Heart of a woman -- Former patient working to raise awareness of symptoms

By: PATTY McCORMAC - For the North County Times | Saturday, March 15, 2008 8:03 PM PDT ∞

In January 2007, Dr. Tonya Henderson-Meyer ran the Disney Marathon at Disney World in Florida. It took her more than six hours. When she crossed the finish line, her 5-year-old daughter said, "I'm sorry you didn't win."

"I told her I had won something much bigger today. This had been a lifelong goal, and I was able to do it," Henderson-Meyer said, still chuckling at the memory.

It was a sweet victory for her. A little more than a year earlier, she had discovered she had serious heart disease and had undergone surgery to have a heart value replaced.

Nothing could have surprised the pediatrician and mother of four more. She was only 35 and in good physical shape.

"Heart disease is considered a man's disease, an old person's disease, but it is the No. 1 killer of women," she said. "There are so few symptoms, and 60 percent will have no symptoms prior to their first heart attack."

For those reasons and because of her own experience, she decided to work with the American Heart Association in its Go Red Campaign aimed at women, especially during February.

"My goal is to educate women about heart disease, how many it affects each year and how many young women do not perceive they are at risk for heart disease," she said.

Running for fun
Henderson-Meyer was one of them.

She had been running for fun and exercise since college. She had even entered a few races, but had never really been competitive.

With four children and a busy career at Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Group, though, she knew she needed more exercise.

"I decided to get back into running and challenge myself with a few races," she said.

She started training for the 2005 half marathon in Carlsbad.

"I probably had very subtle symptoms for the past year, subtle like being unable to increase my speed very much," she said. "I got used to running a mile, but couldn't increase the speed."

She was also having trouble increasing her distance, but she blamed that on being a busy doctor, a busy mom and being older than when she ran in college.

"I never had chest pains. I felt more short of breath at the time, but nothing that would alarm me," said the Carmel Valley resident.

Things started to change after she ran the half-marathon.

"I had a horrible headache. I was throwing up, so I went to the ER," she said. "They thought I was dehydrated, but I thought I'd kept myself hydrated during the race."

During the exam, one of the doctors asked whether she was aware that she had a heart murmur. She told the doctor she was, that it had been discovered when she was a child, but it had been considered an "innocent murmur," she said.

While she was in medical school, the murmur was "discovered" again when she and her colleagues were learning to use stethoscopes. She had it checked again and was fine.

"I never really thought about it again. I never felt bad. I had no reason to look into it again."

A change of heart
But tests after the race showed the murmur had changed dramatically through the years. Henderson-Meyer was diagnosed with a bicuspid aortic valve ---- a wrong-shaped aortic valve that could not open and close correctly. She needed surgery.

"It was kind of a shock. I understood exactly what they were telling me," she said. "I think I walked around in a fog for a couple of days. There was a fix, but the fix required surgery."

There were two options: She could have a valve replaced with a mechanical valve or with a tissue valve. The mechanical ones last longer, while the tissue ones need to be replaced. She was only 35 and wanted to avoid another surgery down the road, so she opted for the mechanical valve.

Because complications ensued from the surgery, she was hospitalized for nine days. Henderson-Meyer was shocked by how long she took to recover.

"I don't remember pain being an issue, but complete and total exhaustion," she said. "I had never felt that way."

She began walking before leaving the hospital and continued her recovery at home.

"My exercise routine started with walking around my kitchen counter and it increased from there," she said. "I finally graduated to walking on a treadmill, and two months after the surgery I was walking 30 to 40 minutes."

In addition, she was back to taking care of her four children full time, which can be an exercise routine in itself.

As time passed, she began to run a little and increased gradually until she was able to run the Disney Marathon. She developed a team called Team T made up of family and friends and began raising money for the American Heart Association.

"I wanted to run a marathon," she said. "I don't know if I want to run a marathon again, but I just didn't want to view myself as someone with limitations."

Get checked
Dr. Robert M. Stein is the past president of the San Diego Chapter of the American Heart Association and also the medical director of cardiovascular services of Palomar Pomerado Health. He said it is important for women to be as concerned for themselves as they are for others.

"When they are signing up their child for soccer, they should make an appointment to have a check-up for themselves," he said.

Heart disease, he said, kills more women in the United States than any other illness and is 10 times more likely to cause death than breast cancer.

"We need to recognize that women have the same risks as men, they need to have check-ups, they need to know their numbers ---- blood pressure, sugar, cholesterol ---- and treat them if they are high. They need to stop smoking and have a healthy diet."

A very sobering statistic by the American Heart Association reveals that no disease, not even cancer, claims as many women's lives as heart disease, yet only 21 percent of women view heart disease as a health risk. They should. Here's why:

Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women in the United States.

It kills nearly half a million mothers, wives and daughters each year, about one death per minute among females.

More women die of cardiovascular disease than the next five causes of death combined, including all cancers.

Diseases of the heart remain the nation's No. 1 killer. Stroke, the nation's No. 3 killer, is a leading cause of severe long-term disability, and as the U.S. population continues to age, more people are at a higher risk for the disease.

Heart disease and stroke kill more than 3,400 women in San Diego County annually.

The Go Red for Women movement urges woman to talk to their doctors about their personal risk for heart disease and stroke. Although age, race and family history are risk factors that cannot be changed, you can learn how to make heart-healthy habits part of daily life. Visit GoRedforWomen.org. Women should:

Schedule a doctor's appointment each year on their birthday.

Eat healthy, watching their fat and cholesterol.

Be physically active, at least 30 minutes of exercise on most days.

Know their numbers. That means keeping track of their blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels.

Never smoke. And if you do smoke, it's time to stop.

Symptoms and warning signs of a heart attack

As with men, women's most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. However, women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting and back or jaw pain.

Some heart attacks are sudden and intense ---- the "movie heart attack," where no one doubts what is happening ---- but most heart attacks start slowly, with mild pain or discomfort. Often people affected aren't sure what's wrong and wait too long before getting help. Here are signs that can mean a heart attack is happening:

Chest discomfort. Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.

Discomfort in other areas of the upper body. Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.

Shortness of breath may occur with or without chest discomfort.

Other signs. These many include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness. As with men, women's most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. Women are more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea and vomiting and back or jaw pain.

The heart association recommends that if you or someone you are with has chest discomfort, especially with one or more of the other signs do not wait longer than a few minutes, no more than five minutes, before calling for help. Call 911. Get to a hospital right away. Calling 911 is almost always the fastest way to get lifesaving treatment. Emergency medical services staff can begin treatment when they arrive, up to an hour sooner than if someone gets to the hospital by car. The staff is also trained to revive someone whose heart has stopped. You will also be treated faster in the hospital if you arrive by ambulance.

---- The American Heart Association

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