MY FIRST HEART MONTH

I was surprised at how much American Heart Month meant to me. Maybe because having a disease is, at its core, a very lonely thing. No matter how much others care, no one really knows what it feels like -- or how it makes you feel -- to just be.

So I set out to connect as much as possible. To not be lonely, or sad, or scared, or depressed. But to be active, engaged, positive, and happy instead. It worked, and I was.

I shared my story a few places, like guest blogging for friends and colleagues, writing an article for the Minnesota Women's Press, and speaking at the United Hospital Foundation's annual "Celebrating the Hearts of Women" event. I went to the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women Casting Call (an on-camera interview that they use to choose annual spokeswomen; I will find out if I made the cut in May) and my yoga instructor and I set up a Go Red class session where I shared my story and information on women and heart disease. Today, on the last day of the month, I volunteered with the AHA-Minnesota at Whole Foods, which is donating 5 percent of that day's sales to the fight against heart disease.

This blog featured guest posts by my friend/best-running-coach-ever Breanne about how to get moving, and my husband shared his story. I'm thinking of turning over my blog to him; his post has the second-highest views of all time! 

Last weekend, I had a red wine-themed party and celebrated life, fun, and wine (though some also celebrated beer). But my favorite part of the month was receiving all the photos of friends and family and readers wearing red on February 3; never have I felt less lonely while being all alone. 

So, yeah, Heart Month is a big deal to me. Thank you for all you did to make it great!

THIS PATIENT'S STORY

With Kris, the manager of cardiac rehab and Exercare
at United Hospital, and the emcee of the event.

I was asked to speak at a United Hospital Foundation event celebrating American Heart Month and to share my "patient story." The annual event, "Celebrating the Hearts of Women" focuses on women's heart health and prevention, and was held February 22. I was nervous, but it went well, and I made it through without crying (too much). 

I thought you might like to read my speech, so I've pasted it below. If you have read along with me on this blog these last few months, some of it will sound familiar.

Today I'd like to start with a story about Mary Jean. Mary Jean leaned over to talk to me as I waited for my first cardiac rehab orientation on a sunny Monday last August.

"Will you be joining us?" she said.

"Yes," I said. "I had a heart attack last Sunday, and I left the hospital on Wednesday."

"Oh," she said, and paused. I didn't wait for her to ask what I guessed was coming.

"I'm 37."

She didn't say I was too young to have a heart attack, or even act that shocked or surprised. She told me that she was 86, had had bypass surgery and now had a new valve and a pacemaker. And then she said, "You'll like it here. The people are very nice."

They were nice, and I did like it. The effort was lighter than I was used to, since I'd been training all summer for the Twin Cities Marathon and two duathlons. 

But it was exercise and movement and it felt good. I was supervised, monitored, checked, and scored. Someone told me what to do, when, for how long, and at what intensity. After the shock and upheaval I'd just been through, it was perfect.

A FLASH MOB WITH HEART

I always love a flash mob video, but this one got to me a little bit. Midway through the camera captures some people holding signs thanking scientists, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, clinical trial participants, and others who work every day to manage, cure, or prevent heart disease. I was looking for flash mob fun but found myself choked up and goosebumpy with gratitude. It's not about me. I'm just part of this big new community.

GUEST POST: HOW TO GET MOVING

My friend Breanne has been my running inspiration for years. When I first started running to lose weight after my second son, she cheered my first 5K like I'd just finished the Boston Marathon. When I decided to try for my first marathon, she became my coach. She helped me create a training program, provided critical advice (Body Glide: get some!), and listened to my running stories with amazing patience though she'd been there dozens of times before. (I really can talk about a long run for upwards of an hour.)

So naturally she was the first person I thought of who could give us the best advice about how to start exercising and how to keep going day after day, year after year, until it adds more to your life than just fitting into your skinny jeans or finishing your first 5K.

My brother and me after our first marathon. Breanne coached my brother too,
since everything she told me I passed on to him. Eventually he started sending
me emails that started "Could you ask Breanne ____."

Here's Breanne's take on how to get moving.

