My heart story is one that I didn’t see coming. And neither did my doctor. The story of so many women who suffer and even die from heart disease is what also plagued me. Not thinking that it can happen to me.
I went from healthy to sick in a heartbeat. I ate right (most of the time), had an active lifestyle, was young and had never been seriously ill before. But a few short years ago, I found myself in a coma with heart failure.
READ: These Heart Disease Risk Factors Are More Potent In Women Than Men
I had signs and symptoms of the disease for weeks, including fatigue, shortness of breath and palpitations. I knew that something was wrong but simply couldn’t figure it out. I complained to my doctor about my symptoms and about a tingling sensation in my arm and hand that seemed like it wouldn’t go away. He simply ignored it.
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When my complaining got to be too much I asked him to send me for x-rays and to a specialist. But, as I was pregnant there was nothing they could do for me at the time since I was unable to get an x-ray. So I was sent home to deal with it.
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I was dealing with the harsh realities of heart disease. Although it is the number one killer of women people often think of it as a man’s disease. As a previously healthy woman I nor my doctor was not looking for the signs and symptoms of heart disease and didn’t think that I fit into the category for the disease.
