This is a topic close to my heart and one that I do talk about as a cardiologist. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women, above all kinds of cancer and causes one in three deaths among women each year. Symptoms of heart attacks in women are different from those in men, therefore many women do not seek help in a timely manner. This poem may be too heavy to read but has a positive end.
She tells her self, it must be something I ate
Ignoring the weird feeling- there is much on my plate
That I need to accomplish, that’s why my forehead
Feels a little sweaty, maybe I’ll just go to bed
And start tomorrow, an antacid I should take
I have so much to do, early I must wake
*
She is tossing and turning, she cannot lie down
Why do I feel like I’m about to drown
Sitting propped up in bed, she has strange aches
It must be my anxiety, she thinks, but cannot shake
The feeling away, the night seems interminable
In no position can she get comfortable
*
Is something wrong with me, she wonders now
I must see my physician soon, I must find time somehow
Tomorrow my husband leaves on a trip, my child
Has a test, I have a presentation…why does my heartbeat feel wild…
Why can’t I think clearly, what is happening here..
(The last feeling she would remember is that of profound fear…)
*
She wakes up in the hospital, she has survived
Sudden cardiac death, been successfully revived
What she had was a massive heart attack
As is true in women, typical symptoms she did lack
She is a lucky survivor, proud owner of two stents
To pay close attention to her health is now her intent
The family for which she was trying to ignore
Her health, had been in danger of not having her anymore…
*
Months have passed, she is now an advocate
For women’s heart health, she is passionate
About spreading the word in the community
The numero uno cause of death in women, heart disease happens to be
Passion...unbridled 