Tag Archives: women and heart attacks

Homicide in the E.R. – the tragic case of Beatrice Vance

20 Jan

by Carolyn Thomas

This story has been told for over five years, and it deserves to be told again. It’s the tale of 49-year old Beatrice Vance, who in July of 2006, arrived in the Vista Medical Center Emergency Room in Lake County, Illinois complaining of chest pain, nausea and shortness of breath.

Despite these textbook heart attack symptoms, Beatrice was not seen immediately by E.R. physicians, but was instead told to sit down in the waiting room.  So she waited.  And she waited.  And by the time the E.R. nurse finally called her name two hours later, Beatrice Vance was slumped in her chair, already dead.

The coroner’s report determined that this heart attack was caused by a blocked coronary artery, and contributing factors were delayed and inadequate treatment.

Much later, in a truly startling decision, a coroner’s jury investigating the Beatrice Vance case didn’t just cite the hospital, but it declared this death a homicide in its ruling against the E.R. physicians and nurses working that night.  (more…)

My heart attack story in Ladies Home Journal

13 Jan

by Carolyn Thomas

A few months ago, I was interviewed on the subject of surviving a heart attack by magazine writer Amelia Harnish for Ladies Home Journal’s special Heart Month online edition.  Her article called Heartburn or Heart Attack? is now out – see what you think! But first, an embarrassed warning: remember when your parents wagged their fingers at you and said: “Do like I say, not like I do!”  Keep that counsel in mind when you read my heart attack story. Example: do not, under any circumstances, get into your car and drive yourself anywhere while you are experiencing heart attack symptoms.   (more…)

Are your sleep problems linked to increased heart disease risk?

22 Feb

When one of my Heart Sisters posts was picked up by MedPageToday’s popular blog Kevin MD.com in December, I was thrilled by the response that this article attracted. But one of the most intriguing reactions came from Dr. Steven Park of New York City.

Dr. Park is a sleep specialist and author of the book Sleep Interrupted.

In the 20+ stories from the women I interviewed for my original article (How Does It Really Feel To Have A Heart Attack? Women Survivors Tell Their Stories), he spotted many whose early cardiac symptoms matched those typical of undiagnosed sleep disorders.   (more…)

One-minute quiz: women at risk for heart disease

3 Oct

smoking old lady

Are you a ticking time bomb when it comes to your risks of having a heart attack? Tick away here instead – tick all statements in the quiz below that apply to you. If you tick two or more, see your doctor immediately for a complete risk assessment and develop a plan to manage/reduce your heart disease risk factors.

__Tobacco Smoke:  I smoke (any amount), OR I live or work with people who smoke tobacco regularly.

__Age and Sex: I am a woman over 50 years old, OR I have passed menopause OR had my ovaries removed.

__Cardiac Family History: My father or brother had a heart attack before the age of 55, OR my mother or sister had one before the age of 65, OR my mother, father, sister, brother or grandparent had a stroke.

__Blood Pressure: My blood pressure is higher than normal limits, OR a healthcare professional has said my blood pressure is too high, OR I don’t know what my blood pressure is.

__Cholesterol: I don’t know my total cholesterol number, OR I know that my HDL (good) cholesterol  or LDL (bad) cholesterol numbers are not within normal limits.

__Physical Activity:  I get less than a total of 30 minutes of physical actitivity on most days.

__Overweight: I am 20 pounds/9 kilograms or more overweight for my height and build.

__Diabetes: I have diabetes, OR I need medicine to control my blood sugar.

__Stroke Family History: I’ve been told that I have carotid artery disease, OR I’ve had a stroke or TIA (transient ischemic attack), OR I have a disease of the leg arteries, a high red blood cell count, or sickle cell anemia.

 Source: World Heart Federation

For more information about women and your heart disease risks, visit The Heart Truth. 

Innocence lost: life after a heart attack

31 Jul

138

Written one month after my heart attack, June 2008:

“It isn’t the moment you are struck when you need courage, but the long uphill battle back to sanity and faith and security.”    Anne Morrow Lindbergh

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The wisdom of this quote strikes me every day.  In hindsight, the time I spent hospitalized in the Coronary Care Unit after my heart attack four weeks ago seems like the easiest part of this adventure.

Back then, I was surrounded every moment by round the clock state-of-the-art technology and highly-trained professionals whose only goal was to save my life and make me well enough to go home.

I didn’t appreciate this at the time, but later learned that my hospital has an outstanding cardiothoracic surgical, research and teaching reputation, enough that it attracts skilled cardiologists to come live in our beautiful seaside city.  I was treated with compassion and respect from the moment I was admitted to Emergency after a terrifying cross-country flight from Ottawa rife with increasingly debilitating cardiac symptoms.

But it’s only been in the weeks spent recuperating here at home since I was discharged from CCU that the full impact of this uphill path to recovery has hit me. (more…)

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