Early Detection

For many women, heart disease warning signs come too late. For others, the first sign of heart disease is a trip to the emergency room, wrought with anxiety and uncertainty.

“On April 21, 2004, after a stress test I was rushed to the hospital and had a double by pass (Happy 54th Birthday to me). For 5 years I had told my symptoms to male doctors and they ignored me. I even told one doctor that maybe if I had my arteries cleaned out I would feel better. My final symptom was a severe lower back ache that had plagued me for more than 2 weeks. We I called a new doctor in town I told them I thought I had a kidney infection knowing that I did not but it got me an appointment that day. By then my skin was ashen, my lips and fingernails were blue, and my normally large veins that promenately stood out on my arms and were all but gone and I could hardly walk to the exam room. After several test finishing with a stress test that lasted less than 30 seconds I was sent for emergency surgery. After surgery I learned that my main artery was blocked in two places both at 96+%. The staff called me Lucky because fortunately there was no heart damage, and I had not had a heart attack, but I was so close that my next step would have put me in the grave. For me knowing my own body and when something is wrong, was my strength to find a doctor that would find what I had known for five years. I am adament about letting other women know the signs and systems, and finding a doctor to treat them seriously instead of just thinking it's a women's problem (PMS). I am the one that has always excercised, ate right, and maintained my weight, and had no family history of heart disease. At 115 lbs and 5'7" people think I'm joking about having a double bypass until they see the scar. But I think the stress got to me! Know your body. Know the signs. Find a doctor that will listen to you!” - Sharon Fish-Radke, age 58

“I didn't even have any symtoms. I went to my doctor to have my cholesterol checked because I was getting older and thought it was a good idea. When I got my results back I got scared. My bad cholesterol is 250 and my good is 38 and my triglcerides are over 500. I am now on medication and have changed my lifestyle.” - Tracy, age 45

“I am 61 years old and had triple bypass surgery. As an active, slender, seemingly healthy, strong person, I joked that apparently my family's heart problems had skipped over me. I now realize that I lived in denial and ignorance about the reality of heart disease for many years. I was careless about taking my blood pressure and cholesterol medications. I ate whatever I wanted because I didn't gain weight. I exercised less and less. If only I had known what incredible damage I was doing to myself.” - Laura

“I am 48 years old with a strong family history of heart disease. Recently, I was helping my husband clean up the driveway after a snowstorm. All of a sudden, I started to feel nauseous, light-headed, sweaty, and like I was about to faint. I lay down on the steps, until I started to feel better. I have to admit it scared me but I wasn't sure if I should go to the hospital. I've heard stories about women who go to the ER and are told it's nothing so I didn't go. I guess I didn't want to be embarrassed, just in case it was nothing.” - Mjay

“For the past two weeks, I have been telling my hubby of 25 years that it often feels like someone is stabbing me in the chest. Sometimes the pain is so bad that I can barely lift my arm above my head. How can I make him understand this pain? He wouldn't believe it was real until my doctor set him straight. He told me he doesn't want me to die before him and that my angina attacks really scared him. He promised to try to come out of denial. I have had this pain for almost 10 years and he is just now coming out of denial!” - Heidi

“I am 25 and thought I was fine until my yearly checkup with my gynecologist. I scared all the nurses with my blood pressure, which got as high as 220/116. I knew I felt bad, but thought I was just fat and lazy. For about nine months, I had bad headaches and felt like sleeping all the time. I never thought about my heart. I think my doctor thinks I am just crazy because the tests have shown nothing structurally wrong with my heart, but I am still scared.” - Katie

“My grandmother passed away two weeks ago. She was a "healthy" young 78-year-old who was rarely sick a day in her life. Just before she died, she was rushed to the ER for emergency quadruple bypass surgery but never regained consciousness. No one had any clue that she had heart disease. Her only complaint in the weeks before she died was severe stomach aches, not chest pain. I have since found out that women don't always have chest pains and can get "atypical symptoms," one of which is stomach pain. I just wish I knew that before.” - Mitzie

“I am a nurse who works in a hospital. One day I had chest discomfort that wouldn't go away. I went to another department to have an EKG, but it turned out normal. As time passed, I felt numbness in my arms and broke out in a cold sweat. (I have multiple sclerosis, and just shrugged these symptoms off as side effects.) As these symptoms got worse all my co-workers wanted to take me to the ER but I adamantly refused since I was a 48-year-old nurse with a normal EKG and knew how crowded the ER gets. My husband came to take me home but by the time we got there, he had already called 911. I had a massive heart attack in the ambulance on the way to the ER, which was only five minutes away. Since then, I've gone through cardiac rehab, got on proper meds, lost weight, and stopped smoking. I've cut my work schedule down to four days a week to reduce stress. Instead of denial, I jump at the slightest symptom. I'm much more aware of heart disease now!” - DeeDee

“I have been experiencing chest pain on and off for the past year, often accompanied by pain in my upper right back, nausea and lightheadedness. My two primary care doctors keep telling me I am not a heart attack candidate, but neither can explain my chest pain. One of them said if I was having a heart attack it would feel like a rope tied around my chest was continually tightening and that I would have shortness of breath. Both my parents have severe heart disease. No one seems to be listening to me.” - Fran, age 37

Read More Stories

By Category:

Early Detection    Accurate Diagnosis    Proper Treatment    Hope and Survival