Archive | September, 2010

A foreshortened future

27 Sep

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥ @HeartSisters

Cardiac psychologist and heart attack survivor Dr. Stephen Parker recently described a symptom of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that rang a bell for him after his own cardiac event. The PTSD symptom is called “a sense of a foreshortened future“. In other words, after a traumatic event – in this case, a heart attack – the patient “does not expect to have a career, marriage, children, or a normal life span.” Dr. Steve tells his own story of this symptom in his Heartcurrents blog:

“Three months after the heart attack, I went to Home Depot to buy something for the house. I walked inside, saw the plethora of nice things to make a nice house, and started feeling extremely depressed.

“What was the point? I knew I was going to die within a short time.   Continue reading →

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Say what? Do patients really hear what doctors tell them?

23 Sep

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥ @HeartSisters

When I had a heart attack two years ago, I was taken immediately from the E.R. to the O.R. for emergency treatment for a left anterior descending coronary artery that turned out to be 99% blocked.  But, overwhelmed and terrified, I knew nothing of what was about to happen to me, even though I have a vague memory of the cardiologist explaining something to me before I was taken upstairs. I don’t think I was capable of comprehension at the time. Everything I know about surviving what’s known as the “widowmaker” heart attack, I learned much, much later.

I’m not alone. A new study suggests that heart patients believe that their cardiac interventions have far greater benefits than they actually do. Continue reading →

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Long distance running: safe for women’s hearts?

19 Sep

Eighteen years ago, when my YWCA running group completed our very first half-marathon event, we all crossed the finish line together holding hands. And weeping! Tear-streaked race number bibs are how you can spot first-time distance racers.

There was interesting news for distance runners last month from the European Society of Cardiology meetings in Stockholm: distance runners appear to develop some transient heart changes during races, but overall these activities don’t seem to mean long-term cardiac harm for the vast majority of runners.

But there do seem to be some gender differences in heart changes, particularly among black women.   Continue reading →

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The heart patient’s chronic lament: “Excuse me. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be a bother…”

15 Sep

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥ @HeartSisters

Two weeks before being hospitalized with a heart attack, I was sent home from the Emergency Department of that same hospital with an acid reflux misdiagnosis, despite presenting with textbook heart attack symptoms like chest pain and pain radiating down my left arm.  

At that first visit, I left for home feeling embarrassed and apologetic because I’d just wasted five hours of their valuable time. I felt so embarrassed, in fact, that I even sent the staff in Emergency a sheepish little thank you note the following day apologizing once again for making a fuss over nothing.

Not making a fuss is a valued trait for many of us strong women, but this tendency can cause disastrous cardiac outcomes if it makes us reluctant to demand immediate medical attention when we need it most.  Continue reading →

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What is causing my chest pain?

11 Sep

First of all, I think even using the word “pain” to describe a common heart attack symptom may be misleading for many women.

It’s important to remember that up to 40% of women experience no chest symptoms at all during a heart attack. And since my own heart attack, I have met countless women who describe their chest symptoms not as pain, but in one of these ways:

  • pressure
  • squeezing
  • choking
  • numbness
  • tightness
  • heaviness
  • fullness
  • burning

These symptoms – called angina pectoris -  can appear not only in the chest area, but also in the neck, throat, or upper abdomen, and can be associated with discomfort in the jaw, shoulders, head, or both left or right arms.

Cardiologist Dr. Richard Fogoros reminds us that “these symptoms can last from less than a second to days or weeks, can occur frequently or rarely, and can occur sporadically or predictably. With such a broad definition, you can see why the term ‘chest pain’ is in itself of little help to doctors.”   Continue reading →

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“I’m not depressed!” – and other ways we deny the stigma of mental illness after a heart attack

7 Sep

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥ @HeartSisters

“This is the most thorough review article I have seen on psychological interventions after heart events,” writes cardiac psychologist Dr. Stephen Parker* about a U.K. study on heart patients. And he should know. Dr. Steve is also a heart attack survivor himself who has explored his own profound experiences with the depression and anxiety that commonly accompany any cardiac event.

The study, reported in the British Journal of Cardiology in July 2010, followed over 400 London heart patients for two years – of whom at least half showed symptoms of anxiety or depression when first interviewed.  But the study authors described their participants in this way:

“Many of these heart patients were reluctant to accept a diagnosis of anxiety or depression andexpressed reservations to the clinical psychologist by rejecting the term ‘depression’ for describing their problems, or by expressing negative views about attending a mental health service for treatment.”

In fact, these ‘negative views’ associated with the stigma of having mental health problems were so strong that all psychological interventions studied were provided to heart patients as part of a scheduled Cardiac Rehabilitation program at St. Thomas’s Hospital in London instead of at a mental health facility.   Continue reading →

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