by Carolyn Thomas ♥ @HeartSisters
- the COVID-19 variants
- our record-breaking heat wave
- devastating forest fires
- air quality (see: forest fires)
- the deer eating my zinnias
Okay, that last one may seem trivial (but I was TOLD that deer won’t touch zinnias – which is apparently FALSE!) I have also noticed that my cardiac symptoms don’t even make that worry list these days. . Continue reading “Post-COVID handshakes: dread or delight?”


I was once asked by a U.S. publisher to review a new book written by a heart patient, a memoir about her surprising diagnosis. But about 12 pages in, she mentioned that she had been a chain-smoker for three decades before her “surprising” cardiac diagnosis. I had to re-read that line. How could a person who had been chain smoking for decades possibly be “surprised” by this predictable outcome? Didn’t this clearly intelligent, educated woman know that smoking is a dangerous risk factor for heart disease (and a whole bunch of other nasty health issues)? I thought of this book recently when a new study from Harvard researcher Dr. Catherine Kreatsoulas reported that 