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I #WearRed because #HerHeartMatters on February 13

Mental Health, Physical Health

February is Heart Month, and February 13 is #WearRed day, a day dedicated to recognize and support the women in our lives who suffer with heart disease, and to advocate to reduce the gaps in cardiac science and care for women around the world.

Did you know that heart disease kills more women than all cancers put together? It affects 2/3 of women in their lifetime, and kills 1/3 of us.

It can indeed happen to you, so please learn the signs, and believe it. If you think you are having a heart attack, you just might be.

In 2015, I was a very healthy 49 year old, yet I woke up one morning and had a spontaneous heart attack while checking morning emails (seriously, the S in my diagnosis, “SCAD” actually stands for ”Spontaneous”). I had never spent a night in hospital, never had any surgery, and found myself in an ambulance, the Emergency Room, and ICU in quick succession.

5 years ago, SCAD was considered very rare, however, due to more research and better angiographic imaging, it is finally becoming more “known”. SCAD is an acute condition that can be fatal if you don’t get help fast. You can’t see it coming, you can’t prevent it and it accounts for up to 40% of heart attacks in women under 50. 90% of the time, SCAD affects women, which may be one reason that until recently no-one bothered to research it, although to be fair, they could only find it on autopsy until imaging tools got precise enough to find it in the living.

When we think of heart disease, we are actually thinking of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), which is where cholesterol creates plaque that blocks your arteries, and that does account for about 80% of heart attacks, but there are other conditions and situations that can cause heart attacks as well. We have been conditioned to think of older women, maybe overweight, they don’t exercise, they smoke, eat unhealthy foods. The reality is that while these risk factors are true, and living well will help protect you from CAD, there are other risk factors that we can’t control. Things like genetics, hormones, high stress, physical strain, pregnancy and childbirth, autoimmune or inflammatory conditions can all put us at higher risk of CAD or other heart conditions. 

I am very fortunate to have experienced wonderful treatment from the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and their Cardiac Rehabilitation team were instrumental in helping me recover successfully. I participated fully in every support recommended to me, and later trained as a Peer Support Facilitator with the innovative Women@Heart Support Program, designed specifically for women with heart problems. I learned a lot from this program: some things made me sad, and some made me mad, but ultimately they made me a passionate advocate for change. Let me share the things that made me mad, and fueled my commitment to changes, both for myself and for others. What I want you to know………….

  1. Until about 20 years ago, almost all medical research and testing was based on men. Female hormones “confused” the results. This means that women react differently to medications, and we are not always taken seriously because “it’s not listed as a side effect”. This is changing, but we have a lot of ground to make up!
  2. Women often have different symptoms than men, and because these symptoms didn’t come up during the men’s research, they are considered “atypical”, even though they affect more than half the population! Many doctors are not even aware of these differences, and might therefore send a woman home with anti-anxiety medication or indigestion pills. I have met women who have coded in the hospital parking lot after being discharged with indigestion!
  3. Women are less likely to be recommended for certain treatments, procedures or cardiac rehabilitation than men.
  4. Women recover better with social and emotional supports, which are only just emerging in more progressive rehabilitation programs.
  5. People think heart disease is a men’s problem. As women, we don’t generally believe we might have a heart problem, we don’t understand our risks, and we don’t put ourselves first. We also decline supports like cardiac rehab because we “don’t have time”.

My ask on #WearRed day is that you pay attention to your bodies, stand up for yourselves and ask for and accept help to recover. If you think you might be having a heart attack, believe it might be true, and call 911. Advocate for basic blood tests and EKG to check for cardiac stress, and if you do have a heart attack, then ask for cardiac rehab if it is not offered and take the time to go! And help raise awareness of this really important issue by wearing red, and sharing pictures on Social Media with #WearRed and #HerHeartMatters. Get your friends and family involved – together we can change the world!

 

Follow me on Twitter: @HelenLRobert

Suggested video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uS12vQThGT4

Suggested resources: US: Mayo Clinic – Women’s Heart Clinic: https://www.mayoclinic.org/departments-centers/womens-heart-clinic/overview/ovc-20442061

Canada: University of Ottawa Heart institute: http://yourheart.ca

The Origin Story

Financial Health, Intellectual Health, Mental Health, Occupational Health, Physical Health, Sexual Health, Social Health, Spiritual Health

Everyone loves a good origin story, right? From superheroes, world leaders, actors, and to all the influencers of old, we can always trace their history back. So, here’s a Positively Balanced Origin Story:  Why we are here today, and how we are bridging the gap in women’s health.

Positively Balanced was founded right when I graduated from undergraduate school. I knew I wanted to create something that meant we aren’t going to be positive all the time, but we can be hopeful for better days.   I also wanted a statement that highlighted the aspect of balance in our lives that isn’t always perfectly balanced.

So Positively Balanced was born. For 3 years it was a way for me to share my position of health, fitness, education, class schedule and events. However, I knew Positively Balanced would be something bigger, I just didn’t know quite what it was yet.

A few events started to cause a shift in the direction of Positively Balanced. A friend came to me in search of information on infertility, another with questions about menopause, and then another about postpartum exercise and lifestyle. Each time, I had the same answer: “I’m not sure, but let me do some research on who might know and also how I can help. So my love for women’s health began. I enrolled in and attended courses and seminars. I read books and did the research.

As I did my deep dive into the works of women’s health, I began to notice a significant lack of knowledge, education, and resources for women.

There were some resources and some research; however there are still huge gaps in so many areas and aspects.

Then, I found out I was going to be having a baby and it took my love to new heights. I began to experience first hand the lack of support, lack of resources and knowledge and the consequences of such.   It was like adding fuel to a fire.

This past year, I became so passionate, I shut my business down for 6 months just to focus on what it was I could actually do to make a difference. I graduated with my master’s degree and began working as a women’s health athletic trainer specializing in pre and postpartum health, as well as rehab performance exercise. I saw all types of patients, but my focus and study took me into the women’s health realm.

I realized that women’s  health was the evolution that Positively Balanced was meant for, the work had to be done. I remember telling my good friend about these crazy ideas I had during one of our walks. After I babbled for a good while, she looked at me and said “Well then, why don’t you do it?!”

The Be HEaRd Women’s Health Platform was formed. I only remember posting about searching for contributors twice on social media.   Within a week, I had so much interest I knew we were destined for greatness.

Starting in January 2020, you will have over 20 founding contributors (we call ourselves HEaRd), writing to you along with a few special guests popping in here and there. We will provide you with honest, current, and relevant articles that cover a variety of dimensions of health.

Our goal is to “Bridge the Gap” in Women’s Health. The gap between generations, research and application,  The gap between the phases of life, and so much more.

Women’s health platform is starting the conversations, empowering women with knowledge and supporting you with a wonderful community!

(The dimensions of health is something we will discuss in the Founder’s Note each month, and if you are interested in learning more sign up to be placed on a preorder list of my short ebook coming out soon.)

PS: Stay tuned for more information on and WHY we are HEaRd!

Thanks for joining us on this adventure,

Cassandra McCoy MS, ATC, LAT
Founder of Positively Balanced LLC

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