What you need to know about your heart medications

October 22, 2009March 11, 2023 ~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 15 Comments

One of the most surprising additions to the daily morning routine since my heart attack has been the fistful of pills that I now take every day.

It can be a confusing mix of medications, each for a different purpose, and each with different benefits and side effects. Here’s just a sampling of some of the more common cardiac meds that doctors prescribe for heart patients. (Content updated January 4, 2023). Continue reading “What you need to know about your heart medications” →

Women choose between Mount Everest or the couch

October 20, 2009January 22, 2012 ~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 4 Comments

For most people, a calendar is just a place to keep track of your dental appointments and dinner parties. But ever since I was given the Mayo Clinic calendar called The Road To Better Health, I’ve been spending more time reading the tips around the little appointment boxes than actually writing inside the boxes.

I especially liked the calendar page called “Mount Everest or the Couch”. This section reminds us that reducing our health risks for heart disease is not an all or nothing goal. Yet how many women are ready to head straight to the Häagen-Dazs after falling off the diet wagon, or to stop going to the gym entirely just because they’ve missed a few workouts? My Mayo Clinic calendar reminds us:

“Your choice of destinations doesn’t have to be climbing Mount Everest or just sitting at home on the couch.”

Continue reading “Women choose between Mount Everest or the couch” →

After your heart attack: what now?

October 17, 2009June 28, 2022 ~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 2 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas ♥ @HeartSisters

Post-heart attack, when my shocked and stunned Victoria Hospice co-workers came to visit me in the Coronary Intensive Care Unit of the hospital where we all worked, I promised them that, although I probably couldn’t come to work the next day, I would certainly be back at my desk by the day after that. Little did I know at that crazily optimistic and possibly drug-addled moment that there was absolutely zero chance of me actually being able to keep that promise.

In fact, recovery from a cardiac event can take a surprisingly long time, both physically and emotionally – much more than I could have ever predicted. . . Continue reading “After your heart attack: what now?” →