Wearing Red: Because At Least I've Got My Health - For Now

When you're young and well, you tend to take your health for granted. I know I did - even though I've got a history of heart disease on both sides of my family. My paternal grandmother had her first heart attack at 50; five years later she was partially paralyzed by a debilitating stroke. This was a turning point for our family. She was never the same after that, and neither were we. But I was young. And in my 20's and 30's, the only medical thing I worried about was getting pregnant (avoiding it the first decade and desperately trying to have a baby in the next one). I'm not young any more. I can't get pregnant - but I am at risk for cardiovascular disease.

Today, we know a lot more about the causes of heart attacks. We know how to control our cholesterol levels through diet and exercise -- and when that's not effective, we have statin drugs to help it along.

But how heart disease manifests itself in the female body is still something of a mystery. For decades, most of the research was done with male subjects! I saw a quote yesterday that said we were 50 years behind on understanding heart disease in women. 50 YEARS. 

The American Heart Association is working to catch up. They are urging women today to wear red, as a reminder that heart disease is the #1 cause of death among women. It's a good day to donate to the cause, too. 

A couple of years ago, doctors discovered that my mom had a blocked artery and so she underwent a stent. Unlike me, my mother has always been obsessive about staying thin, watching her cholesterol and exercising. She ended up with arteriosclerosis anyway - so I think I was born with a double genetic whammy.

It was a friend's stroke that inspired me to go on a weight-loss regimen nearly four years ago. I was thinking of her - and my grandmother - when I walked back into the clinic last week. I'm back at the gym, taking baby steps toward getting fit again. I may indeed suffer from cardiovascular disease, even if I get my BMI and cholesterol levels back down and keep them there -- but with a little luck, by that time there may be new knowledge and new treatments to keep me from spending my final years the way my grandmother did. 

I am wearing red today for my mother and my grandmother - and all the other women who are fighting heart disease. And myself.

Learn more about how how to stay heart-healthy at any age here.