Saturday, Feb. 20th is Your Heart, Your Health: A Red Dress Celebration, presented by the Duke Heart Center.
Friday, May 7th is the Triangle Go Red for Women Lunch at the Crabtree Marriott.
Other events will be posted as I find them. Sometimes it's difficult getting information, but I promise to share what I learn.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Getting some press for women's heart disease
I'm in the February issue of Carolina Woman magazine:
http://www.carolinawoman.com/body02-10.php
In mid-January I sent out a press release to the various local media outlets, asking them to please do something for National Wear Red Day and American Heart Month, and included a bit of my own story.
This time I got two nibbles. Fingers crossed, there's going to be a story soon in the local daily paper with another young heart attack survivor and and me, and then a couple weeks ago Carolina Woman magazine called and said they wanted to run my press release as kind of a "letter to the editor." So of course I said great, and now there it is. :)
Of course if I'd known they were going to run it as-is with no chance to alter it, I would've put more in it about the three local WomenHeart support groups, but at least the website is in there.
In other heart-healthy news, I've just registered for the women-only Ramblin' Rose Triathlon.
http://www.carolinawoman.com/body02-10.php
In mid-January I sent out a press release to the various local media outlets, asking them to please do something for National Wear Red Day and American Heart Month, and included a bit of my own story.
This time I got two nibbles. Fingers crossed, there's going to be a story soon in the local daily paper with another young heart attack survivor and and me, and then a couple weeks ago Carolina Woman magazine called and said they wanted to run my press release as kind of a "letter to the editor." So of course I said great, and now there it is. :)
Of course if I'd known they were going to run it as-is with no chance to alter it, I would've put more in it about the three local WomenHeart support groups, but at least the website is in there.
In other heart-healthy news, I've just registered for the women-only Ramblin' Rose Triathlon.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
One Month From Today: National Wear Red Day Feb. 5th!
Mark your calendars and find your snazziest red outfit!
From the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute site:
Friday, February 5, 2010, is National Wear Red Day here in the US--a day when Americans nationwide will take women's health to heart by wearing red to show their support for women's heart disease awareness. The Red Dress, the national symbol for women and heart disease awareness, was created by The Heart Truth in 2002 to deliver an urgent wake-up call to American women.
Join The Heart Truth on National Wear Red Day to help spread the critical message that "Heart Disease Doesn't Care What You Wear--It's the #1 Killer of Women."
Everyone can participate in the national movement by wearing their favorite red dress, shirt, tie, or Red Dress Pin on Friday, February 5, 2010.
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/educational/hearttruth/index.htm
If you don't have something red to wear, you've got a month to stimulate the economy by picking up something red to wear, or getting a red dress pin. :)
NIH red dress pin:
http://emall.nhlbihin.net/product2.asp?sku=56-075N
AHA's red dress pin:
http://tinyurl.com/y8td3gk
Canada's version of The Heart Truth and the Canadian red dress pin:
http://www.thehearttruth.ca/what_is_the_red_dres
As far as I know, the UK doesn't have anything like the Heart Truth/Red Dress campaign, but if someone knows of one, please let me know and I'll add a link. Thanks.
Actually, the entire month of February is American Heart Month.
The CDC has animated e-cards that you can send to friends, family and co-workers to remind them to please wear red on the first Friday in February:
http://www2c.cdc.gov/ecards/message/message.asp?cardid=260&category=203
From the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute site:
Friday, February 5, 2010, is National Wear Red Day here in the US--a day when Americans nationwide will take women's health to heart by wearing red to show their support for women's heart disease awareness. The Red Dress, the national symbol for women and heart disease awareness, was created by The Heart Truth in 2002 to deliver an urgent wake-up call to American women.
Join The Heart Truth on National Wear Red Day to help spread the critical message that "Heart Disease Doesn't Care What You Wear--It's the #1 Killer of Women."
Everyone can participate in the national movement by wearing their favorite red dress, shirt, tie, or Red Dress Pin on Friday, February 5, 2010.
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/educational/hearttruth/index.htm
If you don't have something red to wear, you've got a month to stimulate the economy by picking up something red to wear, or getting a red dress pin. :)
NIH red dress pin:
http://emall.nhlbihin.net/product2.asp?sku=56-075N
AHA's red dress pin:
http://tinyurl.com/y8td3gk
Canada's version of The Heart Truth and the Canadian red dress pin:
http://www.thehearttruth.ca/what_is_the_red_dres
As far as I know, the UK doesn't have anything like the Heart Truth/Red Dress campaign, but if someone knows of one, please let me know and I'll add a link. Thanks.
Actually, the entire month of February is American Heart Month.
