PrintGlenn Mueller
eDiets Senior Writer/Editor
Heart disease kills nearly 30 percent of our nation’s female population, making it the leading cause of death for American women. What’s even more alarming is the fact that at least 8 million women in this country are currently living with heart disease — and those numbers show no signs of slowing down.
Behind all of these alarming statistics about women and heart disease are real people and their loved ones. Perhaps nobody understands this better than Kathy Kastan, past-president of the board of directors for WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease; Kastan, an advocate-turned-author, is also a bypass surgery survivor.
She knows first-hand that being diagnosed with heart disease can be extremely overwhelming. That’s why she wrote From the Heart: A Woman’s Guide to Living Well with Heart Disease.
“This is the book I looked for but could not find,” Kastan says.
At the age of 39, Kastan felt invincible. She was athletic, didn’t smoke and only ate healthy foods. Yet, even though she had no known risk factors for heart disease, her life was turned completely upside down in what seemed like the blink of an eye. While exercising, Kastan began to experience the following symptoms: left arm pain, shortness of breath, shoulder pain, back pain and nausea. Even though she rushed to see a cardiologist, her problem was misdiagnosed as a seemingly benign complication.
“My father is a physician, and my husband is a physician,” Kastan says. “But they couldn’t help me. I needed to be proactive about my own treatment.”
It was only after visiting a second cardiologist that the blockage in Katstan’s heart was finally discovered. Ultimately, Kastan had her bypass surgery a full year after the symptoms first began.
“I feel fortunate to be one of the lucky ones who survived,” Kastan says.
Even after her bypass operation, Kastan remained extremely ill. This licensed clinical social worker from Tennessee also had emotional symptoms that can be factors for women and heart disease to overcome, including a bout with post-traumatic stress disorder.
“I felt extremely anxious every day,” Kastan says. “It was like I was sitting on top of a needle and waiting to fall off.”
Kastan vowed that if she ever regained her health, she would become an advocate for women and heart disease. Instead of being overwhelmed by feelings of anger or denial, she now firmly believes that this ordeal happened to her for a reason.
“It happened to me so that I could help other women,” Kastan says.
When she was president of WomenHeart, Kastan regularly traveled around the country, including making frequent trips to the White House. WomenHeart is the nation’s only patient advocacy organization representing women and heart disease. It aims to improve their quality of life and healthcare through support, education and advocacy. WomenHeart also promotes the right of all women to receive early detection, accurate diagnosis and proper treatment of their heart disease. Founded in 1998, it is a public charity located in Washington, D.C.
“We provide women with information they need to become their own best heart health advocates and to improve their eating and physical activity habits,” Kastan says. “As a national community of survivors, we know that a heart disease diagnosis is not the end — it’s the beginning of creating a new healthy lifestyle for ourselves and our families.”
Her personal story has been covered by many national newspapers and magazines, including Time, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. She has made it her mission to provide a voice to all women living with heart disease. Kastan is living proof that women with heart disease cannot only survive but also thrive.
“If you had talked to me five years ago and told me that I would be in this place, I would have laughed at you,” Kastan says. “But, it is very gratifying to know that my interaction with women in this country has helped save lives.”
Now, Kastan provides an inspirational book that can help all women living with heart disease to develop a renewed sense of hope. In order to get down to the “heart of the issue,” Kastan interviewed more than 100 other women with heart problems from across the nation. Aside from just dealing with medical facts, this book also provides something you just can’t get at the doctor’s office: emotional and psychological support.
“Once you’ve had a heart incident, your sense of invincibility disappears,” Kastan says. “You can no longer take your health for granted.”
If heart disease has left you feeling overwhelmed, confused, afraid or even immobilized, you are not alone. According to Kastan, common emotional symptoms of heart disease include fear, frustration, and feelings of helplessness and isolation. In fact, more than half of the women with heart disease end up experiencing some kind of mental health problems. The problem is that many of them don’t seek treatment for them.
“The reality is that these women need support,” Kastan says. “But there is still a stigma attached to reaching out for mental health treatment. And many people feel like they don’t have time for it… just like they didn’t have time for heart disease.”
Continue to these related posts:
– Heart Disease Prevention: Take Charge”
– Heart-Healthy Foods
Glenn Mueller is the Senior Writer/Editor for eDiets.com in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. His areas of expertise include controlled carbohydrate living and diabetes.
Email Page
