Tag: misdiagnosis of heart disease

‘Gaslighting’ – or, why women are just too darned emotional during their heart attacks

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 10 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥  @HeartSisters

If you’re familiar with the term ‘gaslighting‘ , you’ll immediately grasp its practical application to everyday life. (Very similar reaction, in fact, to first hearing the word ‘mansplaining‘!   But I digress). The concept of gaslighting may ring bells for any woman who has been misdiagnosed in mid-heart attack, patted on the head and sent home from the E.R. in abject embarrassment. Continue reading “‘Gaslighting’ – or, why women are just too darned emotional during their heart attacks” →

Seven ways to misdiagnose a heart attack

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 6 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥ @HeartSisters

I’ve had a keen – some might say obsessive – interest in the subject of medical misdiagnosis ever since a man with the letters M.D. after his name sent me home from the Emergency Department in mid-heart attack. I had just been misdiagnosed with acid reflux – despite presenting with textbook cardiac symptoms.

These included crushing central chest pain, nausea, sweating, and pain radiating down my left arm. How can modern medicine still be making such potentially deadly misdiagnoses like this? Continue reading “Seven ways to misdiagnose a heart attack” →

What does a girl have to do to get her heart attack noticed?

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 6 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas   ♥   @HeartSisters   

Once upon a time, some famous female cardiologists gathered at a New York City heart health media event and wryly suggested it might be helpful if only women in mid-heart attack could clutch their chests, turn pale, and fall to the ground in dramatic defeat, in typical “Hollywood Heart Attack” fashion.

I wish I’d been there in person.

Kentucky cardiologist Dr. Melissa Walton-Shirley was there, though, and wrote about this event, In The Prime Of Her Life.

She described the prestigious health care professionals who gathered to participate in the event’s panel discussions as the “rock stars of cardiology”, each one specializing in the treatment of women’s heart disease.   Continue reading “What does a girl have to do to get her heart attack noticed?” →

Top 10 posts from Heart Sisters for 2010

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 2 Comments

2010 has been quite the year here at Heart Sisters! The little blog that began in 2009 after my heart attack simply as “cardiac rehab for my brain” has now published 257 articles, attracting over 100,000 visitors. New articles arrive here about every four days, depending on my health, and I never run out of emerging news about women’s heart disease, cardiac research, heart-smart recipes or heart-related trivia to write about!

The Toronto-based magazine More interviewed me this year for a February 2011 feature about Canadian women who have launched health-related websites, and a number of essays here have also been picked up by other much larger health sites, here, here or here, for example. Hundreds of people now follow Heart Sisters on Twitter, repost my links on their Facebook sites, or subscribe directly via email to receive updates on new postings.   Continue reading “Top 10 posts from Heart Sisters for 2010” →