Six years ago my husband ran his first marathon. I was really impressed, and later vowed that if he ran the same marathon next year, I'd run the 10 mile race that went with it. A few days later I forced myself to run and had a miserable time. It was about 80 degrees out, I had no water, and I was going way too fast. "I hate running!" I thought. "I hate it! It's just not my thing."

I went on to run that 10 mile race and 13 marathons after that.

I discovered a few thing about myself and exercising along the way. When we want to start exercising I think many of us make the same mistakes and end up quitting. For example, we do an activity we think we should do, whether or not we enjoy it. If it hurts we take it as a sign that we can't do it or that the activity should hurt. We chose some heroic time of day to exercise that we hate.

If you'd like to start exercising and want long-term success, consider these things before getting started:

1. What time of day suits you best? I consider myself a morning person but that is not my best time for exercise. Neither is after work -- I'm too tired and hungry. While I occasionally do work out at those times my sweet spot is midday (over my lunch hour at work or midmorning or afternoon).
2. Do you prefer social activities or solo? What got me through my 10 mile training was realizing that I hated running alone. I joined a group training for the race and made friends and got advice and support.
3. What does your gut tell you that you enjoy the most? Does biking always feel great? Does yoga really fulfill something in your life? While it's fun try new things, you can't make yourself consistently do something you don't like. Don't second guess whether it's the "right" activity -- if your body is better for it, than it's worth doing.

A few other things that help make sure you'll keep at it:

1. The first few times (or weeks) you do your new activity, do it half as slow or easy as you think you should. We all do this -- we go out too hard at first. We're insecure, we think it's going to be hard so we make it so, and we cover up the fact that we don't know what we're doing by trying twice as hard. Most of the people who think they can't run really can -- they just need to slow way down and then build up over time.
2. Choose a goal, one that you admit to at least a few other people. A race, a distance, a yoga pose, a number of laps. When you reach that goal, celebrate! and then make a new one.
3. Figure out what motivates you. Does signing up for a class with set meeting times and a group to be responsible to appeal to you? Or would you rather draw up your own schedule and do it and not tell anyone? If you can have your exercise do double duty in your life (walking your dog, pushing the kids to the playground, biking to work) it'll be even easier to make it a habit.
4. Invest in some decent clothes to exercise in. Any kind of technical/wicking/dryfit clothes will do -- they are all fine. They should feel comfortable while you're exercising and keep you relatively cool. You should also like how you look in them. Target's C9 brand is fairly inexpensive and decent of quality.
5. Choose an activity that has an instructor (a class, group leader, or coach) or identify a mentor from your personal life. Having someone you can ask questions of helps keep you from feeling frustrated. And don't be afraid to ask questions -- who doesn't love to help someone else?

A few secrets to motivate you:

1. Once it's a regular part of your life, exercising really does give you energy and make you feel great.
2. The mental benefits of exercise are as amazing as the physical benefits. Nothing calms me down after a tough day like exercise. It also gives you a ton of confidence. 

Breanne is an amazing marathon mama and the best coach a girl could have. Read more about her life and her passions at her blog, Borealis.

NO JOKE

If you are an avid follower of heart disease news like me, there's no way you missed these headlines: 

Apparent heart attack at Heart Attack Grill
At Heart Attack Grill, diner's symptom's weren't fake

Apparently this restaurant in Las Vegas has made a theme out of unhealthy living. People who weigh over 350 pounds eat free. The doors have warnings on them, similar to cigarette packages. The Quadruple Bypass Burger weighs in at 8,000 calories. The waitresses dress as nurses and the cooks wear scrubs. Customers are called "patients" who are served "prescriptions" such as Flatline Fries. The restaurant's tagline: "Taste worth dying for." Their 575- pound spokesperson, age 29, did.

Heart disease as theme park. That's hilarious.

I had no idea such a place existed. And while I get the concept -- everything must be over-the-top in Vegas, people are going to eat terribly anyway, it's just a joke -- I just don't see how this is in any way funny. Is there another disease that could be treated in the same way? Diabetes? Cancer? Alzheimer's? AIDS? These photos on HappyPlace.com make it pretty clear that wouldn't happen.

