I will be addressing today's blog to all you women out there, but please, if you are a man, read it for your wife, sister, mother, daughter, etc.
I was watching a webcast on Women's Heart Health a bit ago and I felt I needed to touch base with all of you.
As I am sure many of you already know, I have had a heart defect since birth, which worsened when I became about forty years old. In early 2006 I was rushed to the emergency ward and was told that I was in Congestive Heart Failure. What I didn't know, at the time, was that my cardiologist wasn't sure if I'd get out of the hospital alive. I found that out a year later.
I give thanks to God, every single day, that I am still living. I've learned many things over the past nine years, but the most important one is this: I suffer from Chronic Congestive Heart Failure, as well as a few other heart conditions, every minute of my life. It is with me twenty four hours in every day, for seven days a week, for every month and year that I remain alive.
I live with this and my life is very content and happy just the way it is. You may ask how can that be possible. Well, I not only accepted my heart disease, I also accepted God's Divine Mercy into my life. Oh, let me say that my life changed drastically nine years ago. Everything that was normal to me then, no longer existed for me. But, I am happy to say, that I have a new normal. It is a very sedentary normal, but that's okay with me. I am still alive and for that, I thank God.
What I'd like each of you to know today, is that heart disease is the number one killer of women in the US today! This doesn't just apply to older women, like myself. It applies to all the millions of middle aged women out there.
What I've found out is this: That most younger women don't think any of the symptoms they may be having could possibly be coming from heart disease. That pain in their neck and shoulders is coming from all the hurrying they have to do all the time. That extreme tiredness is due to working full time, being a mom and taking care of a house and laundry. Those irregular heart beats they are having are caused by rushing around constantly.
My answer to their reasons is this: Your reasons are false. Oh, it could be true sometimes, but it could also be a heart problem or that you are having a slight heart attack. It is now time for every woman, old and young, to wake up and save their own lives. All the running around you do for your family, all the cleaning and laundry you do and all the stress you are under, has got to stop. NOW!
Please go to see a cardiologist about these symptoms. Do not play the guessing game with your family doctor. Have the tests run as soon as possible. Once you are dead, you simply can't come back to life. Love yourself enough to take care of yourself first. You can't be a good wife, mother, daughter, sister or anything else, if you are dead.
On this blog, I have a few pages regarding heart disease. One is "Five Myths regarding Woman and Heart Disease," and another one is "Heart Disease". Please read them and take heed. If you want to be a good wife and mother, love yourself enough to put your health first, always.
Once you have been diagnosed, please find a way to accept your health issues and not to give in to anyone else who wants you to do things that you know you positively can not do. I experienced this problem a number of years ago and scared myself so much. I will never do something that I know I just am not any longer able to do, not for anyone. I will not cause myself to have a massive heart attach for anyone!
If you are having problems, seek help today! Please don't shrug them off because you need to save your own life. I wish you good health and a good life, even if you have a disease.
Susan
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