Today, Stewart takes her blood pressure medication, but believes that her lifestyle changes have made a difference in its effectiveness. She is working on losing additional weight in hopes of decreasing the amount of medication she needs.

She also is working on the emotional aspects of the diagnosis. Seeing other women struggling with heart disease has helped Stewart see she isn’t alone and helped her to overcome misconceptions about heart disease.

“Just because you’re young or not overweight doesn’t mean you can’t have a heart attack,” she said. “You only have one body so why not treat it well?”

Willie E. Lawrence, Jr., M.D., an interventional cardiologist in Kansas City, Missouri, said “a family history of heart disease can be related to genetics, but it can also be because of family lifestyle.”

But even with a family history, making healthy lifestyle changes can make a big impact, he said.

A recent study showed the positive impact of web-based lifestyle counseling, which includes video clips featuring characters discussing their high blood pressure diagnosis and efforts to make lifestyle changes, as well as tools for tracking diet and level of physical activity. Study participants who used the counseling reduced their systolic blood pressure by 10 mmHg – an effect similar to adding an additional blood pressure-lower medication.

Stewart is working to inspire others to follow her lead. She’s posting walks and encouraging messages about good nutrition and health on social media accounts, including Go Red Get Fit.

“There are some days that I am just dragging and don’t want to walk, but I want people to know that if you just get started, you’ll find your attitude changes,” said Stewart. “Sometimes the hardest thing to do is walk outside the door.”