Author: Carolyn Thomas

Looking for me on Facebook? I’m no longer there…

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 16 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥ @HeartSisters  ♥  March 22, 2018

With security issues, data breaches, and downright creepiness going on over at Facebook, this morning I made the decision to deactivate and delete my two Facebook accounts (both my personal one, and my book one). If you follow me in either space, I’m not there! When I mentioned this morning that today was THE DAY I was going to delete my accounts, one of my Facebook followers asked:

“How will we connect with you when you post new Heart Sisters blog articles?”

I invite her (and you) to simply subscribe to my blog (right hand side bar). You’ll get an email when a new blog post is up (typically every Sunday morning).

And unlike Facebook, I promise not to sell any of your information. . .  Continue reading “Looking for me on Facebook? I’m no longer there…” →

Can early warning symptoms predict a heart attack?

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 34 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥ @HeartSisters  

Did you know that you might experience early warning signs that mean you could be on your way to having a heart attack?

I would have answered NO to that question until I reflected (after the fact!) on the puzzling symptoms that I’d personally experienced two days in a row during the week before my first severe cardiac symptoms hit. Continue reading “Can early warning symptoms predict a heart attack?” →

“Doing Harm”: Maya Dusenbery’s new book

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 67 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥  @HeartSisters 

Author Maya Dusenbery interviewed me while I was neck-deep in final copy edits of the book I was writing for Johns Hopkins University Press, A Woman’s Guide to Living with Heart Disease.  She wanted to talk about why I thought female heart patients are more likely to be under-diagnosed than men, and then – worse! – more likely to be under-treated even when appropriately diagnosed. Maya was writing her own book at the time, and it’s finally out this week. Its pithy title sums up the focus pretty succinctly: Doing Harm: The Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick. Here’s a 10-word summary of her book:

My own review of Dusenbery’s book starts with this warning to my heart sisters: “Do NOT start reading ‘Doing Harm’ unless you have first taken your blood pressure meds!”    Continue reading ““Doing Harm”: Maya Dusenbery’s new book” →

“Best narrative I have ever encountered on this topic”

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 8 Comments
Thanks to John Sawdon and his Cardiac Health Foundation of Canada  colleagues for including this chapter-by-chapter overview of my book in their Winter Bulletin:

John Sawdon’s Book Review:  “A Woman’s Guide to Living with Heart Disease”

Written by Carolyn Thomas, fromVictoria, B.C. and author of the blog Heart Sisters; foreword written by Martha Gulati, MD FACC.  Published by Johns Hopkins University Press.

“Carolyn Thomas begins Chapter 1 with her very first heart attack symptoms and the decision to seek immediate medical help at the Emergency Department of her local hospital. She is misdiagnosed, however, with acid reflux and sent home.  This dramatic introduction is followed by what researchers report about the known disparities in the research, diagnoses, treatments and outcomes of women’s heart disease compared to men’s –  and includes brief case studies of women who describe their own surprisingly varied heart attack symptoms. Continue reading ““Best narrative I have ever encountered on this topic”” →