psychological trauma after heart attack

This article, written by Dr. Lisa Holland, appeared in the Columbia Notebook, Spring/Summer, 2007

“Jen, who lives with her husband and two children, recently underwent an unexpected double bypass surgery. At 50, her course of healing should have been uncomplicated. But six days after surgery, she developed a fear of being alone and would stay up extremely late because she was afraid to fall asleep.

“Over a period of several months, her once-savored walks with Toby, the family dog, dwindled down to once a week until finally she stopped walking him at all. When Doug, her husband, told her that he was worried about her, she cried.

“Through her tears she replied:

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me, all I know is that I’m scared I’ll have another heart attack.” Continue reading “Hope for the aching heart” →

by Carolyn Thomas ♥ @HeartSisters

I’ve sometimes heard doctors describe a heart attack as “small”. But only doctors – you’ll rarely hear a heart attack survivor say it. Doctors who talk this way are looking only at blood tests that assess heart muscle damage, angiograms for coronary artery blockages, EKG readings for erratic heartbeats, and echocardiograms for valve damage or reduced heart function.

If these test results on paper aren’t too deadly – well, it must be only a “small” heart attack.

But a study reported in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology last month reinforced what all heart attack survivors already know but their doctors may not: a heart attack can leave people as psychologically traumatized as victims of violence. Continue reading “Women heart attack survivors may be as psychologically traumatized as victims of violence” →

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