So why is heart disease a joke? I've said the following myself, you know, before:

• "Heart attack on a plate" when cooking or about to eat something high-fat and high-calorie.
• "Don't wanna drop dead of a heart attack" when lamenting that I really shouldn't be eating the high-fat, high-calorie thing I'm eating.
• "You almost gave me a heart attack!" when startled.

(I said the latter once post-heart attack purely by accident; you should have seen the look on my son's face. I won't make that mistake again.) 

I don't think there are any similar phrases or figures of speech about diabetes or cancer or AIDS. Do people look at a piece of chocolate cake and joke "diabetes on a plate" before gleefully tucking in? I don't think so.

So why do we feel comfortable joking about heart disease? Why do people go to the Heart Attack Grill and tell themselves "it's fun to indulge once in a while"? Like the class clown who uses humor to protect himself, does our breezy attitude about heart disease keep us safe from it? A joke a day keeps the heart attack away?

I wish.

The truth is heart disease kills more Americans than any other disease. It kills more women than the next four causes of death combined, including all forms of cancer. It often strikes silently and without warning; for many, the first symptom they have of heart disease is death.

Once you have it you have it for life. You are never cured. You must make major and permanent life changes. Some people's hearts are so injured it affects their quality of life. A person who has had a heart attack is 20-30% more likely to have another one. Heart disease is no joke.

I think what might be making me so angry about this story -- aside from making fun of something that could have taken me away from my boys -- is that 80 percent of cardiac events are actually preventable by making healthy choices. Don't smoke, maintain a healthy weight, keep your blood pressure in line, exercise. When something like the Heart Attack Grill comes along and makes a mockery out of heart disease, it seems very hard to get that message through.

So listen up. You can eat your way into heart disease. Don't.

YOGA POWER

I heart yoga.

I started about 18 months ago, shortly after leaving my full-time job. It had been on my I-really-should-but-don't-have-time list for years, and I finally screwed up my courage and took a beginner's class at a studio down the street from me. I had the best teacher who seemed to read my mind (she could always tell if I stopped focusing on my breathing and let my frantic thoughts take over) and who taught us very slowly and carefully. In that stressful transition period between ending my career and starting my new life as an at-home mom, yoga was the perfect partner. Where had it been all my life?

After a few beginners sessions and then continuing classes, I started heading out on my own to different drop-in classes, like the one on Wednesdays at a community center close to our house. The instructor is very good and has a devout following at the various classes she teaches around the city.

So I asked her one day (again, screwing up my courage) if she would consider having a Go Red for Women day at her classes. Her response was an enthusiastic "I love this idea!" I told her about my heart attack (I had just stopped coming to class and then appeared again weeks later with no explanation, and she didn't ask) and suggested we could wear red and I'd get some materials from the American Heart Association. She included my story and an article I wrote about women and heart disease in her email newsletter for three weeks, reaching 275 women.

Our Go Red for Women Yoga class was today and it was so empowering. I got a little choked up seeing all the people in red, and I shared a bit of my story. What struck me, though, watching everyone's reactions, was how little people know about women's risk of heart disease and heart attacks. They really don't know that it is the number one killer of women.

I said what I really wanted them to take away was knowledge of the risk factors for heart disease, and the knowledge that 80 percent of cardiac events were preventable through healthy choices. But I also wanted them to know that if they did everything right and still had a heart attack, then they needed to know the symptoms and to toss aside women's typical "don't be a bother" behavior and get themselves to the hospital, pronto.

The only man at class that day raised his hand. He is a paramedic, he said, and he wanted to tell us more about the signs and symptoms. Don't smoke, he reminded (I'd forgotten that one), and told us that for women, unexplained shortness of breath can mean a heart attack. I confessed I drove myself instead of calling 911 and he covered his face with his hands with frustration. I'm so glad he was there; I think his message really made an impact.

Yoga always makes me feel calm and strong and powerful, and it was even more so today. There's power in knowledge, power in community, and power in women. I felt it today and it felt amazing.

Namaste.

Yoga in my backyard with my nieces.

