Category: Cardiology 101

posts here focus on a variety of topics all about the heart and how it works

What I wish I knew back then: “Did my family history of heart disease lead to my heart attack?”

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 4 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 women’s cardiac risk factors.  She was worried about her own risk for developing heart disease one day because of her family history.  Her mother, she explained, 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:

  • been significantly overweight
  • rarely exercised
  • lived with poorly managed Type 2 diabetes
  • been a heavy smoker for over two decades

This young woman, however, shared none of those risk factors.  Should she still be concerned about this family history of heart disease?    Continue reading “What I wish I knew back then: “Did my family history of heart disease lead to my heart attack?”” →

Women’s heart disease: is it time to hang up the Red Dress?

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 20 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas   ♥   @HeartSisters 

We were driving home around dusk when I noticed that the fountain at our beautiful provincial legislature buildings here in downtown Victoria was illuminated in bright purple light. I immediately guessed that the lights must be part of some kind of awareness-raising campaign – but awareness of what? I asked my friends in the car, but none of us knew why the fountain was now purple.

So I looked up “landmarks lit up with purple”.  I learned that lighting a landmark in purple raises awareness of pancreatic cancer – but that’s not all.  It’s also the colour that’s supposed to raise awareness of Alzheimer’s Disease, epilepsy, ADHD, domestic violence, lupus, testicular cancer, Crohn’s Disease – and probably many other such causes.
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So how does seeing a PURPLE fountain really help to raise my awareness about anything?

Continue reading “Women’s heart disease: is it time to hang up the Red Dress?” →

Did you learn about CPR from TV shows like Grey’s Anatomy?

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 16 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥  @HeartSisters 

Before my heart attack, much of what I knew about CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) was learned by watching TV medical dramas like Grey’s Anatomy.  Researchers who study how television has impacted public opinion suggest that TV actors following their cardiac arrest scripts are heroically brought back to life by another TV actor pretending to perform CPR over 70 per cent of the time. (1)  Pulse restored, smiles of relief all around, and the cheerful patient and family heading for home while waving in gratitude to the brilliant hospital life-savers.

For real-life heart patients, however, we know that most people whose hearts suddenly stop don’t survive. Only about one-quarter make it out of the hospital alive. Of those survivors, the American Heart Association reports that nearly one-third are seriously disabled.(2) Continue reading “Did you learn about CPR from TV shows like Grey’s Anatomy?” →

Financial toxicity: can you afford to have a heart attack?

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 11 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥  @HeartSisters 

Here in the Lotus Land that is Canada’s beautiful west coast, my total hospital bill after my heart attack was ZERO. The costs of my Emergency Department visits, all cardiac diagnostic tests/procedures/treatments, my hospital bed, physician/nursing care – plus all follow-up appointments with a cardiologist – are entirely funded by our provincial government health plan. Unlike so many of the American heart patients I’ve encountered since my own heart attack, I left the hospital without ever worrying how I was going to pay for my medical care.

Yet I’m highly aware that cardiac patients far less fortunate than I am often leave their hospitals not only worried about their hearts, but now worried about paying catastrophic bills.  Medical researchers call this financial toxicity.     .   Continue reading “Financial toxicity: can you afford to have a heart attack?” →