Archive | August, 2010

When the ‘wrong’ family member gets heart disease

10 Aug

I’ve come to learn that a common reaction to a heart attack is others’ utter shock that this could happen to “YOU, OF ALL PEOPLE!”  Women in particular report reactions like this because, generally speaking, we’re used to being the ones who take care of others, and to being the strong glue that holds our family life and relationships together.

How dare we get sick?

Dr. Wayne Sotile, in his very useful book Heart Illness and Intimacy: How Caring Relationships Aid Recovery, talks about the “family scramble” that can happen when somebody in that family is diagnosed with heart disease.  And few things can heighten the family scramble, he claims, like the “wrong” family member getting sick.  (more…)

Is everyday stress gnawing at your arteries? Take this quiz to find out

6 Aug

According to the Canadian Mental Health Association’s useful little publication called Coping With Stress, it is sometimes easier to recognize the damaging effects of chronic stress in others than in yourself.

“You may have learned to endure rather than overcome emotional chaos caused by stress. And your problems may already have begun to feel familiar and “normal”.  This can negatively impact your physical health – sometimes drastically. Yet many of us are unaware or unwilling to admit that we are under stress.”

Does this sound familiar?  It sure did for me. In fact, it was only after my heart attack that I was able to accurately assess the more-or-less chronic state of stress that had somehow become normalized for me. We now know that this kind of stress can have deadly consequences as a risk factor for both heart disease and stroke. People who are having problems dealing with extreme ongoing stress may have high blood pressure, elevated levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol, obesity, diabetes and perhaps most deadly of all - stickier blood platelets that are more likely to clot inside our arteries.

Take this quiz to help you rate your own stress index – just answer YES or NO to each of these questions, and give yourself one point for each YES:  (more…)

Hope for the aching heart

2 Aug

This article, written by Dr. Lisa Holland, appeared in the Columbia Notebook, Spring/Summer, 2007

Jen, who lives with her husband and two children, recently underwent an unexpected double bypass surgery. At 50, her course of healing should have been uncomplicated. But six days after surgery, she developed a fear of being alone and would stay up extremely late because she was afraid to fall asleep.

Over a period of several months, her once-savored walks with Toby, the family dog, dwindled down to once a week until finally she stopped walking him at all. When Doug, her husband, told her that he was worried about her, she cried.

Through her tears she replied:

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me, all I know is that I’m scared I’ll have another heart attack.”  (more…)

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