Whatchu Talkin 'Bout?

We've all heard the warnings:  "heart disease in women ...." or "heart disease in African-Americans ..." or "African American Women have a greater chance of dying from heart disease than .... or the ever popular "heart disease is the number two killer behind ...".  WTH?   What exactly does that mean?   Am I going to have a heart attack tomorrow?  Are my genetics and/or lifestyle putting me at high risk for coronary heart disease?  My arteries are clogged?  Double, triple, quadruple by-pass?  Congestive heart failure.  Valvular heart disease?  Cardiomyopathy.  Murmurs.   Mitral valve prolapse.  Whatchu talkin 'bout doctor?

If your doctor uses the term "heart disease", then "whatchu talkin 'bout" definitely needs to be your follow-up question.   "Heart disease" is a term that covers a multitude of diseases that affect the heart.  In my opinion, as a cardiac patient, it really doesn't tell you anything.  The causes, treatments, recovery rates, all differ depending our your diagnosis.   Yes, there are some treatments that apply to virtually any heart disease such as low sodium/fat diet, consistent exercise, no smoking, limited alcohol consumption.  That applies to everyone and is it really heart disease specific?   No.  That's just common sense recommendations that so many of us refuse to follow until "heart disease" is thrown into the doctor's vocabulary when discussing the results of your physical.

My cardiac rehab group consists of about 12 people now (we had some graduates) and I'm amazed at how different all of our diagnoses are.  Yet, we're all following the same program.  Of course, we have different medications but part of everyone's recovery is to get consistent exercise, eat a heart healthy diet, and learn to cope.  Some of us are doing better than others with that coping thing but that's another post.

So what do you need to ask the doctor?  You need to know the specifics of your particular heart disease for one.   I knew I had rheumatic fever when I was a kid.  I knew I spent a long, long time in the hospital with it.  I knew it left me with a murmur and I knew I had to take antibiotics before dental work.  I'm ashamed to say that's all I knew for sure from a pre-teen until a few weeks before my first surgery.   Keep in mind, I was initially diagnosed during a time when doctors didn't share a lot of specifics.   I know my mother was told to let me do what I felt like doing (no restrictions) so I did.  I swam, played volleyball, rode a bike, attempted basketball (I totally suck) and took my antibiotics before dental work.   I was doing fine with an annual EKG and that's about all it took for years.  I should've picked up on something different when they started wanting to do echos (echocardiograms) but I just assumed technology kept changing so they were using it.

Now we mere mortals have access to a lot more information.  It is up to us to make sure we fully understand any diagnosis we receive from our doctors.  Ask questions until you do.  Then do research from a reputable medical web sites about your specific diagnosis and prepare more questions for your next visit.  Side note:  be really, really careful about reputable web sites.  I usually go with my local hospital and other well known national hospitals' sites as a start.  Never, ever self-diagnose using Web MD (no shade).

If your doctor prescribes medication, make sure you understand why you're taking it, when you're supposed to take it, do you need to avoid any foods -- yeah all that stuff the pharmacy prints out that often gets tossed in the trash.

Then make sure you know what symptoms the doctor wants you to inform them about.  I had been having "flutters" for weeks and just "happened" to tell my cardiologist about them on a follow-up visit.  I just thought I was having anxiety attacks.

It is up to all of us to partner with our doctors and do our part to help him/her manage our health.   That should the standard with any chronic illness we may, unfortunately, be diagnosed with; but because heart disease is such a far reaching diagnosis, it is particularly important to know all you can find so you can participate in your care.

So if the doctor says you show signs of heart disease, you say, whatchu talkin 'bout and pull out your notebook.  

I'm Here

I haven't thought much about my blog these days.  If truth be told, I haven't thought much about anything lately but escaping into a fantasy world of TV and sleeping.   If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I've been going to a cardiac rehab program which lasts 12 weeks, three days a week.  It's a good program and is designed to get us cardiac patients into a routine of steady exercise, teach us about diet, stress management, medications, etc.   We even have a counselor who talks with us individually about the emotional impact of our diagnoses as well as teaching us about the "cardiac blues" and other issues we're dealing with.  All in all, it's been a very intense, and extremely valuable program.

I've learned a lot.  I've been working hard to get up to where they want me as far as exercising.  My last trip to the grocery store was filled with reading labels and buying more fresh fruits and veggies. Shoot I even lost 1 1/2 pounds of the total 10 they want me to lose.  I've been doing what I can do at the job and not freaking out if I'm not Wonder Woman.  With medication (enough that I have to count out the pills in the morning to make sure I'm not missing one), diet changes, and regular exercise, my blood pressure has been spot on.  Of course, I'm exhausted but that's to be somewhat expected and I have to learn to listen to my body more and rest when I need to.

