Kentucky

As many of you know, May is American Stroke Month as well as National High Blood Pressure Education Month. But, did you know that high blood pressure is the leading modifiable risk factor for stroke?

About 87% of strokes are ischemic strokes. This type of stroke is caused by narrowed or clogged blood vessels in the brain that cut off the blood flow to brain cells. Because high blood pressure damages arteries throughout the body, it is critical to keep your blood pressure within acceptable ranges to protect your brain from this often disabling or fatal event.

Do you know the eight main ways you can control your blood pressure?

Not Just for Adults
During National High Blood Pressure Education Month, the focus shouldn’t just be on adults – but kids as well.  Children who have high sodium diets are twice as likely to develop high blood pressure as children who have low sodium diets.  Help teach your kiddos good eating habits today! 

Not only can we change our personal risk of stroke, but we can also make our communities healthier.  To learn more about our current efforts and to show your legislators that stroke and heart health issues are important to you, please visit our Take Action center to send your supportive message today.  Don’t forget to share your actions with your friends on Facebook. 

On October 25th 2008, my life changed forever: I was collapsing on the living room floor suffering from a massive heart attack. Ten days before, I was bringing my little boy into the world. What was supposed to be a happy occasion wasn’t so much for me. While everyone in my room was happy and celebrating the birth of our son, my husband and I were worried. Me, because I just didn’t feel right, and my husband because he knew something  wasn’t right with me.

My husband was excited to see our new son and I was too, but I couldn’t enjoy it and to tell the truth, I don’t remember a whole lot of my stay in the hospital. Right before I gave birth, I began to feel strange.  I couldn’t breathe very well and my head and my teeth began to hurt. I felt like someone was smashing my teeth out of my mouth with a hammer. I kept telling the nurses before and after I had my son that I didn’t feel right, but they just kept telling me it was the side effects from the epidural. Looking back, I don’t think they really knew that I was having problems with my heart. They could only give me the information they had been taught in nursing school.  I don’t blame them for not seeing the signs that I was in the beginning of having a heart attack. I’m hoping in the future to change what nurses are taught when they become an OB nurse.

When I went home a couple of days later, I still felt bad. In fact I felt worse. I had no idea that the arteries on the left side of my heart were dissecting. I did the best I could to take care of our six year old daughter and our baby son, but I just couldn’t do it. My husband took care of me and helped with the baby over the weekend. He had to go back the following week and I had to force myself to get back into our regular routine. That meant taking my daughter to school and taking the baby to the doctor. He was born with jaundice, so I had to make sure I took him to the doctor to begin the bilirubin tests.

On the following Tuesday, almost a week after the baby was born, I wasn’t feeling any better. In fact I was barely breathing. My husband didn’t have to be at work for a few hours that day, so he said he would drive me and the baby to get his test done. While we were there he made me go to the emergency room. When the nurse saw me she just looked at me and told my husband they were going to admit me. I must have looked really bad. They took my blood pressure, which was all over the place and I was very swollen. They gave me some Lasix pills to help with the extra water I was holding in my body. 

They took me upstairs and I was in there for two and a half days while they were trying to figure out what was wrong with me. They ran a lot of tests and diagnosed me with a cardiomyopathy. I guess they thought I was too young to have a heart attack.  I was only 30 at the time. They didn’t check to see if that’s what it was or that I was dissecting.  I later learned through my own research that it's hard to detect when a SCAD is happening.

I was sent home with a lot of medications and that’s where I thought it would end. I was told to take the meds and I should be fine in a few weeks or so. Within 24hrs, I was collapsing in front of my daughter having a massive heart attack. My arteries had dissected even more which was causing me to have the heart attack. When I felt the first twinge of pain, I panicked. It wasn’t like you see in the movies where they grab their chests and arm. My teeth by that time were in severe pain. I began to have a panic attack. I felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest while someone was holding my head under water.

At the time I was on the phone with the pediatrician about the baby’s jaundice. I quickly got off the phone and handed the baby to my mother in law and went into my bedroom. My husband knew something was wrong so he followed me. I sat on the bed and got back up then sat down again. I walked out into the living room and my husband asking what was wrong. I just kept saying I didn’t know. About the time I got the second "I don’t know" out of my mouth, I collapsed on the floor. My husband hurried and called 911. Praise God we lived right down the road from the fire station at the time. 

From that point on I remember things like you would if you were watching a dream or a movie while you’re sleepy. I don’t know if that makes sense or not. I remember sitting on the couch and grabbing my sister in laws leg and digging my fingernails into her. I remember seeing my daughter's face as I collapsed and hearing her screaming in the hallway asking if I was dying. I will never as long as I live forget her little voice and the look of fear on her face. I remember the EMTs getting there and talking to me. They tried to get me to walk to the ambulance but I couldn’t I collapsed on the sidewalk and they had to put me on the bed and roll me the rest of the way.

