Living with Heart Disease

By , Leslie Goldman, Woman's Day
Heart disease affects millions of women, including the five who follow. What sets them apart from the rest? These survivors have made it their mission to raise awareness of heart disease in women and are active with the following organizations.

Go Red For Women 
The American Heart Association's GRFW movement offers heart health information and resources, as well as advice for women by age group.
 
The Heart Truth 
Educate women in your own community about heart disease with the help of this campaign from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. 

 
WomenHeart 
The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease provides free support services to women living with heart disease and information on heart-healthy living. 

Click through to meet the women as they open about the lessons they’ve learned from coping with heart disease.

In 2001, halfway through a water aerobics class with my sister, I started coughing and couldn't stop. I thought I was having an asthma attack, so I drove myself to the ER. The doctors thought a virus was attacking my heart and causing fluid to build up in my lungs and sent me home with medication. At my follow-up visit two weeks later, I wasn't any better, so the doctor sent me to the hospital for a cardiac catheterization (a procedure in which doctors take a close look at your heart and arteries). When I woke up, I immediately knew something was wrong. The room was filled with people—including my husband, who was in tears.

The doctor told me my left main artery was severely blocked, and I needed bypass surgery right then and there. I was stunned: I'd been diagnosed with very high cholesterol (in the 300s) right after college, but since I was young and at a healthy weight, my doctor just kept an eye on me. It wasn't until after the surgery that I realized if I had educated myself about high cholesterol and heart disease, I would have insisted on more tests and handled the situation more aggressively. As doctors wheeled me into the operating room, I kissed my husband goodbye and sobbed—I thought it might be the last time I saw him.

I am grateful the surgery saved my life, but I had to find a new normal. Extreme fatigue prevents me from working, but I try to walk 2½ miles and take an hour daily for "me" time: reading and listening to music. I lost the 35 pounds that I'd gained, and have regular checkups.

I also found out that I have a gene defect that causes my sky-high cholesterol—and when my sons were 6 and 9 years old (they're now 18 and 20), they tested positive for the defect. They are taking statins and we've all followed a lowfat, low-salt diet ever since. In a way, my heart failure saved their lives, too.

People ask, "Aren't you angry that your original doctor didn't do more?" But back then, doctors weren't so clued in to women and heart disease. Physicians are more educated now, but it's still up to you to know your risk factors and how to protect your heart—at every age.

Click here to read more on living with heart disease from Woman's Day.
 
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