Thanks for this. My mother had a heart attack at 48 in 1997. At her cardiac rehab class, they went around the room and said what their symptoms had been. None were the same, and only a few people had had the classic symptoms. That was when we learned that women have different symptoms than men ... even though my uncle is a cardiologist who had had his own heart attack three years earlier.
Another note: if you think you or a woman you love is having a heart attack, call 911. Too often, women minimize their own symptoms or drive themselves to the hospital when they would have called an ambulance for their husbands, and they die because they didn’t get care as quickly as they would have if they’d called the squad.
May 14, 2023Liked by Brent Hartinger, Michael Jensen
Thank you for sharing your story. First time I’ve heard of a sore back. A good reminder to take care of ourselves & pay attention to signs we may off handedly ignore.
Thank you for reading. And it's can be a fine line between ignoring warning signs and overreacting, which is certainly something I've struggled with in the past.
May 14, 2023Liked by Brent Hartinger, Michael Jensen
I'm sorry you have such heavy memories attached to this day. But thank you for spreading awareness of women's heart attack symptoms - I will keep them in mind for my own mom.
May 14, 2023Liked by Brent Hartinger, Michael Jensen
Thank you for sharing the heart information and your family’s story. Having a complicated relationship with parents is a tough thing, as I know from my own experience. Be well.
May 14, 2023Liked by Brent Hartinger, Michael Jensen
This is so much like my own mother's death. She died in 2002 of a massive heart attack caused by a lifetime of smoking and a horrible diet. There were none of the classic signs we associate with a heart attack. For days she had complained of indigestion and presumed it was food poisoning. Two different hospitals sent her home with antibiotics and instructions to stay hydrated. It wasn't until her 3rd trip to the ER that she complained of chest pain right before she passed out. She never regained consciousness and like you, I had to make the decision to unplug the life support and let her go. She was 52. The addiction was so strong that it controlled her life physically and financially and it ended it.
I'm so sorry you had something similar happen. As for cigarettes, knowing what I do now about how addictive tobacco companies make their product at least made me much less angry at my mom for not being able to quit. I honestly do not know how people who run cigarette companies live with themselves.
May 14, 2023Liked by Brent Hartinger, Michael Jensen
So hard when we lose a parent just when we're reconciling. It was similar with my mom. We were finally beginning to have the friendship I think we both always wanted. I'm trying to do better with my adult children and feel like we have good relationships.
This is a super emotional read, thank you for sharing Michael.
There's a very good book about how huge the data gap is between men and women called Invisible Women by Caroline Criado-Perez . I learned in that about how women have different, never talked about symptoms for heart attacks and myriad other health conditions. It's both shocking and unsurprising at the same time to be honest.
Shocking and unsurprising -- exactly. There was a bit of worry when I wrote this that people might say, "Um, everyone knows this now, Michael." Frankly, I wish that had been the case.
Thanks for this. My mother had a heart attack at 48 in 1997. At her cardiac rehab class, they went around the room and said what their symptoms had been. None were the same, and only a few people had had the classic symptoms. That was when we learned that women have different symptoms than men ... even though my uncle is a cardiologist who had had his own heart attack three years earlier.
And eleven years after that, I still hadn't heard that information. SMDH.
Another note: if you think you or a woman you love is having a heart attack, call 911. Too often, women minimize their own symptoms or drive themselves to the hospital when they would have called an ambulance for their husbands, and they die because they didn’t get care as quickly as they would have if they’d called the squad.
100%. I should have said this in my piece. Thank you for posting it here.
Thank you for sharing your story. First time I’ve heard of a sore back. A good reminder to take care of ourselves & pay attention to signs we may off handedly ignore.
Thank you for reading. And it's can be a fine line between ignoring warning signs and overreacting, which is certainly something I've struggled with in the past.
That’s a very good point.
I'm sorry you have such heavy memories attached to this day. But thank you for spreading awareness of women's heart attack symptoms - I will keep them in mind for my own mom.
Hearing that you'll be watching your mom even more closely makes those memories less heavy.
Thank you so much for this!
Thank you for sharing the heart information and your family’s story. Having a complicated relationship with parents is a tough thing, as I know from my own experience. Be well.
Thanks, C. You as well.
This is so much like my own mother's death. She died in 2002 of a massive heart attack caused by a lifetime of smoking and a horrible diet. There were none of the classic signs we associate with a heart attack. For days she had complained of indigestion and presumed it was food poisoning. Two different hospitals sent her home with antibiotics and instructions to stay hydrated. It wasn't until her 3rd trip to the ER that she complained of chest pain right before she passed out. She never regained consciousness and like you, I had to make the decision to unplug the life support and let her go. She was 52. The addiction was so strong that it controlled her life physically and financially and it ended it.
I'm so sorry you had something similar happen. As for cigarettes, knowing what I do now about how addictive tobacco companies make their product at least made me much less angry at my mom for not being able to quit. I honestly do not know how people who run cigarette companies live with themselves.
Thank you <3
Thank you for sharing!
So hard when we lose a parent just when we're reconciling. It was similar with my mom. We were finally beginning to have the friendship I think we both always wanted. I'm trying to do better with my adult children and feel like we have good relationships.
Yeah, one ends up vacillating between being grateful for the time we had and angry over what we didn't get to have.
Beautiful.
Thank you...
Thank you for sharing your story, Michael. I had no idea. Your gift here, to so many, is very appreciated 🙏🏼
Thank you for reading.
The impact this piece might have... Very thoughtful, Michael.
Thanks, Matt...
Thank you for this. 💛💛💛
Thank you for reading it...
Thanks so much for opening up about this and turning your loss into women’s health gain - how beautiful! 🤍
I hope my mom would happy about it. Though she would hate my sharing her pictures! Thanks for taking the time to read.
Tragic. Thank goodness you guys had that last visit.
This is a super emotional read, thank you for sharing Michael.
There's a very good book about how huge the data gap is between men and women called Invisible Women by Caroline Criado-Perez . I learned in that about how women have different, never talked about symptoms for heart attacks and myriad other health conditions. It's both shocking and unsurprising at the same time to be honest.
Shocking and unsurprising -- exactly. There was a bit of worry when I wrote this that people might say, "Um, everyone knows this now, Michael." Frankly, I wish that had been the case.