Aa
Can you hear me straining?
That's the sound of me dragging out that soapbox for my annual lecture. Pull up a chair, and please pay close attention because this message could save your life. Tomorrow is GO RED day in the U.S. Nope, not turning communist, but wearing red to raise heart health awareness for women.
Do you know that heart disease kills more women than the next 6 or 7 causes of death, COMBINED? You might not because there is nothing sexy or glamorous about dead women. They die. Maybe they make a headline or two and then they are quickly forgotten.
There is a growing band of women, myself included, who are survivors of heart disease and left behind for whatever reason to spread this message. Unlike so many other chronic diseases, so much of heart disease is preventable. Understand your risks and do things to correct them. Stop smoking - it is one of the worst things you can do to your heart. I know because I paid for a long-time habit that I should have stopped years ago.
Know your numbers - your cholesterol count is a significant number and tells you if you are at increased risk of heart attack, stroke, or some quiet insidious form of slow heart death. Know your blood pressure too. IF you have high numbers, make some simple changes. Exercise more and look at ways to improve your diet are two great ways to start. There are medicines available to help control both of these - blood pressure and cholesterol.
Don't be afraid/embarassed to call 911 if you suspect you are having a heart event. The worst mistake I made was having my husband drive me to the ER because I was sure it was nothing. I put myself and him at risk during that tense drive to the hospital. Please don't make that same stupid error, down playing what was going on.
You might take a few minutes to watch this informative video that is playing this year for GO RED - in between the fun presentation it touches on many of the serious common misconceptions about heart attacks and could possibly save your life some day. It illustrates what so many women do through day in and day out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=t7wmPWTnDbE
I had "just a little heart attack" in January 2008, and was fortunate that I was not left with permanent heart damage. I credit that to dumb luck and listening to my instinct. I knew something was wrong, but not quite sure what. I ended up in the ER of our local Heart Hospital, and that is where I had my heart attack - already hooked up to monitors and an iv where they could immediately push drugs to quiet the attack.
Please take time to find out more about the signs of heart disease and attacks and what you can do to prevent them. It is your life, and time to take control as best you can.
If you would, drag out something red to wear tomorrow and help me to spread the word - don't let heart disease continue to be this silent killer.
Be well, be smart,
Laura
Survivor, 2008
Do you know that heart disease kills more women than the next 6 or 7 causes of death, COMBINED? You might not because there is nothing sexy or glamorous about dead women. They die. Maybe they make a headline or two and then they are quickly forgotten.
There is a growing band of women, myself included, who are survivors of heart disease and left behind for whatever reason to spread this message. Unlike so many other chronic diseases, so much of heart disease is preventable. Understand your risks and do things to correct them. Stop smoking - it is one of the worst things you can do to your heart. I know because I paid for a long-time habit that I should have stopped years ago.
Know your numbers - your cholesterol count is a significant number and tells you if you are at increased risk of heart attack, stroke, or some quiet insidious form of slow heart death. Know your blood pressure too. IF you have high numbers, make some simple changes. Exercise more and look at ways to improve your diet are two great ways to start. There are medicines available to help control both of these - blood pressure and cholesterol.
Don't be afraid/embarassed to call 911 if you suspect you are having a heart event. The worst mistake I made was having my husband drive me to the ER because I was sure it was nothing. I put myself and him at risk during that tense drive to the hospital. Please don't make that same stupid error, down playing what was going on.
You might take a few minutes to watch this informative video that is playing this year for GO RED - in between the fun presentation it touches on many of the serious common misconceptions about heart attacks and could possibly save your life some day. It illustrates what so many women do through day in and day out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=t7wmPWTnDbE
I had "just a little heart attack" in January 2008, and was fortunate that I was not left with permanent heart damage. I credit that to dumb luck and listening to my instinct. I knew something was wrong, but not quite sure what. I ended up in the ER of our local Heart Hospital, and that is where I had my heart attack - already hooked up to monitors and an iv where they could immediately push drugs to quiet the attack.
Please take time to find out more about the signs of heart disease and attacks and what you can do to prevent them. It is your life, and time to take control as best you can.
If you would, drag out something red to wear tomorrow and help me to spread the word - don't let heart disease continue to be this silent killer.
Be well, be smart,
Laura
Survivor, 2008
Funny, I just happened to have worn red on Friday, myself!
I've worked in cardiology for 31 years (I'm an echocardiographer). In addition to stopping smoking, watching your numbers, as Lulu suggested, and eating healthy REAL food (no processed stuff), I have another suggestion. If you have a strong family history of heart disease, a baseline stress echo is a great idea. It's a completely non-invasive method of detecting serious coronary disease. It's about 85% sensitive and specific, and as I have been known to say, "it can't hurt, and it may help".
This is not to say we should be looking for trouble, but if a strong family history is in the cards, we ought to have a look. We need to care for the whole person - it's not all about MS.
I've worked in cardiology for 31 years (I'm an echocardiographer). In addition to stopping smoking, watching your numbers, as Lulu suggested, and eating healthy REAL food (no processed stuff), I have another suggestion. If you have a strong family history of heart disease, a baseline stress echo is a great idea. It's a completely non-invasive method of detecting serious coronary disease. It's about 85% sensitive and specific, and as I have been known to say, "it can't hurt, and it may help".
This is not to say we should be looking for trouble, but if a strong family history is in the cards, we ought to have a look. We need to care for the whole person - it's not all about MS.
Yep, I heard Good Morning America talking about this, so I switched my shirt this morning to red.
Thanks for the friendly reminder. Women really need to pay attention - watch what they eat, exercise, don't smoke, etc, all the stuff that you mentioned.
And we're very thankful that you were lucky enough to just have a little heart attack.
Kelly :-)
Thanks for the friendly reminder. Women really need to pay attention - watch what they eat, exercise, don't smoke, etc, all the stuff that you mentioned.
And we're very thankful that you were lucky enough to just have a little heart attack.
Kelly :-)
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