by Carolyn Thomas ♥ @HeartSisters
At age 61, retired Canadian high school math teacher Linda Vardy underwent triple bypass surgery – after being told for almost a year that all of her cardiac test results were “inconclusive”. Later, Linda sent me this list of what she had personally learned before, during and after that open heart surgery experience – tips that she hopes can help future patients facing the same procedure.
Continue reading “Linda’s wise advice about open heart surgery”
by Carolyn Thomas ♥ @HeartSisters
Earlier this year, the American Heart Association published a comprehensive article called “The Slowly Evolving Truth About Heart Disease and Women”. This fact-packed article felt like an emotional roller coaster ride – from despair to frustration and then maybe even hope for our future. So I’m sharing my favourite excerpts from this article today – especially for my readers living with heart disease. Get onboard and buckle up as we explore some heart truths together with the AHA: Continue reading “Women’s cardiac care: back then, right now and into our future”
by Carolyn Thomas ♥ @HeartSisters
Perhaps you’ve heard the term “silent” heart attack. If you’ve experienced this cardiac event, you might recall having only mild cardiac symptoms at the time, or symptoms that didn’t feel like they were heart-related – or even no symptoms. In fact, you may be unaware that this has happened to you at all until later medical tests reveal evidence of heart muscle damage in the past. Continue reading “When you have a ‘silent’ heart attack”
by Carolyn Thomas ♥ @HeartSisters
A clinical review paper published in the European Heart Journal, under the intriguing section called “Controversies in Cardiovascular Medicine”, revealed a controversy that I’ve written about (and experienced in real life): post-stent chest pain.1
This clinical review started with a polite acknowledgement that “procedural success is routinely achieved” in heart patients when blocked coronary arteries are treated with an implanted stent. But immediately following the niceties about the success of the procedure, review authors threw in this zinger:
“Persistence or recurrence of angina after a stent is well-recognized and may affect 20–40 per cent of patients during short to medium-term follow-up.”
Whaaaaat?! That’s like the old hospital joke: “The operation was successful – but the patient died!” And how can a stent procedure be dubbed a success if up to 40 per cent of patients suffer persistent or recurring chest pain afterwards? Continue reading “Post-stent chest pain, revisited”
Heart Sisters 