Friday, February 3, 2012

Heart Smart - go put on your red!

This morning my oldest son woke me up at 5:22am as sweet as could be: "Mom you are here!  Are you feeling better? Are you okay?"  It was the first time I was happy to hear his little voice that early!

We had a little "challenge" in our house yesterday and I did not realize until this morning how scared my little angels were. 

I have a minor heart thing, I get occasional arrhythmias.  An arrhythmia is a problem with the rate or rhythm of the heartbeat.  My heart beats way too fast.  I usually only get them every so often and they go away just as quickly as they start.  No big deal. Yesterday was a different story and I did end up in the ER.  I am okay, I spent most of last evening  in Atrial fibrillation which caused my blood pressure to be dangerously high.  I was given medication and closely monitored.  My nurse and doctor at Loudoun Inova were beyond wonderful.  Yes, they were my health care providers first, but I learned that they too have small children (my nurse has twins & my doc has 3 kids under 5) and they "got it".   I am so Blessed to have family and friends who live close by and literally dropped everything to come and help my family.  Thank you, Thank you. Thank you.  Our neighbor was at our house seconds after I called her and asked to watch the kids.  My brother came and sat with me and watched Grey's & Private Practice and never once asked to change the channel and my brother in law came to pick me up in the middle of the night!

Today, things in our house are back to normal. I have some follow up tests today, but  I was up with the kids this morning, getting them ready & off to school.  My husband did get up first and take the breakfast shift.  Then I had to kick him off the couch, hoping I would get a few minutes to sit and rest. (yes I did! and I told him I was going to put that in here today for all is MS2K+ people to see!)  His response " the doctor said it wasn't life threatening".

During the ride to school my 5 year old had endless questions about the pictures they took of my heart, was my doctor a girl or a boy and the sharpies (needle) I had to get in my arm.  I could see the little wheels in her head turning as she was trying to understand it all.

What I have is not life threatening, but many heart problems can be.  Did you know that according to the American Heart Association, Heart Disease is the #1 Killer of Women.  February is American Heart Month and today is National Wear Red Day.  Please support this cause.  More importantly, please learn the warning signs of heart attack and stroke.  The signs and symptoms are very different for women, having that knowledge can save a life.  Heart attacks are not "some old man's" disease.  Heart attacks do not discriminate by age or race.  Please take a minute today and go to the American Heart Association's Web Page at: http://www.heart.org/ 

Their website also has some wonderful tips on getting "Heart Healthy" - everything from diet and nutrition tips to how to relieve stress.  I plan on checking this out and incorporating them into my family's lifestyle. Will you join me? 

1 comment: