Tag: pregnancy complications

Are you a heart attack waiting to happen?

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 5 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥  @HeartSisters

woman screaming-5 I was asked last year by a large U.S. publisher to review a new book written by a woman who had recently become a heart patient. I enjoyed reading the first chapter or two until I came to the New York author’s dramatic story of the actual cardiac event itself. The part that left me gobsmacked was not the event, but her abject shock and disbelief that she (of all people!) could be experiencing a heart attack at all.  The pervasive “Why me? Why me?” focus in this chapter clearly ignored a reality that the author had somehow chosen to gloss over: she’d been a heavy smoker for several decades.

Don’t get me wrong. Any cardiac event is indeed a traumatic occurrence no matter who and when it strikes. Sometimes, we truly have no hint about the cause of said event. And my immediate gut reaction was not meant to mock this author, or minimize her experience (which was awful). 

But I felt honestly surprised that she was surprised. Continue reading “Are you a heart attack waiting to happen?” →

Pregnancy: the ultimate cardiac stress test

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 5 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas

I’m not interested in this Canadian women’s health initiative in Kingston, Ontario just because it will help identify links between our pregnancy complications and heart disease.

I’m not interested in this just because during my first pregnancy I was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia – a serious complication that has now been “strongly linked” with a marked increase in cardiovascular disease.

And I’m not interested just because I have such a personal soft spot for the historic limestone city of Kingston and for its venerable Queen’s University, along with other members of our family who are Queen’s grads – “Oil thigh na Banrighinn! Cha-gheill! Cha-gheill! Cha-gheill! ” (for those of you who happen to have your Gaelic-English dictionaries handy).

Here’s why I do care about this innovative new women’s program.   Continue reading “Pregnancy: the ultimate cardiac stress test” →

Pregnancy complications strongly linked to heart disease

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 18 Comments
My pre-eclampsia baby Ben with his Mum

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥  @HeartSisters

When I was about eight months pregnant with Ben, my first baby, I was diagnosed with something called preeclampsia. This is a serious condition affecting about 5% of pregnant women, identified by symptoms like sudden spikes in blood pressure, protein in the urine, severe swelling, and headaches or vision problems. It’s also women’s third leading pregnancy-related cause of death. Preeclampsia is clinically described as:

“…a disorder of widespread vascular endothelial malfunction and vasospasm that occurs after 20 weeks’ gestation”.

Whenever you see the words “vascular” or “endothelial” or “vasospasm” in the same sentence, you know you’re likely talking about the heart. And although preeclampsia typically goes away after pregnancy, its diagnosis may well be an early indicator of underlying heart conditions that may simmer for decades. In fact, studies now show that pregnant women who develop preeclampsia have more than twice the risk of having a heart attack or stroke later in life.

And that is what happened to me.   Continue reading “Pregnancy complications strongly linked to heart disease” →

Young, pregnant – and a deadly heart condition

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 15 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas

Martha is one of those young women who believes she was born to have babies.  “I’ve always been a nurturing person  – and bossy to boot!” she laughs.  “And isn’t that what mothers are made of?”  So she and hubby Joseph were thrilled when, at the age of 26, she became pregnant with their first baby. 

“In the last month of my pregnancy, I began feeling bloated, tired, had trouble breathing and also had what seemed the worst flu of my life. I told my obstetrician about my symptoms, but she said that it was ‘normal’, that I was ‘over-reacting’, and to stop worrying. When a bad cough got worse and I just couldn’t sleep, I called my doctor and she told me to take some cough syrup, and to stop worrying.” read more of Martha’s amazing story