VALENTINE'S DINNER . . . FOR FOUR

I can't remember the last time my husband and I went out for Valentine's Day. I think it was an early seating at some popular place more than 10 years ago. They'd clearly brought in extra tables and I was closer to the person next to me on the banquette than my husband across the table. So much for romance.

So now I prefer dinner at home with my best men. Purely for my own enjoyment I set the table with my china, linens, and the red dishes my Grandma gave me, make something special that everyone loves, and light the candles. We have a lovely time together eating and giving gifts (from me to the boys, from all the boys to me). For about 20 minutes. And then its time for swimming lessons. Ahh, the romance.

I like to think I'm inspiring my boys to create traditions with their families someday. That doing something special and doing it every year will sink in. That maybe they will be the occasion-creators in their families. If nothing else, I hope they will learn it is a joy to do things for others.

Owen's Valentine's Day dinner request was Diablo Shrimp, his all-time favorite meal and my good friend Heidi's creation. With a bit of post-heart-attack modification, it's a special treat for all of us.

Happy Heart Day! Please do what you need to keep your heart healthy so you can share your life with those you love.

Heidi's Diablo Shrimp

1/4 cup olive oil (Heidi's original recipe is 1/2 cup butter, which I assure you is divine. But olive oil is good too and the way it must be around here)
1 tbsp. garlic, minced (must be fresh, do not cheat and use jarred like I often advise)
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 cup white wine (Pinot Grigio being my white of choice!)
1 lb. peeled devined uncooked shrimp (my boys love shrimp so much I often use 1.5 lbs.)
1 lb. linguini
thin slices of lemon
5 oz. fresh baby spinach
parmesan cheese

Combine olive oil/butter, garlic, and cayenne. Cook until garlic is soft. Add wine and cook until reduced by half. Allow to cool a little. Cook pasta in the meantime and reserve some pasta water in case you need to thin the sauce.

Return oil and garlic to the heat and add the shrimp. Cook until nearly opaque, then add the spinach. Cook until heated through and wilted. Serve over the pasta with lemon slices and parmesan.

30 MINUTES A DAY

This very cool video is worth the watch. It makes it crystal clear why moving your body is the best medicine.

ACTIVE INVESTMENT

My brother started running a few months after I did,
and ever since we've been race buddies. He slows down
to run with me.

I have been a pretty active mama since my second son was born in August 2007. Staring down a bridesmaid's dress and a Hawaii destination wedding within five months of his birthday, I had ample motivation to get going. I started walking, then running, and the baby fat melted off. The next spring I ran my first 5K and was hooked on racing. I was on my way.

So it was more than a little surprising that I had a heart attack anyway, four years, one marathon, one half-marathon, and at least a dozen shorter races and hundreds of training miles later. And while I had a good base of fitness, I didn't have the whole thing mastered, especially post-heart attack. For that, I needed help.

I started cardiac rehab about five days after I was discharged from the hospital, and I discovered I loved being told what to do, how fast to do it, and for how long. I worked as hard as I could (or the staff would allow), and left cardiac rehab dripping with sweat, which from what I could see was a fairly rare phenomenon. I loved it, but I couldn't stay forever.

GUEST POST: MY HUSBAND'S STORY

My husband and me. Photo by Noah, age 4.

It's hard, if not impossible, to know what it is like for those around you, those who love you, when your own life is in crisis. I will never know what my husband felt like the day that I went to the ER but he drove our son to camp. I asked him if he was willing to write about it. Here is his story.
 

When I woke up that morning, she wasn't in bed. This was unusual since I am the early riser in the family. I found her curled up on the coach in our TV room looking miserable. "I don't feel very well. I have been taking ibuprofen all night and I still feel uncomfortable. I think it is some really bad heartburn or something." Not long after this, she said, "I better go into the doctor to see what is wrong. You go ahead and take Owen to camp, but let's make sure he doesn't think anything is wrong and worry all week."

