Author: Carolyn Thomas

When you have a family history of heart disease

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 23 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥  @HeartSisters

A young 30-something in one of my Heart-Smart Women presentation audiences asked an intriguing question while we were discussing cardiac risk factors.  She was especially  worried about her own personal risk for developing heart disease one day because of her family history.  Her mother had died several years earlier from a heart attack while only in her 40s.  But then this young woman added a few additional facts about her Mum.  For example, her mother had also:

  • weighed over 300 pounds
  • rarely if ever engaged in physical exercise
  • lived with poorly controlled Type 2 diabetes
  • been a heavy smoker for over two decades

This young woman, however, shared none of those risk factors.  So what do you think? Should she be concerned about this family history of heart disease after all?    Continue reading “When you have a family history of heart disease” →

Yet another cardiac risk calculator? My response in the British Medical Journal

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 25 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥  @HeartSisters

I was contacted by the British Medical Journal recently,  asking me for a heart patient’s perspective on a new cardiovascular risk calculator.  It’s been launched by the U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS), and claims that it can tell you your real heart age. Here’s what I wrote . . .   Continue reading “Yet another cardiac risk calculator? My response in the British Medical Journal” →

Post-Traumatic Growth: how a crisis makes life better – or NOT

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 36 Comments
Full disclosure: I’ve always felt a bit squirmy when patients facing a life-altering medical crisis cheerfully declare that this diagnosis isn’t only NOT dreadful, but it’s actually quite fabulous! But before I dig into that theory, let’s look at this positivity phenomenon.
.

Psychologists sometimes refer to it as “Post-Traumatic Growth”.
 Continue reading “Post-Traumatic Growth: how a crisis makes life better – or NOT” →

Do we need to change the name of cardiac rehab?

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 22 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥  @HeartSisters

Once discharged from hospital following my heart attack, I was gobsmacked by how physically frail I felt. Simply taking a shower meant a 20-minute lie down to recover. Just walking to the corner with my son, Ben, required me to clutch his arm for support. But it wasn’t only this new weakness that alarmed me. As a former distance runner, I felt suddenly afraid of any exertion that might bring on the horrific heart attack symptoms I’d so recently endured. That’s where cardiac rehabilitation (a 2-4 month supervised exercise and education program for heart patients) literally saved me. Continue reading “Do we need to change the name of cardiac rehab?” →