But I didn't start the program with a "let's do this" attitude.  In fact, I was probably defeated before I even stepped on the treadmill that first day.  I think my next few posts will focus on this whole process thus far.  Part therapy to help me come to grips with my condition and partly to share my journey in the hopes that I can shed some light on the very real problem of heart disease in women.

For the first time in weeks, I've truly felt "here".  This song by the legendary Diana Ross says it all for me right now.  Enjoy.

I've Died Three Times

Well, I'm one week post surgery for an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD).  For all the wittiness and bravery I portrayed on Twitter the three days I was in the hospital, believe me it was just one big old mask for the tears, and the fear I was experiencing as I learned I would have to undergo another surgical procedure.   But for the kindness and genuine caring of a topnotch nursing staff, I would have put my butt in a taxi and gone home  to the Doggie Princess.  Once the nurses saw my original scar, they all reassured me the ICD procedure was a piece of cake compared to my other surgery.  I wasn't hearing it.  I'm deathly afraid slightly leery of anesthesia.  There was only one part of this procedure that I was going to be completely out but that didn't matter.  I knew they were going to basically kill me so they test the defibrillator and make sure it shocked me back to life.   I found out afterwards, they did that twice.  

A friend of mine who went through the first surgery with me was quick to point out "dang - you've died three times".   Once during original surgery when I was transferred to the heart/lung machine and twice during this procedure to make sure the device worked.  That's a realization I can't even begin to articulate.  

I'm happy to report that the nurses were right.  It wasn't as bad as my first surgery but the seriousness of the implant hit home when they gave me the list of dos and don'ts of living with an ICD.  The first being my jacked up hair.  I can't lift my left arm above heart height for the next six weeks - makes it very difficult to wrap my hair in the manner to which it's accustomed.  I'll be trying to get an appointment for some braids with the quickness.   Other things like no cell phone within 6 inches of the device, making sure TSA agents hand screen me with minimal exposure to their equipment when flying, and keep it moving when entering stores with the theft deterrents on the doors just reinforces lifestyle changes I have to make -- again.   

I haven't been shocked since I've had the implant which is a good thing.  It means my my heart rhythm hasn't gone crazy.   I'm having moments of hysteria and I've found myself extremely hesitant in performing some basic living tasks.  Sleeping is especially difficult right now.  I'll never know when I'm getting ready to get a shock of life and I think that anticipation has me a little bit frozen right now.   Granted, I'm post-op, but I'm basically staying in the house these days.  My daily  walk with the Doggie Princess and a run to the local seafood restaurant is as far as I can venture out right now.  I recognize that though and I'll be making an appointment with a therapist to make sure I get over this fear before I have to re-enter the real world.  

Now that I've died three times, I'm more determined than ever to make my remaining days on this earth meaningful and satisfying to my soul.  It's a necessity that can no longer be ignored.  

Take It To Heart

Alright, listen up.  I need all my sisters - Black, White, Hispanic, and Asian, to take heart disease in women seriously.    It is no secret that I've had some serious heart issues that resulted from a nasty case of rheumatic fever when I was a child, but I'm now having problems that have absolutely nothing to do with the artificial valve I had put in 13 years ago (Hey Barbara - Use the Pillow)

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind of emotional and physical setbacks that have left me with a call from my cardiologist's office checking to see if I was still alive based on the readings from my heart monitor they had me wearing, a prescription for nitroglycerin, an aspirin-a-day regiment, and a heart cath on Tuesday which may result in a stent, a pacemaker, or nothing but more meds (I'm hoping for more meds but  pacemaker is sounding like a strong possibility).

I've been pushing along like crazy with a workload that is just too much for me to handle, tiredness that I attributed to being overworked, and "flutterings" that I attributed to stress and continued to take Xanax to relax.  With my history, these were all symptoms that I should have paid more attention to, but I wasn't having any pain that I couldn't handle so I let it go.  Turns out the "flutterings" are, in my case, the more serious ventricular tachycardia.  The extreme tiredness is indicative of decreased heart function, and the increased  anxiety and depression too often go hand in hand with congestive heart failure. In short, I'm pretty fortunate that I haven't had a major heart attack.  Hopefully, the cath on Tuesday will keep me from having one.


I don't know what Tuesday holds in store for me (except a week off work initially).  But if you read this post, I want you to go to the American Heart Association's Go Red For Women page and read some of the stories of women of all ages who have been struck by heart disease.  The symptoms in women are so different from those in men so it's very important to listen to your body.  If you're having shortness of breath doing activities that used to be considered routine, or "flutterings" or just don't feel right, please, please have it checked out.   If you have a doctor that pooh poohs your symptoms go to another one.  Take it to heart ladies.  If you don't, no one else will.