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Channels: Health - Conditions & Diseases
Tags: heart disease - disease - red - women - heart
March 19th, 2010
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Why I Go Red For Women
Added: Fri. Feb 05, 2010 11:17amPosted in: Conditions & Diseases
Today, I made sure to break out the red and sparkly:
Not only for me...
Why red? Why today? To mark national Go Red For Women Day, organized by the American Heart Association.
I have a personal connection to heart disease, which I'll detail in a moment. But ponder this:
I have a personal connection to heart disease, which I'll detail in a moment. But ponder this:
- Heart disease is the #1 killer for women.
- More than 459,000 people in the United States die from coronary heart disease every year.
- Heart disease can affect you at any age -- it's not an issue that you can wait to learn about!
I have a condition called Supraventricular Tachycardia, or SVT. You can learn more about it here. Chances are, someone you know has it, too!
For me, it is a serious but controllable problem. SVT can cause your heart to race, even when you're not exercising or under stress. It is hard to anticipate, can rock your world for up to five minutes at a time, and is very scary.
I started having SVT symptoms in high school and college, which led me to finding a cardiologist. After a round of tests, including cardiograms, a heart monitor and treadmill stress test, I learned that my SVT does not need to be controlled with medicine or surgery, but I do need to check in with my doctor every year. It has not stopped me from doing ANYTHING, as evidenced by my ability to do several triathlons and two half marathons in 2009!
I'm lucky. I found out about my disease, got checked up, and am confident that with a little monitoring, heart disease does not have to take my life.But now it's time for YOU to be informed.The Go Red For Women Web site has some amazing tools, including:
- A list of risk factors so you can assess your chances of developing disease
- Inspiring stories from women, including many who are under the age of 35!
- Blogs from women who are sharing the nitty gritty details of dealing with heart disease.
- Posters, computer screensavers and other fun stuff to help you Go Red all year long!
Ginger!
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Posted 1:56 am February 6th, 2010Hi Katy.
You're absolutely right....I do know someone with SVT....Me! I was diagnosed with it about 13 years ago. My heart would start racing, like you said, and would last from a matter of seconds to a matter of minutes, until 1997. It started about 2:30 - 3:00pm while I was getting ready for work. I finished getting ready and it was still racing, but I had to leave anyway. I drove from Lockhart to Kissimmee, it was still racing. By now it's about 5:00 - 5:30. By about 6:00 the people at Red Lobster called 911. I was rushed to the ER and given 'adenocard'. SCARY!! They kept me overnight and ran tests, then sent me home with a heart monitor.
Long story short, I've been on meds ever since. I could have had an ablation, but decided to do the meds. Now I wish I had done the ablation, because it would have corrected it completely and I wouldn't have to take the meds everyday. Now I have no insurance, so even though I'd like to have it done I can't.
My cardiologist said that there is a very high percentage of people who have this, and many don't even realize it. The good news is that he also said it is not life threatening. Thank God for that.
Thanks for sharing this with everyone. You may have helped someone who has the symptoms realize what it is, and they can now ask their doctor to check them for it.
Keep up the wonderful work you and all the others do at GB. It's a great place to be part of.
Ginger!