The Grinch’s Guide to Women’s Heart Attacks (with apologies to Dr. Seuss)

by Carolyn Thomas     ♥    Heart Sisters (on Blue Sky)

(with apologies to Dr. Seuss)

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Chest pain!? This can make women worry a lot,

Yet when women seek help, some are told they should not:

“Your tests all look fine!” (No one quite knows the reason).

“You’re probably just feeling stressed by the season!”

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It could be that these tests weren’t researched on them.

(And, really – aren’t women just small little men?)

It could be that Grinch docs think women are lying

Or making up symptoms, without even trying.

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When we do share our cardiac symptoms with docs,

Some Grinches can’t quite think outside of the box.

Often our symptoms seem so vague or small

And some women don’t use the word “pain” at all.

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We might say it’s pressure, or fullness, or ache

And crushing fatigue can feel so hard to take.

Shortness of breath, a sore arm – we’re a wreck!

Symptoms now show up from navel to neck.

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We think we might vomit, it’s getting worse now!

This does not feel right, we need help – but please, how?

“Acid reflux!” My Grinch doc declares, loud and grim.

My Grinch nurse warns, “Stop asking questions of him!“

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Embarrassed and shamed, I just want to go home.

Made a fuss over nothing, now feel quite alone.

Emergency Grinch, as I leave: “NOT your heart!!”

So no way I’ll return when those symptoms restart.

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But desperately ill, damned GERD pain is much greater!

So back to the ER I go, two weeks later.

And this time, when Emergency staff look at me,

I can tell they’re now taking me seriously.

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No Grinches today, the staff are all great!

Cardiologist paged, the cath lab awaits.

They now tell me I have “significant” heart woes

In a fully blocked artery, stainless steel stent goes.

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Just two weeks before, I’d been misdiagnosed.

I’d somehow survived fate more deadly than most!

Emergency Grinch may delay diagnosis,

But watch for that other Grinch voice – barely noticed.

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Our own voice is whispering, “It’s nothing! Relax!”

“Stop making a fuss!  Just go back to your tasks!”

We put others first (it’s how women are raised)

Even a heart attack leaves us unfazed!

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Yet you know your body when something feels wrong!

Speak up and be brave, and do not wait too long.

Treat YOURSELF as you would your own daughter or mother,

Then learn about heart health, and share it with others.

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Some things never change, I think you might say.

But the real Dr. Seuss used to put it this way:

“Unless someone like you cares when others folks don’t

Nothing is going to get better – it won’t!”

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Some Grinches aren’t green, and they wear stethoscopes

But some are our voices inside, crushing hope.

Don’t be a Grinch voice, whatever you do!

Trust what women say – and that starts within YOU!

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© 2024 Carolyn Thomas  www.myheartsisters.org

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Wishing a happy, heart-healthy, Grinch-free holiday season to my wonderful readers. . .

Find out as much as you can about:

  ♥  women’s most common cardiac symptoms

♥   our unique cardiac risk factors

♥  myths and facts about women’s heart disease

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NOTE FROM CAROLYN:  In my book, A Woman’s Guide to Living with Heart Disease (Johns Hopkins University Press), I wrote much more about how to help yourself get an accurate cardiac diagnosis. You can ask for it at your local library or favourite bookshop (please support your independent neighbourhood booksellers) or order it online (paperback, hardcover or e-book) at Amazon, or order it directly from Johns Hopkins University Press –  use their code HTWN to save 30% off the cover price.

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I first published my Grinch poem here – with apologies to Dr. Seuss! –  in 2018