Saying Goodbye to Heart Health Month, but Not to Heart Health

by Deborah Bush, Director of Communications

As we say goodbye to HEART HEALTH MONTH 2013, there is an important takeaway message: Pregnancy history is important to heart health every month of the year, not just in February.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women. Despite a downward trend over the last four decades, death rates from this disease now appear to be increasing in women aged 35 to 54 years.

We know that women who have had preeclampsia have approximately double the risk for heart disease and stroke during the subsequent five to fifteen-year period. Important factors to consider when determining cardiovascular impact include the severity of the mother’s preeclampsia, whether or not it recurred, and a history of low birth weight babies. Research studies have shown that the risk of pregnancy complications and later cardiovascular disease is cumulative; and women who experienced preeclampsia, preterm birth, and fetal growth restriction were found to have seven times the risk of hospital admission or death from coronary artery disease.

Keep in mind that, in addition to pregnancy history, there are many other factors that affect a woman’s heart health as she ages — but many of the risk factors for preeclampsia and diseases affecting your blood pressure and heart are the same. They include a family history of high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes, being overweight, problems with blood clotting, and metabolic syndrome. If you had preeclampsia, it does not mean you will definitely develop heart problems, but for some women, pregnancy can be considered a failed stress test, possibly unmasking other health issues.

If you had preeclampsia during any of your pregnancies, you should take extra care to monitor the health of your heart, consider seeing a preventive cardiologist, and make lifestyle modifications now to reduce your risk. If you have other risk factors in addition to your history of preeclampsia, these steps become even more important.

New guidelines from the American Heart Association encourage assessment of a woman’s pregnancy history. You should let your health care providers know:

• the number of pregnancies you had,
• if you had preeclampsia or high blood pressure during any of them,
• if you had gestational diabetes during any of them,
• the number of miscarriages or stillbirths you had,
• if any of your babies were born early or small for gestational age, and
• the weight of your babies.

In addition to www.preeclampsia.org, additional pregnancy and heart health information can be found on Seconds Count, the patient website of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) ‑- www.scai.org/SecondsCount/Disease.

End February as Heart Awareness Month right by joining SCAI and the Preeclampsia Foundation for a WOMEN AND HEART HEALTH Twitter Chat today, Feb. 28 at 1:00 pm EST using the hashtag #heartchat. Follow us @preeclampsia.

6 Questions to Ask Your Healthcare Provider About Your Heart Health

On today, when everyone is swapping heart-shaped candies, we encourage everyone to also think of your other heart: the physical one. February is Heart Health Awareness Month, and for preeclampsia survivors, it is important to understand your risks.

Have you checked your heart health lately?

If you’re a new mom, your own heart health may be the furthest thing from your mind, but if you’re a preeclampsia survivor, it’s something you and your physician should discuss. Why? Because research has shown that preeclampsia may help predict potential future heart disease.

Experts suggest 6 questions you should ask your healthcare provider about pregnancy complications and heart disease:

1. I had high blood pressure during pregnancy. Are there steps I should be taking now to monitor my heart health?
2. I had a fetal growth restriction complication or delivered a preterm baby. What should I be doing for my best cardiovascular health?
3. What risk factors (unrelated to pregnancy) do I have for cardiovascular disease, such as diet, family history, etc.?
4. Do any of my test results indicate risk factors for heart disease, such as high cholesterol?
5. Do my overall risk factors or risk factors related to pregnancy suggest that I should be referred to a cardiologist?
6. Are there lifestyle or medication changes that would benefit my heart health?

A good number of preeclampsia survivors report difficulty getting their blood pressure to return to normal and may need, even temporary, medications to normalize their BP.  However, without solid evidence for what post-preeclampsia follow up care should include, what should you do? Experts in the field have helped us develop these common sense guidelines to reduce your risk of heart disease:

• Eat a heart healthy diet and get regular exercise… for instance, join a local Promise Walk!
• Stay at a healthy weight, specifically a BMI of 25 or less.
• Don’t smoke.
• Talk with your doctor about your specific family health history, your pregnancy history and the benefits of taking low dose aspirin.
• Know your numbers – blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood glucose – and ensure these stay in the healthy range.

For more information about heart health risk, check out the Preeclampsia Foundation’s longer heart health article.

Caring for Your Other Heart: Becoming Your Own Valentine

Today in honor of February as Heart Health Awareness Month and to recognize the important link between preeclampsia and long-term cardiovascular health, we have a special guest blogger, Dr. Melissa Blount. Dr. Blount is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist at Blount Psychology in Chicago, Illinois, who was diagnosed with cardiovascular disease in 2009 at the age of 41. Since her diagnosis, she has been a vocal advocate for the American Heart Association and the MendedHearts organization, to improve awareness about women’s risk for cardiovascular disease:

My life often feels like it’s divided into parts: childhood blur, parents’ divorce apocalypse, college years, the horrid twenties, starting to get better thirties, husband, daughter, first BLACK president, sweet home Chicago, “let’s have a another baby?”… why aren’t I getting pregnant and then fatigue, shortness of breath; lots of doctors visits to find out why I’m not getting pregnant, palpitations, tightness in chest when I get stressed, tightness in chest gone, then tightness in chest all the time and doesn’t go away until I’m absolutely still and then December 2, 2009.

I went in for what I thought was a simple stress test… and then was off to a race in which I never intended to compete. I knew my test wasn’t going well when I couldn’t finish the test; the pain started and then the silence. Then, “I’ll be right back, do you have someone you can call?; We need you to go for more tests.” “No more babies for you; we’re trying to help you live for the one child you have.” From then on that’s all I hear. I’m numb to the fact that I’ve just been told I’m lucky I even made it to the hospital.

There was a great deal of denial: I wasn’t super fit but I have the reputation in my family of being a health nut.  The last thing I ever expected to hear was that I had an issue with my heart. I felt broken and didn’t feel as if I had any control to fix it. I felt alone. I felt shame because I felt I had brought this on myself. On and on went my self-blame as I began to process the news that I have heart disease.

The whole first year was like walking on eggshells.  I felt fragile and alone in my struggle. My peers and very close friends tried to understand, but my issues were those of their grandparents. My husband didn’t want to hear me; if the choice was between me and an unborn, non-existent baby… then the choice was me. And while I logically understood his choice, it felt like a betrayal. My life felt abruptly interrupted and I was angry. But I was afraid to be angry for fear of what it might do to my heart.

Halfway into 2010, I finally decided that this shrink needed a shrink. Suddenly I was given permission to grieve; to be angry and take my life, MY HEART back from the medical establishment.

And as we worked together to address my emotional self, it made room for me to consider how I would address my physical self, and the bridge between the two. The first thing I did was take a mindfulness course and began a mindfulness practice. The second is I really started to think about what kind of exercise I could do on a consistent basis and two activities came to mind: rowing and swimming.

Beginning in April of 2011 I began the overhaul of my physical self at a more intense and deliberate intention. I joined Rowfit Chicago and began to demand more of my body, setting goals that I’d always wanted to do and never imagined that I could. And I am proud to say that in the year of 2011, I ran two 5k and completed my first sprint triathlon. It’s been amazing to think of myself as more than a partner, mother, daughter, sister and cardiac patient. I am someone capable of pushing my body AND MY HEART beyond my preconceived physical limits. And my goal is to continue to push the envelope. And though it isn’t easy given all the roles that I juggle, I am determined that as a heart health advocate, I will help more women live a whole-hearted, fully-engaged life, rather than living literally without heart.