A Heart-To-Heart Talk For Women

At The Senior Center

By Nancy K. Crevier

Ann Waldman was 49 years old in 2004 when she returned one afternoon from rollerblading with her two daughters and felt arm and jaw pain and a general weakness that concerned her. As an operating room nurse at New Milford Hospital, she knew that this was not a feeling to disregard. Even so, when the diagnosis at the emergency room was a heart attack, she was stunned.

“I was not even 50; I was active and healthy. They sent me to Hartford Hospital and I had two stents put into my heart,” she said, addressing a small but attentive group at the Newtown Senior Center on Riverside Road, Tuesday, July 17.

Now a member of Women Heart, a national coalition for women with heart disease dedicated to educating women to take control of their heart health, Ms Waldman travels to various locations to share her story and teach other women about heart disease.

A short video on Women Heart started off the program, providing basic information about the group and about women and heart disease.

Heart attacks are the number one killer of women. Half a million women each year die of heart disease. A disparity in the care of women who present with heart attack symptoms in the emergency room is at the root of delays in medical treatment that can lead to death, according to information provided by Women Heart. Women heart attack victims are less likely to receive adequate heart health care in an emergency, because they present differently than men do.

Women may describe symptoms of indigestion or an uncomfortable pressure in the center of the chest, or jaw pain. “Typically, men don’t get jaw, or neck and upper back pain,” said Ms Waldman. Women may not experience the crushing chest and arm pain that most men experience. Nausea and dizziness are common symptoms for women, and again, are less often described by men experiencing a heart attack. Shortness of breath is not uncommon.

Because women tend to think that only great chest pain indicates a heart attack, they delay medical care. Even health care providers may fail to recognize the symptoms as signaling a heart attack.

Ms Waldman knew that her father had had a bypass in his 60s, and that she was therefore genetically predisposed to heart disease. She believes it is because of her experience as a nurse and conveying her family history to the doctors in the emergency room that she received swift intervention that probably saved her life, with minimal damage to her heart. “My only risk factor was my father’s history,” she said, “and I had no other symptoms before that day.”

It is not only the heart attack victim who is affected by the incidence, said Ms Waldman.

“My children were only 7 and 9 at the time, and this did affect them,” she said. The girls were very concerned about their mother’s health, and expressed a fear that she would have another heart attack. Her eldest, especially, developed caregiver attitudes, making sure her mother took her medications, requesting “check ins” when away from her mother, and even asking her ex-husband to drive them to her home if Ms Waldman did not answer the phone when they called. “Luckily,” she said, “he lived nearby.”

Because her children were so concerned about her return to exercising, she eventually had her cardiologist talk to them and explain the importance of exercise in keeping her healing heart healthy. She admitted that she experienced her own anxieties, as well, whenever a twinge or pain in her chest cropped up. “It took a while to overcome that fear,” she said.

Enrolling in a national Mayo Clinic heart health clinic also helped her to cope with recovery, said Ms Waldman. “I had some resentment toward people with unhealthy lifestyles who were not affected by heart disease,” she said, and found the clinic offered a place to talk through issues. She also learned there that she was not the only young woman to have suffered a heart attack. She was not alone.

Demand appropriate care, and be proactive in care when a heart attack is suspected, she urged the seniors attending her talk.

“Women’s symptoms are passed off. You need to have a baseline EKG done, if you don’t have one. Know your body and be aware that chest discomfort is not common for women. See a doctor if you experience pain. Don’t,” emphasized Ms Waldman, “take symptoms for granted.”

While she considered herself to already have a healthy lifestyle, she did see a nutritionist after her heart attack to tweak her diet. “I’ve added fish oils, and lots more greens to my diet. I learned different ways to cook, and even my daughters wanted to learn to eat better,” she said. She also purchased a heart monitor to wear when exercising, for peace of mind.

Ms Waldman believes it is important for women to share their heart stories with each other, to trust their instincts when not feeling well, and to educate themselves about women and heart disease.

Each person in attendance at the talk received a “goodie bag” of heart health information, as well, provided by Women Heart.

“If I could help one woman in my life to be more aware of her heart health,” said Ms Waldman, “I would be the happiest woman in the world. I keep trying. I am a living message that there is life after heart disease.”