Heart Health is important for everyone
By Rhonda Laing, senior community relations consultant at Capital Blue Cross.
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I hardly fit the typical, high-risk profile for heart problems back in 2016.
I was in my early 40s. I was active. My weight was good.
Rhonda Laing is a senior community relations consultant at Capital Blue Cross.
So I thought I fell into that dangerous category of people who didn’t really think they’d ever have heart issues, at least not till I was much older, or much less healthy.
But I wasn’t safe. By early 2018, I was rushed to a hospital for a second surgery to treat a third distinctive heart problem, the last chapter – I hope – in a year-and-a-half odyssey that I feel compelled to share during this American Heart Month. I hope my story prompts everyone to focus on their cardiovascular health.
It’s something the discouraging data suggest Americans don’t do nearly enough.
Out of rhythm
Episodes of extreme weakness and faintness triggered my trip to the doctor nearly six years ago. A red-flag EKG revealed unusually low heart rhythms, and I was diagnosed with a form of arrhythmia – or irregular heartbeat – and immediately sent to the hospital to have a pacemaker installed.
I didn’t feel good when all this started happening to me, but I’d never considered it might be something serious. When the EKG came back, I thought, “I’m so young. What about my family?’” At the time, my son was 14, and my daughter was 11.
Within weeks of the pacemaker surgery, I had extreme chest pains and was diagnosed with pericarditis, a heart disease that inflames the lining around my heart. Months of appointments and tests also revealed an autoimmune disease at the root of the issues.
So this can – and too often does – happen to anyone.
Undiscriminating killer
Despite all the advances in medication, surgical procedures, and knowledge surrounding heart disease, it remains the leading cause of death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And it doesn’t discriminate by gender or race; it’s the leading cause for men, women, and most racial and ethnic groups.
The CDC says one person in the U.S. dies every 36 seconds from cardiovascular disease, adding up to about 659,000 annual deaths.
It’s not just deadly; it’s also economically damaging. The American Heart Association reports that it cost the American economy about $363 billion in both 2016 and 2017.
A heartfelt message
Toward the end of 2017, nearly a year after my pericarditis/autoimmune diagnosis, I realized some miles still remained along my road to heart health. I felt frequent palpitations, and had severe headaches.
In early 2018, I was again rushed to the hospital, where I had immediate surgery to replace her pacemaker with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, or ICD. The diagnosis was another serious arrhythmia, this one causing my heart to beat too quickly and putting me in danger of sudden cardiac arrest.
All is well now. I’ve had no severe episodes since, thanks to the ICD and my prescribed medications.
But the ordeal taught me the value of self-care and self-prioritization, and I’ll pass that life-saving lesson to my children – and to everyone else I can.
And I’ll start here and now: If something doesn’t feel right, don’t put it off. Don’t think, “It’s probably OK. Oh, it’s just stress, or I might just be dehydrated or have heartburn. I’ll make time later to go to the doctor.”
There’s no time for that.
If you don’t feel good, you need to stop and take action right away.
Rhonda Laing is a senior community relations consultant at Capital Blue Cross.