So that's what we did. Jen ate some breakfast, showered and got ready just like it was a normal day. She left for the hospital while the boys and I drove out to drop off Owen for his week-long camp. I let the boys watch a movie during the car ride and all the while I was waiting for a call or text from Jen for any update on what they might be finding. First update came via text … she is fine, but they haven't figured out anything yet. The second update came just before Noah and I were going to leave Owen for his week-long camp: “They just gave me nitroglycerin.” That is usually given to someone to prevent heart attacks.

AFTER MY OWN HEART

My sons' school participates in Jump Rope for Heart every year. The children learn about heart health, jump rope for as long as they can (in our school it is a gym class unit), and raise money for the American Heart Association.

This year, Jump Rope for Heart is a big deal to my 10-year-old, "because, you know, you had a heart attack Mom."

Owen figured he had a pretty persuasive fundraising argument and could raise a lot of money, so he set his goal at $1,000. With five days left to go, he's at $850. My husband and I have decided to match whatever he raises.

Here is the text that Owen wrote on his fundraising webpage, of which he is extraordinarily proud: 

Hello again! I would like to introduce myself. I'm Owen.  I want to tell you a little about me. First of all I am doing my homework so I have to get this done fast:

• I'm 10 yrs. old
• I have a little brother[Noah]
• My Mom had a heart attack last summer!

I hope you will donate to support the American Heart Association. My fundraising goal is $1000. The money is used to help other people keep their hearts healthy.

I have donated $71 of my own money already. My mom and dad are going to match any donations I get.

P.S. "Please donate!"

Who can say no to that? It was so rewarding and humbling to work with Owen on his fundraising goal, an email to family, and his web page. He was so mature, so generous, so idealistic, so young. He smiled and hugged and wanted to check over and over to see if any donations came in. He couldn't wait to tell his gym teacher.

Of him I am extraordinarily proud.

If you'd like to donate, check out Owen's personal fundraising page or support a child you know doing Jump Rope for Heart.

NOW YOU KNOW

Heart disease is the number one killer of women in this country. Number. One. It kills more women than the next four diseases combined, including all forms of cancer.

But it didn’t kill me. At age 37 and in training for a marathon, I had a heart attack. With no risk factors save a family history of high cholesterol, I thought I knew enough to stay safe. I didn’t, but you should.

February is American Heart Month and I really want you to take it seriously. Not for me, because I survived and I’m healthy and thriving. But for the 500,000 other mothers, daughters, sisters, nieces, wives, lovers, and friends who will have a heart attack this year, and the 300,000 who will die from it.

Did you know that:

• 8 million American women are living with heart disease; 35,000 are under 65.
• The biggest risk factors are high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, smoking, and family history.
• Women’s hearts respond better than men’s to healthy lifestyle changes.
• 80 percent of cardiac events could have been prevented through healthier choices.

And if you knew the dangers and knew your risks, would you make the changes necessary to protect your heart? Would you:

• Talk to your doctor and get a lipid profile to check your cholesterol levels.
• Know your Body Mass Index and lose weight if you need to.
• Know if your blood pressure is high and take steps to improve it.
• Stop smoking.
• Make sure your doctor knows if you have a family history of heart disease or high cholesterol.

I knew that I had a family history of heart disease. I knew I had high cholesterol. I knew that women often explain away their symptoms: "I must have lifted something funny, hurt myself in yoga, maybe its heartburn," all excuses I used for days as the pain steadily grew worse for two days beforeI went to the hospital. And I knew that women's heart attacks present differently than men’s and seem somehow, inexplicably, hard for doctors to spot. I knew all that and I still never imagined this could happen to me.

But it can, it could, and it did, and it could happen to you or someone you love. And now you know.

FIND OUT MORE

The Heart Truth is the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s women’s awareness campaign, and the original Red Dress campaign. Check it out for videos, prevention tips, warning signs, and information about how you can participate in and promote national Wear Red Day in February. www.hearttruth.gov.

Check out Go Red for Women, a program of the American Heart Association, for its great nutritional center, free risk assessment tool, and a social tool “Tell 5 to Save Lives.” Go Red for Women also produced the Elizabeth Banks short video “Just a Little Heart Attack.” www.goredforwomen.org

Sources: American Heart Association, National Institutes of Health, Women’s Heart Foundation.