My video interview with Connie Jorsvik: The “Patient Pathways” workshop

by Carolyn Thomas   ♥  Heart Sisters on Blue Sky

I love how former cardiac nurse-turned-independent Patient Navigator Connie Jorsvik introduced our recent online conversation about women, heart disease and serious illness that was broadcast on her Patient Pathways website. Connie began with this profoundly true observation:

“When I was a cardiac nurse, it always seemed like more women than men were admitted after Christmas. Often, these women had been experiencing cardiac symptoms for days – and even weeks. Women tend to put off seeking treatment because we so often put ourselves last on our priority list – and there is no  bigger time for everyone else’s priorities than the holidays!”

Continue reading “My video interview with Connie Jorsvik: The “Patient Pathways” workshop”

Best holiday gift ideas for heart patients

gingerbread-man-3000526_1280 copyby Carolyn Thomas   ♥  Heart Sisters on Blue Sky

Just 24 more days to go before Santa slides down our chimneys!  If you need some inspiration for a special heart patient on your gift list – for Christmas or any other occasion – this is for you. Personally, I’m not hoping for any more “stuff” this season (except maybe a new electric heating pad from Santa, hint, hint).  So I decided to turn to my always generous-of-spirit heart sisters to ask other women living with heart disease:  “What’s on your own Christmas wish list this year?”  Here are some of their creative responses (please add your own wish list favourite in the Comments section at the end!) – and thanks to all of you who offered these great ideas:
Continue reading “Best holiday gift ideas for heart patients”

DAPT for heart patients (or why you should postpone that pedicure appointment)

by Carolyn Thomas    ♥  Heart Sisters on Blue Sky

Back in 2006, the New England Journal of Medicine published a study that compared ways to reduce the future risk of blocked coronary arteries in heart patients like me.(1)  In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial (translation: research that can produce reliably high-quality evidence), over 15,000 people from 32 countries were studied.

By the way, it’s worth pointing out a fun fact here:  the study published in the NEJM was a remarkable example of recruitment success. It turns out that up to 85% of all clinical trials in medicine fail to recruit or retain a sufficient sample size of participants, leading to “failure to meet research targets in 4 out of 5 trials” –  even though nearly $1.9 billion is spent on participant recruitment annually.(2) 
Continue reading “DAPT for heart patients (or why you should postpone that pedicure appointment)”

Ups, downs, and going with the flow of diagnosis

by Carolyn Thomas    ♥  Heart Sisters on Blue Sky

Karen Salmansohn is the author of many books, including (2nd best title ever!) “HOW TO BE HAPPY, DAMMIT!”  – a book reviewed by one reader as “self-help for people who would never be caught dead doing self-help”).  In her regular  Psychology Today column, while going through a period of time she called her personal “Bucket List From Hell”, Karen made a profound observation that resonated with me – and may also do so with you if you’ve been freshly-diagnosed with heart disease (or any other bad thing you wish was not happening). As Karen wrote:     Continue reading “Ups, downs, and going with the flow of diagnosis”