Heart Disease strikes and Art 4 the HE(ART)
Often times, it sneaks in like a burglar - stealth, quiet, barely noticeable. That’s what it did for me. I was 43/44 in !998, (finishing menopause, but active - in fact I was 4 belts into tae kwon do on my way to a black belt. I hiked regular, I ate pretty well, most times got enough sleep. I first noticed I got extra tired during my tae kwon do classes, but well, when you are trying to do one flying kick after another in an effort to break the boards, what’s a little extra exhaustion? Barely noticeable. Seemed fairly normal. Certainly not worth writing home about.
Then one day I carried a 10lb bag of dirt across the yard, about 20-25 yards. Not far. It was early spring and I was getting ready to start my garden. But I felt a little pressure in my chest and I was so tired, I had to sit down and rest. After a couple of minutes the tiredness and pressure went away. I finished dumping the dirt and the symptoms came back again but stopped as soon as I rested. I must have walking pneumonia I thought as I gathered my garden tools and put them back in the garage. I once had pneumonia and my chest hurt a little but it was constant so the fact that I only had these symptoms when I was walking around or active meant it must be walking pneumonia. In a phone call to my husband later that afternoon, I recounted the days events. “Go to the Dr.”, he insisted, it’s only $5 co-pay and you can get on antibiotics. I felt silly and thought I was probably blowing things out of proportion but I scheduled an appt the next day.
When I went in I couldn’t understand why they weren’t taking an x-ray of my chest. After answering a bunch of questions, he told me to come in for an afternoon appt the next day to take a treadmill stress test. I was supposed to go hiking with my friend the next morning and doing a dumb test to see if I had a heart problem (there was no family history) seemed ridiculous. I sarcastically asked if it was ok to hike before my appt. “Just don't go to the back country,” he advised, “We don’t want to have to airlift you out. And if you start sweating or feel pain in your left arm, stop immediately.” When I actually did experience those symptoms, I assumed it was because they had suggested I would.
The test actually turned out fine except for a little drop in my blood pressure. “I want to schedule an angiogram at the hospital on Friday afternoon”, he said. It’s a simple procedure and you can go home afterwards.” “That’s not a good day, I said, Can we do it next week?” I had to pick my girls up from school, take one to a sleepover and another to her voice lesson and then my husband and I were planning on date night. “No,” he said, “This can’t wait.”
I arranged for friends to take the girls where they needed to go and drop off my youngest with my husband after her lesson. “Will you come by and just make sure I’m good to drive home after the procedure?”, I asked, half joking. I still thought this was a waste of time and believed I just needed some antibiotics. He and my daughter came by but my procedure was running late due to an emergency heart attack prior so they told my husband to give me a kiss and go wait in the waiting room as I was rolled into the sterilized procedure room. He took my daughter downstairs to the cafeteria to get something to eat while they waited for me to be done. He had barely finished paying for his food when he was paged to come up to the operating room immediately. When he arrived, the Dr told him I had a 95% blocked left interior descending artery and they were going to do an angiplasty and put in a stent. “Whoa whoa wait”, he said, “I think we need a second opinion.” (Obviously neither he nor I knew anything about heart disease.) “No disrespect sir, but we are not asking, we are telling you this is what we are doing. If your wife had waited just a few more days before coming in, she would be dead. This is the worst place to have a blocked artery and we are going to unblock it. She will need to stay overnight so we can keep an eye on her and she will feel great by tomorrow”, the Dr informed my husband. He was right, I felt great the next day, like it had never happened. Turns out my cholesterol wasn’t even high either. but they said, it must be high for me so they put me on a cholesterol lowering medication.
Three months later I needed another stent, same place but bigger area. This time I had to add a baby aspirin and a blood thinner to my daily medication. Three months after that, I was in trouble again. The insurance company wanted to do open heart surgery. The Dr suggested an additional stent or what they called a roto rooter (scraping the artery walls). After much research and against the recommendation of my insurance company, we went with the roto rooter and all was good for another ten years before I needed my third stent. It’s now been 18 years since my last procedure and at almost 72 years old, I’m doing great, as far as I know. But…. I do go for regular check-ups and I pay attention to my body. You should too. WHICH, for this long winded story leads me to here. I had no idea about heart disease when it happened to me. I had no idea it was the number one killer of women. I had no idea the symptoms for women are different than for men. I had no idea you didn’t need family history to have this happen for you. And because I had no idea about all of this, I want it to be different for you. Things you should know so you have an idea about heart disease is printed below.
It’s called the silent killer because it’s often hard to detect.
Heart disease is the #1 killer of women, often presenting with subtler symptoms than in men, including unusual fatigue, shortness of breath, nausea, and pain in the jaw, neck, back, or abdomen, along with the typical chest pressure, notes the Mayo Clinic and Yale Medicine. Risk factors for women include pregnancy complications like preeclampsia and high blood pressure, early menopause, and diabetes, with lifestyle changes and awareness crucial for prevention, say CDC and Go Red for Women.
Common Symptoms in Women
While chest discomfort is still common, women are more likely to experience:
Fatigue: Severe, unusual tiredness (vital fatigue).
Pain: In the jaw, neck, upper back, shoulders, or abdomen.
Digestive Issues: Nausea, vomiting, indigestion.
Shortness of Breath: Can occur with or without chest discomfort.
Other Signs: Lightheadedness, dizziness, palpitations, cold sweats, unexplained anxiety, or weakness.
Subtle Chest Feelings: Pressure, tightness, or squeezing, rather than sharp pain.
Unique Risk Factors
Pregnancy-Related Conditions: High blood pressure, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes.
Menopause: Accelerates risk factors.
Autoimmune Diseases: Like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis.
Smoking, Diabetes, High Blood Pressure .
Why It's Different for Women
Women may have blockages in smaller arteries (microvascular disease) or have heart attacks with less significant blockages (nonobstructive CAD).
Symptoms can be more subtle and mistaken for other conditions like indigestion or anxiety.
Often occurs at older ages than in men, with unique risks tied to reproductive health.
Prevention & Action
Know Your Risks: Understand factors like pregnancy history.
Lifestyle: Regular movement, a healthy diet, and managing blood pressure.
Seek Immediate Help: Don't ignore symptoms; call for emergency help if you suspect a heart attack
To help raise awareness, aside from writing a blog about heart disease in women, I release a new collection of art I call Art 4 the HE(ART) every FEB and 30% of proceeds from sale of that art during the month will go towards a heart organization that is making a difference. Visit my website www.janmccarthy.com or my IG @janmccarthy to see what I’m launching. xoxo, jan <3