Category: Signs of a heart attack

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” →

Sweating: the neglected cardiac symptom

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 23 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥ @HeartSisters

One of the first heart attack symptoms I experienced (along with central chest pain, nausea and pain down my left arm) was profuse sweating. I was out for my regular early morning walk at the time, but not going faster than usual or trekking up a steep hill. It was a mild spring day – just your average Monday morning walk along the relatively flat streets of my neighbourhood.

As a former distance runner, I have had years of experience on long very sweaty runs. But sudden sweating during an easy flat walk? That just doesn’t happen to me.       . Continue reading “Sweating: the neglected cardiac symptom” →

When male and female heart patients play the same game, but with different rules

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ Leave a comment
                                   .        Notice anything unusual about this group of doctors?

by Carolyn Thomas    ♥   @HeartSisters

She introduced herself to me as she took her seat – although she, of course, needed NO introduction. I was utterly star-struck to realize that THE Nanette Wenger had just sat down beside me in the Mayo Clinic auditorium hosting our conference on women and heart disease. Between the onstage presentations, she chatted amiably, graciously curious about me, a heart patient/panelist on that day’s conference schedule.  I asked about her early days as a female cardiologist in such a steeply male-dominated field. My take-away from that memorable autumn afternoon:  when a noted medical pioneer who has been a practicing cardiologist for 70 years speaks, you listen!

Here’s what Dr. Wenger recently had to say about a Yale University study – in her no-nonsense editorial published in the cardiac journal Circulation – “Sauce for the Goose vs. Sauce for the Gander:  Should Men and Women Play the Same Game But With Different Rules?”          .      Continue reading “When male and female heart patients play the same game, but with different rules” →

New chest pain guideline: “atypical” is OUT!

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 19 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas   ♥  @HeartSisters

At last! This long-awaited first-ever Guideline for the Evaluation and Diagnosis of Chest Pain for physicians and their patients has done a deep dive to help improve accuracy in evaluating and diagnosing cardiac symptoms(1)  – a huge and overwhelming effort.  I’m hopeful that updated guidelines might represent a turning point for all women presenting with those symptoms – and for the physicians who diagnose them.  Here’s my take on the impressive new Chest Pain Guideline  – along with a few concerns:      .       .  Continue reading “New chest pain guideline: “atypical” is OUT!” →