Genetics. You can't run or hide from them. Which is why those of us with predispositions must do everything we can to ensure that genetics is the only thing working against us.
We've all heard it before- "eat right, exercise, and don't smoke". Yeah, yeah, yeah...
A heart attack occurs about every 20 seconds.
Someone dies from a heart attack about every minute.
Over the years, I've seen my share of heart attacks. And I've seen more than my share of deaths. Some are old and you can rationalize that "it was their time", but some aren't. Many of my most memorable patients were the younger ones whose hearts failed them too soon.
I've watched a single mother call her 5-year old daughter at home and tell her she loved her more than peach pie- minutes before we put her on life support and flew her to Ohio State with prayers for getting on a transplant list. She never got to talk with her daughter again.
I watched a wife the same age as me smile bravely and kiss her husband as she left for the day, after finding out his heart was only functioning at 5-10% capacity. As soon as she was out of eyesight from his room, she leaned against the wall and covered her face with her hands, sobbing.
I listened to another wife admit through guilty tears that the only reason she watched college and NFL football was in hopes that one of them would get hurt. Her husband needed a heart transplant, and was such a large man (he was a football player in college...)that his only true chance at survival was a brain injured athlete who was also an organ donor.
Two years ago, I ran my first 5K ever at The Heart Walk. I had never actually ran 3.1 miles before, but had been training and was up to at least 2.5. There had been a patient at work that previous week who had been on my mind for many reasons. She had been so very sick, yet had refused to give up fighting. She smiled and did everything she could on her own for days, where many others half her age would have given up. She was another one that we eventually put on life support and a helicopter, having run out of treatment options at our facility.
There were many times I wanted to stop and walk that fall day on the heart walk. But every time that happened, I thought about what my patient had endured so gracefully. The least I could do was stick out 3 measly miles at a jog...
I finished without walking somewhere between 37 and 39 minutes. It was nothing to write home about, but I remember being ecstatic. I then got the race itch and transitioned to triathlon training, where my focus has been up until recently.
Today, two years later, I once again ran in the AHA Heart Walk. It's a great event, full of health-conscious vendors and people everywhere with great survivor stories. And of course, there were those who were there to walk in memory of someone who had lost the battle. Some wore t shirts and signs which shouted out who they were running for.
Who did I run for?
I ran for all of the patients who have touched my life as a cardiac nurse over the last 15 years. I ran for my grandparents, who both lost their lives to heart disease. I ran to be a role model for my peers and my son- you should practice what you preach, after all. And I ran for me, to hopefully help counter-balance the side of the scale where my family genetics lie.
Today's pic represents participating in an event that matters to you. It's empowering to see all those people coming together who have a common thread somehow between them. Today I finished out at 27 minutes and 51 seconds, a personal best and at least 10 full minutes faster than my first attempt at this race. I placed 5th out of 33 women in my age group, which I consider pretty good since the group is set at 30-39.....and I'm 39...So although I know a lot of cardiologists, I don't plan on needing one any time soon- this girl has her scale balanced!
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