Hi. I am honored to have been asked to blog for the CA. I want to wish everyone a Happy Heart Month! As an emergency bypass  surgery survivor at age 42, psychotherapist and a advocate my hope is that everyone who sees this blog will take a few steps to reduce their risk(s) for heart disease. But first you will need to know what your risk factors are and your numbers. You can go to www.womenheart.org or www.goredforwomen.org to learn what risk factors are and see if any of them apply to you. The reality is that 80% of women ages 40-60 have one or more risk factors for heart disease but the vast majority don’t know it. That’s why it’s so important to have this discussion with your health care provider. However, doctors on average spend 15 minutes per patient, so frequently they’re too busy to discuss your risk factors at length and to create an action plan to reduce these risks. That’s why we need to learn to be our own best health care advocates and take the bull by the horns. One cardiac patient I have in mind, couldn’t get her doctor to answer her questions. So the next time he came in to the examining room, she sat in front of the door until he answered her questions. Unfortunately, that’s sometimes what it takes.  It’s very important to form a partnership with your health care providers, which means that you feel comfortable in  that relationship, your questions and concerns are heard and care is taken to respond. I had to go to 3 cardiologists to get better. And the reason I got my life back is that the 3rd cardiologist heard my story, listened and created an action plan to address my symptoms post bypass. She changed my medications around and within a few months I was no longer having chest pain all day long. If you are uncomfortable or do not feel you are being heard, it’s time to get another opinion and maybe change providers.

It’s also important to know that if you take small steps in making lifestyle changes, it can lead to huge health gains. That could be as simple as cutting out butter or lard and using stanols, olive oils, canola oil etc… Bake and grill instead of fry foods. Test some of the recipes from WomenHeart’s All Heart Family cookbook. The recipes are delicious, simple and heart healthy–my kids even really like them! Also some other simple changes you can make is to take the stairs instead of the escalator/elevator. Park further away from the door instead of right next to it. Once you get your doc’s approval try to get 30 mins of moderate level exercise each day—take a walk with your personal trainer (your dog(s)), your friends or your kids. No one expects any of us to be triathletes. Just do it, don’t think too much or you’ll talk yourself out of it.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Best,

Kathy Kastan