He would not let it go, so I soon found myself in the office of my cardiologist, Dr. Ron Mahoney, who scheduled a nuclear stress test. With those results, he scheduled a catheterization at Memorial Hermann Southwest, saying it was likely no big deal, although I might need a stent or balloon.
Shockingly, my left anterior descending ventricle was 90 percent blocked, and I had bypass surgery without delay.
The team effort in my postsurgical care was extraordinary. Everyone worked together to make sure that I would recover, and that made me feel so much more secure.
Now I know that heart disease has been the major killer of women since the 1980s, and that research and education about women’s heart disease are increasing dramatically. Now I tell women to pay attention to the little nuances in health that we often overlook because we live such busy lives. I urge women to act because women with heart disease often do not make it to the hospital in time to survive a heart attack.
Just 38 percent of women survive heart surgery for one year compared with 25 percent of men, in part because we tend to wait before seeking care. We feel tired, so we prune activities and limit ourselves. We ignore indigestion, abdominal pain, even persistent headaches.
I feel fortunate to have sought help in time, and I hope that my experience motivates other women to take care of their heart health.
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