“A reel RED thriller…the Silent Killer!”

February 2, 2024  “A reel RED thriller…the Silent Killer!”

February is Heart Health Awareness Month, a time when all people, especially women are encouraged to focus on their cardiovascular health. This heart month, the Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention is encouraging women to listen to their hearts and speak up for their health.

In celebration of Heart Health Awareness, Fit/Nurse Tadda is on a healthy heart crusade. This month’s TFC Calendar will be filled with lots of fitness activities, educational opportunities, and a call to action.

This week I did a Fit3D body scan on a 30-year-old female. From just the looks of her, she was bubbly, energetic, a little overweight but nothing a good exercise program and eating healthier couldn’t fix. As I was reviewing her scan, I asked her to pull up her lab work on her patient portal. Prior to me looking at her lab work, I asked her did she have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes. She stated, my doctor said something about my cholesterol but other than that I am good. Well, comes to find out she is a triple threat, high b/p, cholesterol and pre diabetic. Without awareness she is a ticking time bomb and a classic sign of a silent killer waiting to happen. This next story is a Reel Red Thriller, I have shared in the past, that still sits close to my heart because she was a friend of my mother’s.

This night was going to be special; they planned the mother/daughter night out months in advance.  They talked every morning excitedly about the movie premiere for Lee Daniels, “The Butler”.  Both had seen the previews, the Oprah special, knew all the characters and even read up on the real character Eugene Allen of which the movies were based. This vivacious mother and daughter met early that Saturday afternoon, with tickets already in hand.  They did a little shopping, went to lunch at a new restaurant, and next they were off to their premier.   Because they planned everything to a “T”, they arrived early at the theater and got great seats.  After finding great seats and as the previews played, the mother took some money in hand and headed to the concession stand.  The previews were ending, lights dimming, and her mother had not returned to her seat.  The daughter was now getting a little alarmed and worried about what was taking her mother so long to return.  Yes, she thought the theater was extra crowded, however her mom had been gone awhile.  She couldn’t call her mother; her mom left her purse with the phone inside. She didn’t want to move for fear of losing their great seats.  Now five minutes into the movies her heart is pounding because she knows her mother would not take this long and miss any part of the movie. Now ten minutes later the movie is interrupted with a loud announcement, “We sincerely apologize for the interruption of this movie; if you are missing a loved one, please report to the concession stand”.  The daughter’s heart nearly stopped, she grabbed all their belongings and ran out of the theater.  As she approached the concession stand, she was out of breath.  She saw paramedics on the floor performing what looked like CPR on someone.  As she got closer to the scene, she realized it was her mother.  She screamed, “That’s my mother!”  The paramedics shouted, “All Clear” as they defibrillated her mother for the third time. Needless to say, their perfect mother/ daughter day ended with a reel RED thriller called The Silent Killer”.   This thriller did not have a happy ending.

Women, it’s time to go RED!

There’s a lot of talk about inequality between men and women, but according to the American Heart Association, one area in particular where women are leading in record numbers is heart disease. It’s the No. 1 killer of women causing 1 in 3 deaths each year. That’s approximately one woman every minute and is more deadly than all forms of cancer.

A heart attack does not always have obvious symptoms, such as pain in your chest, shortness of breath and cold sweats. In fact, a heart attack can happen without a person knowing it. It is called a silent heart attack, or medically referred to as silent ischemia (lack of oxygen) to the heart muscle.

As we look back there are many questions we can ask to see if this mother’s life could have been saved.  These are also questions we can ask to save our own lives. 

     -Was she having any signs and symptoms and if so, did she realize and try to seek treatment?

      -She had high blood pressure, was she taking the medication as prescribed?

     -Did she exercise on a regular basis?

    - Did she eat healthy and get enough rest?

    - If she had spent as much time researching and preparing for a movie as she did for the prevention of heart disease, would she still be here today?

     -If the bystanders knew CPR and didn’t wait on the paramedics, could immediate CPR have saved a life?

Are you aware of just how powerful you are? You have the power to stop a killer and you don’t need to become a kung fu master or undercover agent to do it. All you must do is adopt a few simple habits that will put you on the road to a heart healthy lifestyle.

Your diet, weight, physical activity, and exposure to tobacco smoke all affect your cholesterol level and heart disease risk — and these factors may be controlled by:

• Eating a heart-healthy diet
• Consistent Exercise: Enjoying at least 150 minutes a week  of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity, and more than two days a week muscle strengthening activities
• Manage Stress
• Avoiding tobacco smoke
• Have your medical and preventive care examinations done annually (Make your appointments)
• Learn how to perform CPR (February 24^th, 11:30AM at TFC)