Category: Heart Sisters

Why are women (still!) under-represented in medical research?

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 8 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas    ♥   Heart Sisters (on Blue Sky)

An article published in the journal Nature  (September 15, 2025) takes a hard look at why so few women are included in heart research.1  This is not news. Clinical research in cardiovascular medicine has historically focused on male participants, often excluding women due to flimsy ethical, legal or regulatory issues.2  And I’ve been asking questions about this pervasive gender gap in cardiology ever since I survived a misdiagnosed widow-maker heart attack in my 50s.

Until 1993, in fact, many cardiovascular trials (such as the Physicians’ Health Study) included men only. In most cases, in fact, even laboratory studies included male animals only. Continue reading “Why are women (still!) under-represented in medical research?” →

The communication magic of “Caring Bridge”

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 10 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas   ❤️   Heart Sisters (on Blue Sky)

Last week, I responded to a comment here from one of my longtime Heart Sisters  readers, which reminded me of a remarkable patient resource site called Caring Bridge  Her comment took me back in time to my own experience with Caring Bridge – not as a patient, but as a person who just wanted to help out a friend. My response to that comment reminded me, dear reader, that I had not ever mentioned this useful site to my own readers. That’s about to change today!

Here’s how the Caring Bridge site may help you and/or your family:  Continue reading “The communication magic of “Caring Bridge”” →

When you don’t want to talk about your medical updates

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 10 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas   ❤️   Heart Sisters (on Blue Sky)

When you get together with your girlfriends, are there any conversation topics that are not open for discussion? Any that are off-limits? Any personal stories that you think are, well, just too personal to talk about to those women closest to you?

No, me neither.  Continue reading “When you don’t want to talk about your medical updates” →

Pet ownership vs. our lost nouns

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 1 Comment

by Carolyn Thomas   ❤️   Heart Sisters (on Blue Sky)

We know that cognitive decline as we get older is a major public health concern that’s been linked to diminished quality of life. For example, I’ve been noticing small yet alarming changes in my own brain function – not only because I’m getting older every year, but now my breast cancer chemotherapy treatments have suddenly introduced the scary reality of what’s called chemo brain fog.

It’s real, and it’s awful.

Here’s an example of how an average family conversation might now sound.
Continue reading “Pet ownership vs. our lost nouns” →