SMITH COUNTY (KYTX) - Every year, the families of almost 420- thousand women lose a wife, mother, sister or daughter to the nation's number one killer. It's heart disease that's killing the women you love and most women don't even know it.
Meet a Lindale woman whose life was touched by heart disease... Not once, but twice in "A Woman's Heart," a KYTX CBS 19 Special Report.
Holly rand lost her mother and grandmother just 3 years apart. Both died of heart attacks. In both cases, it was sudden. And both times, their cardiovascular disease went undiagnosed until their deaths. It's a loss she doesn't want her family, or yours, to have to go through.
Holly Rand's mother, Sharon, didn't live long enough to see her daughter succeed as a business owner. She died just after celebrating her 35th wedding anniversary. "I lost my mother at her young age of 56 and my young age of 32, at the time my daughter was only 2. She barely knew her Nana," says Holly Rand.
Sharon had heart disease, and didn't know it, but, there were signs. "A cough that was really deep and bad," says Holly Rand.
Holly says her mom felt bad enough to go to an emergency room in another part of Texas just 10 days before she died. "(The doctor) put her on a prescription of albuterol. The autopsy said it probably led to the final effect of her having a heart attack," says Holly Rand.
Sharon's death lead to so many "why's" for her daughter. Why didn't the doctors diagnose the heart disease? Why didn't her mom take better care of herself?
"It was kind of like, why don't women know this?" asked Holly.
And, why didn't Holly's mom get checked, knowing that her own mom died of heart disease?
"Women get busy in our homes and we miss the symptoms and we don't go to the doctor," says Holly.
That's the very premise behind a video, "Just a Little Heart Attack" from the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women campaign.
It's meant to be a powerful wake-up call to women to understand their risk for heart disease and empower them to make their health a priority.
"Here is what is a little bit scary to me 43% of women with heart attack reported having no chest pain whatsoever," says Deb Taylor, Chief Nursing Officer for the Louis and Peaches Owen Heart Hospital, Trinity Mother Frances Hospitals and Clinics.
Deb Taylor is the Chief Nursing Officer for the Louis and Peaches Owen Heart Hospital at Trinity Mother Frances Hospitals and Clinics.
She says women don't always experience heart attacks with crushing chest pain.
Possible signs that women experience and overlook prior to a heart attack are-- upset stomach, fatigue, sleep disturbance, shortness of breath, and anxiety.
During a attack-- many women feel a shortness of breath, unusual fatigue, weakness, cold sweats and dizziness. "If you're feeling those symptoms at home. You should call 911 and have an ambulance take you to the emergency room, because if your situation worsens as you're driving down that road, we want you in the care of someone who can help you right away," says Deb Taylor.
Taylor says while some of the risk factors-- like genetics are out of your control, there are things you can control-- like blood pressure, weight, diet, your activity level and stress.
All risks holly took a close look at herself. "I didn't have the energy or the focus. It was literally in December that I started working out and in January of 2012 I started eating a heart healthy diet, taking vitamins.
She also now reminds the women in her life-- sisters, friends and co-workers to care of their hearts and listen to their bodies, so they won't miss those special moments her mom missed.
Holly doesn't have to see a cardiologist yet, but it's a conversation she's had with all her doctors. Cardiovascular experts say you should too and they suggest you stay educated on the risk factors and symptoms, then do your best to control them.
Researchers talked with women who didn't feel chest pain during their heart attack...
95% of them said in hindsight, they did have some signs and symptoms, but didn't put 2 and 2 together.
Deb Taylor says that's why getting to the ER is so important, so doctors can perform an EKG and check your blood work to see if you're having a heart attack.