The CDC has animated e-cards that you can send to friends, family and co-workers to remind them to please wear red on the first Friday in February:
http://www2c.cdc.gov/ecards/message/message.asp?cardid=260&category=203
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Anatomy of a dissection
Sometimes it can be difficult to explain to people what a spontaneous coronary artery dissection really is. This is an animation of a dissection. See how the inner layer of the artery separates, and creates a false channel (lumen) for the blood, and the blood pools in there and eventually blocks the artery? That's what happened to me. Heart attacks are caused when blood flow to the heart is blocked.
Mine happened in the Right Coronary Artery, which you can see on this image:
The six stents I have are pushing the torn inner layer back up against the outside wall of the artery, where it should be. I have six because they had to repair almost the entire thing. I do remember hearing the doctors discussing placing a seventh stent, but they were worried that it would poke out into the aorta. Looking at the image above, I can see more clearly what they meant by that.
Mine happened in the Right Coronary Artery, which you can see on this image:
The six stents I have are pushing the torn inner layer back up against the outside wall of the artery, where it should be. I have six because they had to repair almost the entire thing. I do remember hearing the doctors discussing placing a seventh stent, but they were worried that it would poke out into the aorta. Looking at the image above, I can see more clearly what they meant by that.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Watch Dr. Oz on Dec. 17th, and have a heart-healthy holiday!
When you get involved with WomenHeart as a WomenHeart Champion--meaning you've gone through the training program at the Mayo Clinic--you get paired up with a more experienced volunteer, usually someone local to you if possible, and she's called your Big Sister (on the WomenHeart message board, we refer to each other, Champion or not, as "heart-sisters," since we're all united by our cardiac problems).
My "Big Sister," Marietta, is going to be on The Dr. Oz Show on Thursday, Dec. 17th. His program that day is about people who've had heart attacks during the holidays, the so-called Merry Christmas Coronary and/or Happy New Year Heart Attack, which you can read about here:
http://sitemason.vanderbilt.edu/news/campusnews/2009/12/07/doctors-warn-against-holiday-heart-attack-spike.101760
To reiterate the tips listed at the end of the article:
Don't stuff yourself.
Watch your sodium and alcohol intakes.
Do what you need to do to reduce your stress.
Be vigilant about taking your medicines.
And--if you experience any symptoms, get medical help immediately. You're not doing anyone any favors by ignoring your chest pain; delay now could be costly down the road.
My "Big Sister," Marietta, is going to be on The Dr. Oz Show on Thursday, Dec. 17th. His program that day is about people who've had heart attacks during the holidays, the so-called Merry Christmas Coronary and/or Happy New Year Heart Attack, which you can read about here:
http://sitemason.vanderbilt.edu/news/campusnews/2009/12/07/doctors-warn-against-holiday-heart-attack-spike.101760
To reiterate the tips listed at the end of the article:
Don't stuff yourself.
Watch your sodium and alcohol intakes.
Do what you need to do to reduce your stress.
Be vigilant about taking your medicines.
And--if you experience any symptoms, get medical help immediately. You're not doing anyone any favors by ignoring your chest pain; delay now could be costly down the road.
A Change of Heart issue 2 is on!
After the success of my first heart-related fanzine, A Change of Heart, I've decided to put out another issue.
This one will be timed to come out during February, which here in the United States is American Heart Month. If that issue does well too, then I may have an annual fanzine on my hands. :)
So if you wanted to submit something for the first one but didn't get around to it, or if you want to send me a letter of comment (LOC, in fan-speak) on the first issue (link goes to pdf version available from efanzines.com), here's your chance.
I'm looking for essays, poems, artwork, and short fiction--from fans with any type of heart disease/heart failure, on the topic of being a fan with heart problems. See first issue for examples.
As before, emailed submissions are greatly preferred--to laurahcory at yahoo, but if you know someone who doesn't do email, ping me and I'll get you my snail-mail address.
Deadline for submissions is Jan. 30th, 2010.
This one will be timed to come out during February, which here in the United States is American Heart Month. If that issue does well too, then I may have an annual fanzine on my hands. :)
So if you wanted to submit something for the first one but didn't get around to it, or if you want to send me a letter of comment (LOC, in fan-speak) on the first issue (link goes to pdf version available from efanzines.com), here's your chance.
I'm looking for essays, poems, artwork, and short fiction--from fans with any type of heart disease/heart failure, on the topic of being a fan with heart problems. See first issue for examples.
As before, emailed submissions are greatly preferred--to laurahcory at yahoo, but if you know someone who doesn't do email, ping me and I'll get you my snail-mail address.
Deadline for submissions is Jan. 30th, 2010.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Dipping toes into golo
One of the local tv stations has a website with an active GoLo (GoLocal) community; I've joined and started posting a few blog entries over there.
http://www.wral.com/golo/profile/5880574/
I'm pretty much just focusing on heart-health related things with it.
http://www.wral.com/golo/profile/5880574/
I'm pretty much just focusing on heart-health related things with it.
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