Category: Heart Sisters

What I wish I knew back then: “Am I having a heart attack?” Part 1 in a new summer series

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 11 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas    ♥    @HeartSisters

Part of what made my “widowmaker” heart attack so frightening at the time was simply how much I did not know about what was happening to me. Like many women, if I ever thought about heart disease – which was approximately NEVER! – I considered it to be a man’s problem. And as a healthy woman in my 50s (and a distance runner for 19 years), becoming a heart patient one day was never on my radar.

“What I Wish I Knew Back Then”  is a new back-to-basics summer series of posts here on Heart Sisters that will revisit some of the most frequently asked questions from brand new heart patients. Today, we kick off the series with the very basic question that accompanies almost all frightening cardiac symptoms: “Am I having a heart attack?”         . Continue reading “What I wish I knew back then: “Am I having a heart attack?” Part 1 in a new summer series” →

Top 5 most popular Heart Sisters posts from 2022

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 11 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥  @HeartSisters  

Before I tear the last page from my 2022 calendar (yes! I still love my big paper calendars!), here’s my annual look back at what my readers were reading this past year on Heart Sisters. It was indeed a freakishly weird year for this site: the first time since its launch in 2009, for example, that I took a complete summer break from writing about women and heart disease. This happened unexpectedly after I became utterly obsessed with my newest passion: trying to grow roses in pots out on my balcony.  (If you’re a rose lover, you can find the archived gardening updates I wrote all summer, starting here). Spoiler alert: like many things in life, this summer adventure turned out to be mostly about managing unrealistic expectations. . .   Meanwhile, here are the five Heart Sisters posts that were most popular in 2022: Continue reading “Top 5 most popular Heart Sisters posts from 2022” →

Diagnostic Uncertainty vs. Unwarranted Certainty: which is worse for patients?

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 19 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas     ♥    @HeartSisters 

The Emergency physician who misdiagnosed my heart attack displayed not even a whiff of uncertainty while delivering that misdiagnosis.  “YOU” – he declared confidently – “are in the right demographic for acid reflux!”  (without any gastrointestinal diagnostic tests). He sent me home that day with instructions to ask my family doctor to prescribe antacid drugs for my symptoms (central chest pain, nausea, sweating and pain down my left arm).  I now suspect that, if only that confident doc would have bothered to Google my symptoms, both he and Dr. Google would have landed on the same search result:  myocardial infarction (heart attack).

But in fact, he seemed remarkably certain despite being remarkably wrong.   . Continue reading “Diagnostic Uncertainty vs. Unwarranted Certainty: which is worse for patients?” →

How I spent my summer vacation. . .

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 5 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas    ♥   @HeartSisters

.                                        2007:  My Kiftsgate rambling rose in glorious bloom!

For the first time in 14 years, I took a wee summer break from writing my weekly Heart Sisters posts, and started a small temporary site, The Novice Rose Gardener, in the spring of 2022 – mostly to track my new obsession/adventure:  trying to grow balcony roses. I truly believed this learning experience would bring me joy ( I LOVE LOVE LOVE roses!) – but, just like in real life, I learned that it’s far more about managing expectations. My adventure can now best be described as a horticultural roller coaster!  By the way, to my readers who have been asking when or if I’ll be getting back to writing those Sunday morning blog posts about women’s heart health: I’m unable to say quite yet.  Meanwhile, you can find links to my list of all 900+ articles here.  And for all of you who happen to love roses – or roller coasters – I’m archiving my balcony rose posts, starting here with the first essay:

1.  Right Rose, Right Place – March

My only experience with choosing and planting roses (as opposed to moving into a home that already had roses in the garden) was back in the late 90s when I read an article about an amazingly fast-growing rose called Kiftsgate.  The article said:            .

Continue reading “How I spent my summer vacation. . .” →