I couldn’t think of a better topic to start things off with than this, since February is American Heart Month and yours truly is a cardiac nurse! I’ve always said, there’s no point in fixing anything else in your body if your ticker isn’t tuned up and working optimally.

Heart Disease

Cardiovascular disease (heart disease) gets a lot of attention, as it should! It encompasses several “ailments” of the heart, and can affect any body regardless of age and sex. In fact, I keep seeing younger and younger patients that are having heart disease requiring a trip to the cath lab or even my OR. Even scarier to me, is that women often have vague symptoms not typical or textbook.

Having a heart attack is probably one of the scariest situations for people, and their loved ones. Once you say the words “chest pain”, things start happening very quickly in the medical field. Meds are given to ease the pain and to help lower the workload of the heart, EKGs are done, blood drawn. You may even be whisked down the hall, straight to the cardiac cath lab. Hopefully if you ever find yourself in this situation you will have someone, family or friend, that can be with you during this stressful time to be your advocate and support.

Become Educated

There is so much information out there regarding heart health, and my favorite resource is the American Heart Association. Their website is a wealth of helpful tools and tips for all things heart related. I truly wish that everyone was educated on heart health from a reputable source, and that people knew their options when it comes to treatment.

Here’s an informative tool from the Mayo Clinic: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/in-depth/heart-disease-risk/itt-20084942

Over the years I’ve had so many patients that get shuffled along the “pipeline” and end up having unnecessary procedures and endure unneeded stress all because they don’t know any better. They are not given all their options and they don’t know to ask!

What are your experiences navigating heart care? Do you have a “scary story”? Is there something you wish you knew more about? Let me know….I’d love to hear!