Archive | September, 2012

World Heart Day: focus on women and children

28 Sep

by Carolyn Thomas

It’s easy to forget that heart disease is not only our biggest health threat here in North America, but it also wins that dubious prize worldwide.  Over 17 million cardiovascular disease deaths will occur this year – half of whom will be in females. That’s why the Swiss-based World Heart Federation has launched an international goal of reducing premature heart disease deaths by 25 per cent by the year 2025.

The Federation also reminds us of the myth that cardiovascular diseases, including heart disease and stroke, are lifestyle diseases that primarily affect older, wealthy, male populations.  Continue reading →

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A heart film to watch before “Pinktober” arrives

24 Sep

by Carolyn Thomas

We’re approaching the Pink season, my heart sisters. It’s that time of year when breast cancer awareness campaigns and their accompanying corporate marketing shills rev into high gear. Last Pinktober, we saw pink buckets of Kentucky Fried Chicken, pink-handled Tasers, and (yes, seriously) pink Smith & Wesson handguns, each somehow helping us to be more aware of breast cancer.

What could possibly top what breast cancer survivor and author Barbara Ehrenreich calls this “cult of pink kitsch” again this year?

From my perspective as a 30+ year veteran in the public relations field, I have to say that the breast cancer folks have done a fabulous job in raising awareness of their cause. So fabulous, in fact, that they have erroneously convinced women that breast cancer is our biggest health threat.

It is not, of course.  This year, heart disease will kill six times more women than breast cancer will.  In fact, heart disease kills more women each year than all forms of cancer combined.  Continue reading →

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“Is my bra too tight?” – a poem for heart patients

20 Sep

by Carolyn Thomas

Numbness in the lip. Persistent cough. Pain between shoulder blades. Buzzing elbows. I thought I’d heard just about every possible vague or unusual heart disease symptom in women so far, but there’s one that I had never heard about until just recently.  And since then, women seem to be coming out of the woodwork to add that they too have experienced this peculiar cardiac symptom.   Continue reading →

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My lowly beginnings as an empowered patient

16 Sep

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥ @HeartSisters

I still remember the day when it all began. I was very sick (don’t remember exactly what the sickness was, because I was only about five years old at the time). But I was sick enough for my mother to call our family physician, Dr. Zaritsky, who came right over to the house to see me.  (Yes, that is how old I am. I actually do remember when family docs made house calls).

Dr. Zaritsky declared that I needed an injection to treat whatever was ailing me, but – horrors! – the injection was to be done by pulling down my pajama bottoms and jabbing me right in the bare bum.

I was outraged!   Continue reading →

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“I care about you” and other things to say to sick friends

12 Sep

by Carolyn Thomas

In honour of National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week, I think I’ll snort some nitro spray. Oh, wait. Sorry. I mean, I think I’ll talk about what to say when somebody you care about is ill – rather than the well-meaning (but often annoying) greeting: “You look great!“ 

When I’m having a really bad day, I’ve often thought that a lovely  neck brace or leg cast might come in handy. It would be like sporting a well-recognized outside sign that something is not quite right inside, because my cardiac symptoms are mostly invisible to others.

Continue reading →

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30 little things about my invisible illness you may not know

8 Sep

by Carolyn Thomas

It’s Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week and this year, the campaign organizers have provided a 30 Things template for bloggers like me. Most of us look and sound pretty much the way we did before being diagnosed with a chronic and progressive illness which may not be at all visibly obvious to the outside world. This can then make it challenging for those around us to ‘get it’ when we are struggling with debilitating symptoms. So with the hope of helping to expand public awareness into next week and beyond, here goes:

1. The illness I live with is called: Inoperable Coronary Microvascular Disease

2. I was diagnosed with it in the year: 2009

3. But I had symptoms since: I survived a “widow maker” heart attack in May 2008 (which was two weeks after I was originally sent home from the E.R. misdiagnosed with acid reflux – despite presenting with textbook heart attack symptoms like crushing chest pain, nausea, sweating and pain radiating down my left arm). Later emergency treatment finally confirmed a myocardial infarction (heart attack), but debilitating cardiac symptoms continued after I was sent home – and that meant more tests, more hospital procedures, more meds, more treatment – until my microvascular disease diagnosis.

4. The biggest adjustment I’ve had to make is: not being able to continue working in my public relations career due to ongoing cardiac symptoms; for me, this has also meant the demoralizing experience of needing to apply for (and then learn to live on) a disability pension.

5. Most people assume I’m: my same old self. I am not.  Continue reading →

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