5 minute read
Live longer & stronger
Megan Corbin, 31,
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CRESCENT CIT Y, CA
In July 2020, a day after teaching an online fitness class with her usual energy, dancer Megan Corbin woke up with pain in her chest. Gas, she thought, and she asked her husband for some ginger ale. But when both arms went numb and she was too weak to walk, she agreed to go to the hospital. Within 10 minutes of her arrival, an EKG revealed that she was having a heart attack. Afterward, Megan learned that she suddenly had high cholesterol and high blood pressure, two major heart disease risk factors. Doctors put in a stent to help keep her arteries open so blood could flow.
C H A N G E O F H E A R T : Two months after her heart attack, Megan made one of her dreams a reality: She opened a dance studio in her small town. Alter Ego Dance now has 80 students who learn everything from tap to Bollywood dance. And the girl boss now forces herself to take more breaks—and a nap when she needs it.
Do one thing: Break a sweat. Regular exercise is an important part of keeping your heart strong and heart disease risk factors like high blood pressure or an unhealthy weight at bay. Try to make it fun! If, like Megan, you love dancing, crank up an energetic playlist, do online dance workouts, or take classes at a local dance studio. Walking the dog or joining your kids for a bike ride, a game of tag, or hopscotch counts too!
Angel Gibbs, 53, WORCESTER , MA
For months, Angel explained away the symptoms that were bothering her. Chest pain? Too much spicy food. An ache in her jaw? Probably a cavity. Back pain gripping her shoulders? Time to get a new work bag. When her left bicep hurt as if a rubber band were squeezing it, she started to blame her workout…except she hadn’t worked out. Finally ready to admit that something wasn’t quite right, Angel drove herself to the emergency room. The doctor suggested that it might be indigestion or a panic attack—until her blood pressure spiked drastically and an echocardiogram revealed an 80% blockage in two arteries. Angel was having a heart attack. Doctors immediately put in two stents, and she spent six days recovering in the hospital. C H A N G E O F H E A R T : Cardiac rehab taught Angel a new way to eat. Out: added salt and sugar, processed foods, most dairy, and anything on four legs. In: feathers and fins (i.e., poultry and fish), salt-free seasoning, “ice cream” made from frozen fruit, and lots of plant-based eats. In just six months, Angel lost 50 pounds. “I feel better than ever,” she says.
Do one thing: Make better-for-you swaps. When Angel craves tacos, she uses ground turkey and nosalt taco seasoning—turkey is lower in fat than beef, and spices bring big flavor. Other smart switches: Enjoy Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, homemade oatmeal with fruit rather than the sugary microwave kind, and meat-free bean and veggie chili.
LIVE LONGER & STRONGER
After lots of practice, Nefertari mastered archery.
Nefertari Nelson-Williams, 48, WILLING BORO, NJ
Thirty-seven weeks pregnant with her fifth child, Nefertari knew what labor pains felt like. And that wasn’t what she was feeling. “I was watching TV when I felt like I got struck by lightning,” she remembers. Sweat poured down her face. It felt as if an elephant had settled on her chest. She struggled so hard for breath that she wanted to rip her shirt off. A full day later, after she had been airlifted to a second hospital, doctors realized she’d had a spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD)—a tear in a blood vessel of the heart that’s a common cause of heart attack in pregnant and postpartum women. At the hospital, Nefertari barely survived delivering a healthy baby daughter, Shayna.
C H A N G E O F H E A R T : Before SCAD, Nefertari put in long days working with disabled preschool children and shuttling her four kids to extracurriculars; after her heart attack, she had to slow down. She took up a new hobby—archery—that she’d seen in the Paralympic Games: “It seemed like something I, a disabled person too, could do with a weaker heart.” It’s also an important form of stress relief. “When you release and that arrow flies,” she says, “negativity flies out of your body.”
Do one thing: Make “me time” a regular thing. Some research suggests that extreme stress may raise SCAD risk, especially in women and even in those with an otherwise healthy lifestyle. Block off a few minutes on your calendar each day for engaging in an activity that calms you— listen to music, take a walk around the block, sip a cup of coffee or tea by yourself, or find a quiet area and just breathe.
“I was young, so it couldn’t be a stroke”
Brittany Scheier, 30,
HOUSTON
After winery-hopping with friends to toast her 27th birthday, Brittany woke up feeling… strange. She couldn’t move her hand or the right side of her body and couldn’t stand. ER doctors thought it was drugs, so it took five hours to get the CT scan that revealed that she’d had a massive stroke. “I thought strokes only happened to people my grandparents’ age,” she says. It turns out certain hormonal birth control pills plus stress can cause high blood pressure, raising stroke risk in young women. After a second stroke and two weeks in the hospital, Brittany started speech, vision, physical, and occupational therapy.
C H A N G E O F H E A R T : Brittany vowed not to be set back. Just six weeks after the strokes, she graduated from the University of Texas School of Law. Now she practices law and prioritizes time doing something that simply brings her joy: remodeling houses with her fiancé.
Do one thing: Learn the
symptoms of stroke and remember that, while rare before age 45, it can happen at any age. Common signs: numbness or weakness in the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side; trouble seeing or walking; confusion; difficulty speaking.
