Learn the Symptoms and Listen to Your Body…It Could Save Your Life

When a local young woman decided to listen to what her body was telling her, it saved her life. Now, she is on a mission to save other women like her.

In 2002, the American Heart Association and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute joined together to create the National Wear Red Day to support women’s health and heart disease awareness. They introduced the Red Dress as a symbol to unite women across the nation to stand up and fight for the cause.

Today, the National Wear Red Day falls on February 4, 2011, and has grown to become the nation’s largest event that benefits the importance of heart health awareness among women in America. Heart disease is the number one killer of women over the age of 20. Approximately, one woman dies every minute as a consequence of heart disease. While this is a startling estimate, it is comforting to know that 80% of heart-related conditions in women can be prevented if they choose to lead a lifestyle consisting of exercise, healthy foods, and heart-healthy choices.

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At 39 years of age, Gloria Boisvert, a local resident of Ocoee, Florida, began to experience what she thought was heartburn. Just to be safe, she decided to schedule a doctor’s appointment to find out the cause. Her decision to follow her instincts and visit her doctor saved her life.

A few weeks earlier, Daniel, a close family friend, had been suffering from the same heartburn symptom, but had chosen to ignore it. The heartburn turned into a heart attack that claimed Daniel’s life. “Daniel couldn’t make the time to see his doctor before it was too late. I knew I had to listen to my body and make the time, even though my daily schedule as a mother of two, wife, teacher, and soccer coach was always hectic,” Gloria said.

Gloria, a young and healthy woman, did not think she fit the profile of a person at risk for heart disease, so she laughed when her doctor suggested that she take a stress test. About four minutes into the test, Gloria’s life turned upside down. She was quickly admitted to the hospital where she underwent an angiogram, angioplasty with stent placement, and later emergency coronary artery bypass surgery, which helped restore the blood flow to her heart. The healing and recovery process was lengthy and painful. “My chest bone was broken for the surgery, and after the operation I had full sensation at my scar site, making my recovery very painful. I then underwent six weeks of cardio rehab, all while caring for my 6 and 11-year-old kids,” she said.

A former soldier and athlete all her life, Gloria had a hard time coming to terms with the fact that she had suffered a heart attack. It wasn’t until after her heart incident that she learned about her shocking family history. “It turned out that everyone on my mom’s side had heart disease, high blood pressure, and/or diabetes. Out of my mom’s eight siblings, only two had survived. The rest all died between the ages of 37 and 65,” she says.

After the surgery, Gloria became proactive towards a healthier life. She added daily exercise routines and transitioned to low-sodium and low-carb foods, a real stretch from her self-proclaimed moniker as “The Queen of Sandwiches.”

Gloria is proud of the scar on her chest. She wears it like a badge of honor and uses it to talk openly about heart disease with other women. Her passion to educate and empower others has led her to volunteer for the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women campaign, which is aimed at spreading awareness that heart disease is the number one killer of women.

Last year, Gloria won a local Go Red For Women casting call and was selected to be a national representative of the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women 2010 campaign. As a spokesperson for the campaign, she was able to share her story with others and dispel the myth that heart disease is an old man’s disease. In reality, more women die from heart disease than from the next four causes of death combined, including all forms of cancer.

The most common symptom of heart disease found in both men and women is chest pain or discomfort. Other common symptoms, such as fatigue, shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting, heartburn sensation, and back or jaw pain, are more likely to be experienced by women than by men.

“As I look back now, I do recall feeling fatigued the week before my heart event, but I didn’t connect it to heart disease because I didn’t know that the warning signs were different than those common in men,” says Gloria.

Daniel’s death and her own experience with heart disease remind Gloria of how valuable life is and how quickly it can end. She says, “I Go Red for every woman out there. No matter who you are, or what lifestyle you lead, you need to be informed so you can make the changes today that will ensure you are here tomorrow.”

For more information on heart disease and the National Wear Red Day, please visit: www.GoRedForWomen.org, www.heart.org, or visit your local American Heart Association Chapter.

Log onto www.GoRedForWomen.org to receive a FREE red dress pin.