HEARTMATES

WRITER: JAMES COMBS PHOTO: FRED LOPEZ

The room hums with serious conversations, gracious laughter, and the faint ticking of mechanical heart valves. Hugs and smiles abound among this group of strangers who share a sense of kinship. They swap stories about undergoing open-heart surgery, cardiac rehabilitation, and pacemaker placement.

Those in the room live with heart disease. Some are living miracles who were brought back to life.

Nope, these are not elderly men with faulty tickers. Instead, it’s the scene that typically plays out when members of WomenHeart gather for monthly meetings. This courageous group of women raises awareness about cardiovascular disease, which is a serious health issue for females that is often misunderstood and misdiagnosed.

Sue Prince, 61, was a natural candidate to spearhead The Villages chapter of WomenHeart, a national organization that promotes women’s heart health through advocacy, education, and patient support.

Prince has endured three heart attacks in the past decade but refused to become a cardiac cripple. Today, she regularly engages in yoga, walks one mile daily, and performs in a local dance company.

“I am one of the lucky ones,” she says. “I survived not only one heart attack but three. I felt like it’s my duty to help other women going through the same ordeal.”

After forming WomenHeart in The Villages two years ago, she soon realized many women are in the same boat. Membership has skyrocketed to 80 members, making this chapter one of the largest in the country and serving as a grim reminder of how prevalent cardiovascular disease is among women.

They meet on the third Wednesday of every month inside the Sharon Morse Medical Building from 3:30-4:30 p.m. The peer-to-peer group provides support to local female cardiac patients—those who have had bypass surgery, stent placement, pacemaker placement, or manage heart disease with medication.

Ultimately, the goal is to empower each member.

Sometimes that’s accomplished through educational sessions with guest speakers such as pharmacists, yoga instructors, and dietitians. Other times, it’s accomplished by simply lending a listening ear.

“We allow members to share their stories,” says Prince, a 2007 graduate of WomenHeart’s Science and Leadership Symposium held at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.“It’s important for women with heart disease to express their feelings.”

That need to talk—and more importantly, learn—is vital to slowing the rate of heart disease for women in the United States.

Heart disease kills more women than all forms of cancer combined. In fact, one in every three American women dies from heart disease or stroke, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). Breast cancer, long believed to be a woman’s biggest health threat, kills only one in 31 American women each year.

However, there is a sharp contrast between perception and reality. The mere mention of heart disease typically conjures the image of an elderly man clutching his chest and dropping to the ground. Even women do not always take the threat of heart disease seriously. A 2003 AHA study of 1,000 women found that only 13 percent believed their greatest health threat was heart disease or stroke.

To compound problems, women with heart disease are not diagnosed or treated as aggressively as men, according to a study conducted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

That is likely because symptoms are strikingly different between the sexes.

“It’s common for doctors to associate heart attacks with crushing chest pain,” says Dr. Joseph Sahab, a cardiologist with Florida Heart and Multi-Specialty Group in Leesburg. “In many cases, women who have heart disease do not feel chest pain and therefore are misdiagnosed.

Moreover, when women do feel chest pain, it oftentimes is not related to the heart. So when a woman visits a doctor’s office, the doctor may assume the pain stems from something else.”

Holly Hollingsworth, who joined WomenHeart two years ago, has experienced three near heart attacks since 2011. Each came with different symptoms. The first time she felt shortness of breath, the second time she experienced upper left arm pain, and the third time she suffered from a sharp pain in the center of her back.

“During one of our WomenHeart meetings, we asked several women what their symptoms were,” says Hollingsworth, a resident of The Villages. “Not one of them had the same symptom. That’s why it can be confusing for doctors to diagnose heart disease in women. Many doctors attribute the symptoms to exhaustion, anxiety, or even menopause.”

Helping women understand these symptomatic differences and teaching them to seek prompt treatment can vastly improve outcomes. That is one reason why Hollingsworth, who will assume Prince’s role of community support coordinator in 2017, plans to extend the WomenHeart meetings by 30 minutes.

“Women need to be equipped with the necessary knowledge about heart disease so they can be advocates for themselves. They need to learn how to listen to their bodies. The mental, physical, and emotional toll heart disease has on women is very real. I want members of our chapter to have enough time to talk about their fears and concerns and ask pertinent questions relating to their health.”

She will also introduce 15-minute training modules to teach members about proper nutrition and exercise and how to cope with fear and depression.

“My main focus is to reach women who have heart disease, women who are at risk for heart disease, and women who are curious to learn more about heart disease. I want them to know there’s a group of women who care about their concerns and feelings. They can join us, learn from other members, receive unyielding support, and form meaningful friendships.”

That camaraderie with others who are going through the same adversity is invaluable.

“I get lots of hugs,” Prince says. “That is one of the best things about being part of this group.”

WomenHeart is open to all local females. For more information about WomenHeart, call Prince at 240.271.9292 or Hollingsworth at 770.596.7734.

Dr. Joseph Sahab, a local cardiologist, answers questions pertaining to women and cardiovascular disease.

Q: What ages are women at greatest risk for heart disease?

A: After menopause, a woman’s risk is the same as a man’s risk because their estrogen levels are now lower. Estrogen helps prevent plaque formation.

Q: What specific symptoms do women experience prior to an actual heart attack?

A: One week before the heart attack, they may feel shortness of breath, fatigue, insomnia, dizziness, and indigestion. They may also have cold sweats and cold, clammy hands.

Q: What are the risk factors for women developing cardiovascular disease?

A: They are essentially the same for women as for men—smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, and a family history of heart disease.

Q: How does hormone replacement therapy affect a woman’s heart?

A: According to recent studies, it does not reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease or increase the risk.