When I got into the ambulance they gave me a shot and asked if it helped, it didn’t. By that time I was in so much pain I couldn’t think. Then I began to black out. It was like if you’re looking in a tunnel and things are slowly going black with the picture getting smaller and smaller at the end of it. I could her the EMT lady yelling my name and then suddenly my eyes rolled back in my head and I began to shake.  When I came to they were rushing me through the emergency room doors and there were nurses and doctor everywhere. I was having people shove things in my mouth and giving me shots and asking questions. They cut my clothes off me.

The doctor that I had seen when I had to stay a few days before rushed into the room. I was then rushed into the cath lab. I was put to sleep and it was while they were doing the catheter that my arteries finished dissecting from my heart. Because they couldn’t do it at that hospital, they rushed me to the north side where I had open heart surgery. I had a triple bypass and two stints placed. Before I was taken back, my husband and my dad and my husband's aunt and uncle got  to see me. I don’t remember, but later my husband told me that I prayed for the doctors and I prayed for everyone.

When I woke up I didn’t know where I was and I was trying to pull the breathing tube out of my mouth. My sister was next to me and had to stop me. The nurse and my mom and sister were telling me that I had to leave the tube in my mouth and that I couldn’t talk. I signaled for a piece of paper and pencil. I still didn’t realize that I had had a heart attack and that I had to have heart surgery. When they handed me the pencil and paper I told them to get me out of that bed and to get me some food. Unfortunately for me, I couldn’t do either for another four hours. My husband was very shocked when he walked in later and I was sitting up eating a bowl of soup.

That was a little over four years ago. My family and I have been through so much and then some since I came home. I’ve gone through postpartum and heart surgery depression, two pace maker /defibrillator surgeries, a lead revision surgery, I’ve gone through another cath and several medication changes. I’ve had to watch my daughter go through PTSD from seeing me have the heart attack. I know on the outside looking in someone might look at me and say, "Wow how do you do it?" I’ve had a lot of people ask me that. I tell them how could I not? I have a husband who is by my side and loves me and two children that God has blessed me with.
 
The Lord has blessed me with every single day that I’m alive. I want to help other women who have gone through what I have. I want to educate women on SCAD and let them know that if this happens to them they are not alone. There are days when I can’t do a lot. Those are the days when we just hang out. I will never give up .I will never stop living and sharing the blessings that God has given me. Now four and a half years later I can honestly say that this heart attack has turned into a blessing.

This week, we’re celebrating those who make sure people having a stroke get the care they need as quickly as possible – EMS professionals. Every day the AHA works to ensure all citizens get appropriate care when suffering from a stroke. This starts with quick action emergency responders.  Having the right protocols in place can reduce death and disability from stroke. With policy, this involves working with government officials to be sure that exemplary stroke legislation and guidelines are put into place.

Over the years, we have worked to create and enhance stroke systems of care, which provide patients seamless transition from one stage of care to the next with the highest quality at each step. Many states have implemented quality stroke policy, such as primary stroke center recognition, EMS protocols and stroke registries.

To learn more about current efforts and to show your legislators that heart health issues are important to you, please visit our Take Action center to send your supportive message today and encourage others to send a message through Facebook.

As we continue to think about the wellbeing of women during National Women’s Health week, smoking rates among females comes to mind. It may surprise you to learn that smoking increases the risk of heart disease and stroke by 2 to 4 times. Also, women who smoke have a 25 percent higher risk of developing heart disease as compared to men who smoke.  And, continuing to smoke throughout your life shaves 13-14 years off of your life expectancy. So, despite beliefs to the contrary, smoking doesn’t just cause a risk for lung cancer.

And Along Comes Baby

As you would imagine, smoking during pregnancy causes a whole new set of health concerns for the unborn child. In fact, it has been shown to reduce the production of a chemical that relaxes blood vessels and can lead to lowered blood flow to the fetus, resulting in lower birth weight, shorter length and smaller head circumference. If an expectant mother stops smoking early in pregnancy, enzyme levels return to normal and the infant is born at normal birth weight. Here in Kentucky we are ranked 49 out of 50 with 24.4% of pregnant women smoking.

To learn about resources for quitting smoking and to show your legislators that stroke and heart health issues are important to you, please visit our Take Action center to send your supportive message today and encourage others to send a message through Facebook.

Did you know that more than half of total stroke deaths occur in women? And, that at all ages, more women than men die of stroke?

If you are like most women, chances are you go to great lengths to take care of others and not burden friends and family with your health concerns.  By knowing the signs and symptoms of a stroke, you could save a life – maybe even yours. 

Signs and Symptoms of a Stroke
1. Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
2. Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
3. Sudden trouble seeing or blurred vision in one or both eyes
4. Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
5. Sudden severe headache with no known cause

If you, or someone you love, experiences even one of these, quick action is needed.  Within five minutes, call 9-1-1.  With stroke, time is of the essence.  Time lost = brain lose. 

To learn more about current efforts and to show your legislators that these health issues are important to you, please visit our Take Action center to send your supportive message today and encourage others to send a message through Facebook.

Last Thursday afternoon, Governor Steve Beshear announced his intention to expand the state’s Medicaid program. It is estimated that 640,000 Kentuckians are uninsured, or 17.5% of the state’s population under 65. Through this program, 308,000 Kentuckians will gain health insurance through Medicaid expansion.

