March 9, 2012
MEDICAL UNIVERSITY of SOUTH CAROLINA
Vol. 30, No. 28
Go Red 5K promotes heart health By Hollen DoDDs
Matters of the Heart Bridget Dickey is one of MUSC’s patients featured in phase 2 of the branding campaign. Employees can view the latest commercials at whyMUSChealth.com.
New phase of branding campaign gets personal B ridget Dickey got lucky one year ago, although when she was at MUSC’s Chest Pain Center it didn’t really feel that way. The 40-year-old mother of two boys, now ages 1 and 3, felt chest pain a week after delivering her son, and went to an urgent care center to be checked out. After evaluating her, they called EMS, and she was transported to MUSC, where she was diagnosed with postpartum cadiomyopathy. The condition, which reduces the heart’s ejection fraction, essentially causes heart failure
— and is fatal if not caught and treated in time. Dickey, who was just a week and a half out from the birth of her second son, said she was so glad her husband insisted that she get checked out. “I was experiencing severe heaviness in my chest, shortness of breath and when I laid down, it felt like I was drowning.” Dickey of Goose Creek is one of many patients to be featured in the second phase of MUSC’s branding campaign that is rolling out this week. The campaign
“Changing What’s Possible” features real patient experiences. Dickey, who is doing well now, said her cardiologist, Marian Taylor, M.D., has her on a two-year treatment regimen that includes medication, diet and exercise. “My experience at MUSC was great. The doctors and nurses in the critical care unit were wonderful. Everyone really took great care of me and kept my family informed of what was going on and what to expect going forward.”
Dickey said it was wonderful being filmed for the television commercial. It’s an experience she’ll never forget, she said. She wants to let others know the type of quality care they can get at MUSC. “I truly believe I would not have gotten the type of A-1 treatment if I was taken somewhere else. Dr. Taylor and her team did a wonderful job, and my progress with this condition may not have been as positive as it is now if I was taken somewhere else.” See Heart on page 8
Public Relations Runners of all ages got their hearts pumping for the second annual Go Red Heart 5K Run & Walk Feb. 11. MUSC employee Stephanie Carter, who works in the Clinical Laboratory Services Department, was prompted to start the event after her mother, Robin Seay, died from heart disease at the age of 47. “I wanted to turn the loss of my mother into something positive, while trying to inspire other women to become more aware of their own heart health,” she said. Heart disease kills an estimated 630,000 Americans each year and is the leading cause of death for men and women, according to the American Heart Association. Statistics also show that heart disease kills more women than all forms of cancer combined. Carter is now an advocate for awareness. “I was unaware of the statistics of heart disease prior to my mother’s death. She had no previous signs of symptoms, so it was completely unexpected,” she said. See 5K on page 8
Stephanie Carter, center, is joined by close friends at the Go Red 5K Run & Walk in memory of her mother.