time I post.

You can also catch up with me on Twitter, where I'll "tweet" each post.

How you can help
Let me be your journalist.

Got a heart-related question? See if I can find the answer for you. I don't pretend to know everything, but I am pretty good at digging. If this site is to be relevant to you, the reader, help me make sure I'm giving you what you want. Email me at heartbeatwriter@gmail.com with your suggestions.

And if you come across something I should know about, please send it my way.