Lady killer

It’s the long weekend. The County is filled with folks here to enjoy time away from the grind of their everyday lives. Here to get the summertime off to a good start, to get into the mood for whatever it is that turns their summer-funcrank. As I watch our guests relax and dig into the s’mores, the burgers and the beverages, I can’t help but think about my upcoming Ride for Heart. My Ride is with LOML and COM—our youngest son. I worry about them. They’re men and I have been trained to believe heart disease is a man’s disease. Indeed, in my life, heart disease seems to have been a man’s disease. My father underwent a triple bypass. Mostly, in my life, it has been men who have been victims of heart disease and stroke. When it comes to women, I can count on the fingers of one hand those who have been diagnosed with CVD.

When I was a kid, cardiovascular disease was a man’s problem, or so we were led to believe. In the 1950s men dominated in the workplace. Generally, it was the men who smoked, drank, didn’t exercise and stressed about providing. Our across-theroad neighbour, Flora, was a single parent with three sons to raise. Her husband had suffered a heart attack while changing the oil on his car and died on the way to the hospital. Our little community rallied around and helped out wherever possible, but whenever there was talk of what had happened to Flora’s husband, it sounded as if he didn’t stand a chance, he was a man with pressing responsibilities. I remember my aunt, a practical nurse, telling us about a woman who had died because her heart had simply stopped. Women’s hearts suddenly stopped working. Men had heart attacks. Heart disease didn’t happen to women, at least that’s what we thought at the time.

The truth of the matter is, cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of women. Not just Canadian women, or women living in North America. CVD is the number one killer of women, worldwide. Because of our preconceived notions with regard to cardiovascular disease, heart attacks and strokes have been men’s problems. We were blindsided when the symptoms presented in women. It stands to reason that women are more likely than men to die of heart attack or stroke, because they don’t know what’s going on or can’t believe it’s happening to them. Cardiovascular disease kills more women over the age of 65 than all types of cancer combined. One in eight women live with cardiovascular disease. Look around, ladies, one of your friends or a sister or your mom or your aunt or grannie has cardiovascular disease.

For those of you who think you know, and for those of you just don’t have a clue, here’s the list of indicators that could point to a heart problem:

• vague discomfort in the chest that doesn’t go away with rest;

• sudden, severe and crushing chest discomfort that may move to other parts of the body;

• heaviness, pressure, squeezing, fullness, burning, tightness or other discomfort in the chest, shoulder, arm, neck, back or jaw, that doesn’t go away;

• shortness of breath or unusual fatigue;

• unusual pain spreading down one or both arms;

• difficulty carrying out activities that used to be easy;

• paleness, sweating and/or weakness;

• nausea, vomiting and/or indigestion, and

• feelings of extreme anxiety or fear.

And, you need to know the warning signs of a stroke—it’s all cardio and vascular:

• weakness—sudden loss of strength or sudden numbness in the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body (sometimes temporary);

• trouble speaking—sudden difficulty speaking or understanding, slurred speech, or sudden confusion (can be temporary);

• vision problems—sudden trouble with vision in one or both eyes (can be temporary);

• headache—sudden severe and unusual headache, and

• dizziness—sudden loss of balance or trouble walking, especially with any of the above signs.

On June 1, LOML, COM and I will be riding for education and prevention. I’m riding for me and for you. If you’ve got a couple of bucks to throw my way, as a donation, you’ve got lots of time to do it. You know where to find me.

I HEART my HEART!

theresa@wellingtontimes.ca