Female cardiologists chat about heart disease

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 3 Comments

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by Carolyn Thomas  ♥ @HeartSisters

Only 7% of the world’s cardiologists are women.  Pity.  In these two videos, you’ll get an opportunity to eavesdrop on some of the best of this elite group as they discuss ‘The Heart of a Woman’.

UPDATE FROM CAROLYN: Sadly, neither of these films are still available. Instead, I invite you to watch a remarkable little film called “A Typical Heart“ (about 22 minutes in length), a documentary exploring the deadly disparity between male and female heart disease, through the lens of healthcare professionals, researchers, patients and their families. I was honoured to be one of the eight female heart patients interviewed for this film. 

♥

Sleep problems can lead to heart problems for women

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ Leave a comment

Having ongoing trouble getting a good night’s sleep, heart sisters?  This common complaint may mean bigger problems than just feeling exhausted and cranky the following morning. Researchers at the University of Warwick and University College London in the U.K. reported this month that women who get less than the recommended eight hours of sleep per night are at higher risk of heart disease and heart-related problems than men with the same sleeping patterns.

The study, published on July 1st in the American journal, SLEEP, has found that levels of inflammatory markers vary significantly with sleep duration in women, but not in men. One of the markers, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), is considered to be predictive of future cardiovascular events. Levels of hs-CRP were significantly higher in women who reported sleeping five hours or less.

Find out more about this research report.   Or learn some helpful techniques to beat insomnia with ‘good sleep hygiene’ (including why you should always turn your bedside alarm clock facing away from you).

** DO YOU LIVE IN THE TORONTO AREA?  Have you had trouble falling/staying asleep or waking up too early for at least the past six weeks?  You might be eligible to participate in a sleep study at Ryerson University. The study is being conducted to examine the preferences of persons with insomnia for medical and non-medical treatments for managing insomnia.  For more info, contact Jessica at:

Insomnia Treatment Preferences Research

Health Intervention Research Centre

Ryerson University

Tel: 416-979-5000 ext. 2568


University College London has found that levels of inflammatory markers vary significantly with sleep duration in women, but not men.
The study, published today (Weds) in the American journal SLEEP, found levels of Interleukin-6 (IL-6), a marker related to coronary heart disease, were significantly lower in women who reported sleeping eight hours as compared with 7hours.
A second marker, High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), is predictive of future cardiovascular morbidity. Levels of hs-CRP were significantly higher in women who reported sleeping five hours or less.

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If Disney ran your hospital: what would Mickey and Minnie do?

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 4 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas 

Once upon a time, a former hospital administrator named Fred Lee was invited by the Wonderful World of Disney people to help them out. He had a great time facilitating Disney employee seminars like Customer Loyalty and Disney’s Approach to Quality Service. Then one day in 2004, he wrote an award-winning book combining his two loves (the Magic Kingdom plus running hospitals).  It was called If Disney Ran Your Hospital: 9 1/2 Things You Would Do Differently.

These days, Fred Lee teaches his If Disney Ran Your Hospital health care management strategies to hospital employees and senior administrators.   He believes that all hospitals can and should become places where:

  • employees say, “I love to work here!”
  • managers say, “I love the people I work with!”
  • doctors and nurses say, “We love our patients!”
  • patients and families say, “We love this hospital!”

Does this sound a bit too Disney-esque, even for Disney?  As patients, many of us have told horror stories, not fairy tales, about our experiences dealing with hospitals or their staff. read more about how Disney might run your hospital

The chest pain of angina comes in four flavours

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 45 Comments

woman angina

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥  @HeartSisters

There are four main types of angina pectoris women should know about, no matter how you pronounce it: ‘anj-EYE-nuh’ in Canada or Australia, or ‘AN-gin-uh’ in the U.S.   This term is translated as “strangling in the chest”.

The chest pain called angina is not the same as a heart attack – but it can feel like one and can in fact lead to one. Here are the four types of angina you need to know:

  • Stable angina: Mayo Clinic cardiologists define this as any pain/discomfort between neck and navel that comes on with exertion and is relieved by rest. When you climb stairs, exercise or walk, your heart muscle demands more blood, but it’s harder for the muscle to get enough blood when your coronary arteries have become narrowed. Stable angina can also be triggered by emotional stress, cold temperatures, heavy meals, smoking or other activities that can narrow arteries. learn more about the other three types of angina