Listen, It’s My Heart.

by Christina Stuwe

I've advocated for women's heart health for six years. Why? There aretwosignificantreasonsforthis.

First, "heart disease and stroke are the main causes of premature death in Canadian women." That means that "every 16 minutes, a woman in Canada is dying from heart disease or stroke."

Ms.Understoodbrochure:HeartandStroke2018

Secondly, I had a close call that almost made me a part of that statistic.

You see, I had a heart attack at age 44 but did not recognize the signs and only became aware of it three years later, during one of three ECGs I had. It was finally confirmed later that year with an angiogram. Had I been aware of the typical heart attack symptoms for women, I would have acted on them immediately. Some of my symptoms were nausea, heavy fatigue, sweating, and breathlessness, and I thought it was all because I carried a heavy item to our car on a hot summer day.

I also had pregnancy complications, which I later found out were warnings of an increased chance for future heart disease—a fact I was never informed of. "Nearly a third of young women with premature acute heart attacks have a history of pregnancy disorders. Gestational diabetes, hypertension, or pre-eclampsia doubles a woman's lifetime risk for heart disease." (Ms. Understoodbrochure:HeartandStroke2018)

My journey toward advocacy started with me listening to my body. I listened to my heart racing like a freight train in my chest while watching cartoons with my son on February 18, 2017. I listened because I had lost a mentor, my son's godfather, and my mom to heart disease. My husband took me to the nearest walk-in clinic that day, and we began my journey of many steps tothetruthtogether.

Over seven months, we listened, asked questions and had ECGs identify abnormal heartbeats. We listened and questioned my results and my cardiologist's, and when it felt like we were not being heard, we pushed for answers and further tests. An added benefit was having the support and voice of my husband on these appointments, who, when I felt emotionally overwhelmed, was theretocontinuequestioningthedoctorandhelpmeprocesstheinformationweweregiven.

I listened to Dr. Kealy and her team when they performed my angiogram. We listened as a family when the hard truth of my diagnosis was finally revealed to us. My heart had received minimal damage from my heart attack three years prior. Thank goodness for small blessings. My heart, however, had three major arteries that were blocked between 70 and 100%. We were shocked. This meant that I required open heart surgery, a triple bypass, at 47. The trouble was that there were many people ahead of me who needed cardiac surgery, which meant I would have a prolongedfour-and-a-half-monthwaitbeforeitwasmyturn.

Listen, It’s My Heart con`t

Six days after my angiogram, Dr. Teresa Kieser's office contacted my husband and me. She would be my amazing cardiac surgeon. My consultation was booked for February 14, 2018, Valentine'sDay.Howcosmictoreceiveamessagelikethat;youbetIwaslistening!

Having extensive surgical experience, Dr. Kieser assured me of a successful procedure and a promising prognosis for a long and healthy life, citing a 98% chance of success. So, long story short, I am here thriving and advocating for women's heart health because I listened to my body and trusted my intuition. This quest for listening drove me to write a book about my journey, to hopefullyhaveotherwomen"listen"totheirbodiesandstandupandadvocateforthem.

My book, "Yes, It's My Heart... Is It Yours Too?" summarizes my journey, lessons learned, struggles,andrealizationsaboutmyheartanditsvoice.Iencourageyouto"listen"aswell. As I wrote in my book, "May you listen to your own inner heart, face the fears, face the challenges, and do what you need to do. Yes, it won't be easy. It will be messy, and it will take hardwork!Willitbeworthit?Embracethejourney,andyouwillanswerthatforyourself." If you're interested in reading more about my experiences, the things I discovered, and the helpfuladviceandtipsIlearnedonthisjourney,grabacopyofmybookonAmazon.

ChristinaStuwewasraisedinCalgaryandis marriedwithason.She’sworkedinthefinancial industryforoverthreedecades,helpingfamilies financially.Currently,sheisusingher publicspeakingexperienceandpeopleskillsto passonhermessage.Asawomanwithlived experience,shesharesherknowledge withvariousheartstudies.Christinahasalsobeen featuredonGlobalandCTVNews,theSunday NightHealthShowpodcastandonline.She’salsoa memberoftheCanadianWomen’sHeartHealth Alliance,aformerspokespersonforHeart&Stroke andisnowtheauthorofherfirstbook.

ContactInfo:

Email: christinastuwesheart@gmail.com

Instagram:@christinastuwesheart

Facebook:ChristinaStuwe

X(formerlyTwitter):@christinastuwe