As Kentucky moves forward with expanding Medicaid to lower-income adults, it will become an increasingly important source of coverage for currently uninsured adults who have or are at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Based on national estimations, at least 53% of current Medicaid beneficiaries also have some form of CVD, and they depend on Medicaid to provide stable, affordable health care for their conditions.

Kentucky remains the 9th highest rate of cardiovascular disease in the country, but through Medicaid expansion more Kentuckians will have access to quality cardiovascular care. For more information on Medicaid expansion in Kentucky, visit Http://governor.ky.gov/healthierky.

To send a note of thanks to Governor Beshear for demonstrating that we value the health of each and every person in our Commonwealth, please visit our Take Action center to send your supportive message today and encourage others to send a message through Facebook.

Yesterday was a day of flowers and cards, today can be about lifesaving information.  Share information on stroke with all of the women in your life!

Signs and Symptoms of a Stroke

1. Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
2. Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
3. Sudden trouble seeing or blurred vision in one or both eyes
4. Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
5. Sudden severe headache with no known cause

To learn more about current efforts and to show your legislators that these health issues are important to you, please visit our Take Action center to send your supportive message today and encourage others to send a message through Facebook.

Stephanie Bochenek Kentucky

I’m Stephanie Bochenek, a 22 year old Kentucky resident, originally from Hamilton, ON. I recently graduated from Michigan State University, where I was a five year student-athlete. All my life I have had a passion for sports, usually playing multiple sports at once, including soccer, basketball, track, badminton, and volleyball. In my first four years at Michigan State, I rowed on the varsity rowing team and my fifth year I threw javelin. I have always thought that I was living a “healthy” lifestyle, but last summer I was diagnosed with a heart defect and I realized that some things you just can’t control.
 
I have a bicuspid aortic valve, which is a heart defect I was born with.  This is when the aortic valve only has two leaflets that open and close each beat instead of the normal three leaflets. The doctors also found that my aortic root was big enough to be considered an aneurysm, so I was scheduled for a CT scan and told to stop doing anything strenuous. Everything I do revolves around strenuous activities and training, but for those three weeks I thought that I would never be able to do the things that I love to do again. You can imagine how hard it would be to have everything you’ve worked so hard for and all the dreams you have for the future taken away from you in an instant. I started thinking about ways I could stay involved in sports, especially in rowing as a coach. When I left the clinic after my test and diagnosis, I immediately decided to leave everything up to God. Doing that helped me find peace and strength in my reality.

This past year, since my diagnosis, my life has been amazing in many ways. The CT results showed that the current stage of my condition wasn’t as bad as originally thought, so I was cleared to continue what I was doing before. I feel so blessed to be able to keep doing what I love despite my condition. After I was cleared, I was able to work everything out to join the track team at Michigan State and throw javelin.
This experience has helped me become more aware that so many people are born every day with heart defects.  Some may never know it, but a lot of them will have to fight every day to live because their defects are so severe that they require surgery and other treatments, even at a very young age.

What am I doing in Kentucky, you ask? Well, long story short, I moved down here in August to hopefully find a job in Richmond because, for some reason I don’t know, I felt like this was where my next step was. I decided that I wouldn’t know if it was true unless I came here and gave it a shot.

Jana Venable Kentucky

On October 5, 2010, one day before my 44th birthday, I went to the emergency room with severe back pain.  Little did I know that week, when I was feeling so bad and having symptoms of fatigue, pressure, and headache, my aorta was dissecting from my brain stem to my kidneys. 

I was diagnosed with thoracic and abdominal dissections, and my family was informed that the chance of me surviving was less than 5%.  However, through God's grace, and a large team of talented surgeons, doctors and nurses, I survived a 10 hour aortic surgery, and was diagnosed with Malignant Hypertension (severe high blood pressure).  With the research done in vascular surgery, the advances in technology for quicker diagnosis, and the advances in blood pressure medicines available, they were able to miraculously save my life. 

I had a history of high blood pressure, but quit taking medicine thinking I could control it with diet and exercise.  If there is one thing I would stress the most through this venue is that it is extremely important to check your blood pressure, and follow your doctors orders about medication and treatment.  As it stands today (2 years later), my aorta has started to go back down to normal size due to the advances in blood pressure medicine, and I am back to walking 3-5 miles, exercising, and excited every day to be alive to see my daughters.

I recently visited Washington D.C. for the American Heart Association's 2013 You're the Cure on the Hill. It was my first time in D.C. and I had a great experience! I was able to meet with my lawmakers to discuss restoring funding to the National Institutes of Health. I was there representing my home state of Kentucky.

I have three children, two of which were born with Congenital Heart Defects. I shared my story with lawmakers and explained to them the importance of research funding and how it made a difference in my children being here today. My 7 year old son had one open heart surgery and my 5 year old daughter has had 11 surgeries to date and will need more. My 1 year old son is perfectly healthy. If it were not for research, my children would not be here today.

During my visit to Washington D.C., I learned the importance to being an advocate for the American Heart Association. I met many advocates with many stories to share. I hope to attend the next You're the Cure on the Hill. I don't know why I didn't do this sooner! 

--Kimberly Clark