Link
Today is Valentine’s Day, and I am dumbfounded at how I have been neglecting the good health of a dear friend – my Heart!
Three statistics about heart disease are so arresting , that I want you to read them, digest them, and then pass these three important facts on to everyone you know - your email lists, joke lists, buddy lists – and especially to the women in your life;
1. Coronary heart disease is the No. 1 single killer of women
over age 25.
2. One in 2.6 women die from heart disease, compared to one in 30 from breast cancer.
3. Sixty-four percent of women who died suddenly of coronary heart disease had no previous symptoms.
WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE UP! Especially those of us who are providing care for an aging loved one, or are professionals managing the health care of one individual or one hundred. Take care of yourself first, -especially your heart.
In "Navigating the Journey of Aging Parents," and in all my presentations to caregivers and children of aging parents, my mantra continues –Take Care of Yourself First. Caregiver stress leads to heart attacks, hypertension and stokes. In an Evercare study about caregivers in decline, the physical forms of stress for caregivers include increased blood pressure, heart attack scares, arthritis flare-ups, acid reflux, and headaches. Every experienced any of these?
Two different events this week have fueled my fire to take immediate action about good heart health. In recognition of February being named Healthy Heart month by the American Heart Association, this past Sunday on Care Radio News Talk 560 WIND we featured heart health. I interviewed Lynne Braun, PhD., Nurse Practitioner, Preventive Cardiology Center and the Heart Center for Women, Rush University Medical Center, and Holy Messick, Senior Gala Director for the American Heart Association. These two experts shared powerful information with us about how we, as women, can prevent heart disease.
The second event that made heart health top of mind for me was yesterday’s Go Red for Women celebration at Navy Pier. Every single minute of this half day event and luncheon was filled with resources about getting your heart health checked out, diabetes information, healthy cooking demonstrations, keynote speeches and workshops to raise awareness, and how to speak to your physician about your concerns.
Here’s another alarming fact we need to tattoo to our brains:
On average, an American dies of Cardiovascular Disease every 35 seconds.
Know your numbers. You should be talking with your doctor about your heart rate, cholesterol levels, blood pressure and weight. You can figure out your numbers on line by going to www.GoRedForWomen.org, and clicking on the Go Red Heart Check Up tab. Get your heart checked out at least as often as you have your mammograms.
There are three things that can keep heart disease at bay: Avoid tobacco, Become more active, Choose good nutrition. The American Heart Association calls these the ABCs of maintaining a healthy heart.
When I took a little personal family inventory –always passively thinking that heart disease in our family was on the back burner – I had a rude awakening. Dad had quadruple bypass; one uncle had two heart attacks, with one resulting in his death; mom and her three brothers all had pacemakers. Mom also admitted that 30 years earlier she had been given a prescription for nitroglycerin by her doctor for heart problems – and didn’t tell anybody about it at the time. Because we would worry! Twice, I have thought I was having heart attack symptoms, and I know that my sister had a similar scare.
On two different occasions, I have called my sister in-law, and she has told me about just coming in from a funeral of a dear friend in his 50s: good health, a runner, good diet, doesn’t smoke. In both cases, the individuals died of heart attacks. One of the speakers at the Go Red For Women event was also a runner, in good health, good diet, etc., when she survived a heart attack – at age 27!
Here’s an embarrassing piece of self disclosure: During the last few years of our dog, Arthur’s life, my husband and I were overtly more concerned and conscious of Arthur’s heart health, diet and exercise routine – than we were of our own!
It is the motor that drives our body’s circuitry and soul. It is the furnace that fuels our emotions, from moving our hand with a gentle touch, to having us shake with riveting fear. Scared to death? That emotional shock starts in the heart!
With the advancement of medical technology, we have the possibility of getting spare parts –body parts – to help us maintain an active lifestyle. Over the course of our lifetime, we may have a hip replacement, dentures, new corneas, - even fake knees and boobs! I could go on and on. Our friend, Bill, was lucky enough to get a new heart valve –from a cow! But, for the majority of us, we will only get one heart!
My heart – my dear friend, has been with me since the day of conception when God set its rhythm to keep pace with my life’s stride. Our hearts are the last organ to die in our bodies. My human heart will be the pulse of my existence, until it stops with my last breath. The rest of my life begins right now. I can’t think of a more important or timely reason to take care of a dear friend.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Please visit www.GoRedForWomen.org. or call 1-888-MY-HEART (694-3278).
PS. If you are interested in reading about the connection between your heart and your soul, pick up the book Heart and Soul, or, The Spiritual Heart, both by cardiologist, Dr. Bruno Cortis.
