This is my mom, Mari.
Many of you readers already know about this amazing woman because you’ve followed her journey through Breast Cancer years ago… then you followed our journey to Paris after that life changing experience. Most recently… you followed her struggle through a sudden cardiac arrest that almost took her life.
For those of you that don’t know what happened… I’ll sum it up:
She was on a little vaca in Breckenridge with my step-dad, Lee. My little brother Chase and his wife had just gotten there about 15 minutes before this happened. She was sitting on a chair on the balcony and boom… she just slouched in her chair, dropped her drink on the ground and she was out. Sudden cardiac arrest. No pulse, no breathing… out… just like that. My brother ran over to her, got her on the ground and started immediate CPR until the paramedics got there. This saved her life and kept oxygen going to her brain. The medics took over and used a defibrillator on her. They brought her back after losing her multiple times. They took her to the closest hospital and then helicoptered her out to another one that had a better cardiac unit.
The doctors came in and told us she is a miracle. The stats on surviving an out of hospital cardiac arrest is 8%. It doesn’t happen very often… and the fact that her brain suffered no severe damage was another miracle. Thank God my little bro knew what he was doing.
So… it was a close one. My entire family drove/flew out to be with her and help her recover. We had a lot of great conversations in the ICU. I’m so glad everyone was able to make it, gosh I love my family… my mom is so loved. (She taught us well with all the love she’s given us!)
This taught us once again how precious life is, and how it can change so fast.
When I got home, I started researching CPR classes and wanted to know everything about heart health and how important it is to know your information, look for signs, and help others learn too.
I was shocked at the stats on women’s heart health. Here are just a few:
- Cardiovascular diseases and stroke cause 1 in 3 women’s deaths each year, killing approximately one woman every 80 seconds.
- An estimated 44 million women in the U.S. are affected by cardiovascular diseases.
- 90% of women have one or more risk factors for heart disease or stroke.
- Women have a higher lifetime risk of stroke than men.
- 80% of heart disease and stroke events may be prevented by lifestyle changes and education
- Fewer women than men survive their first heart attack.
- The symptoms of heart attack can be different in women vs. men, and are often misunderstood – even by some physicians.
Crazy, right?
Ladies… I would recommend doing some research and knowing your risk. A quick way to do this is to get your “heart score” Click this link and take the test- it will help you understand your risk and what you can do to help yourself! Heart Test- click here.
Over the next 27 days, you’re going to hear stories from 27 more women who have had something heart health related happen to them, or someone they love. These brave women agreed to be a part of this project to help other women realize this is not uncommon… heart issues happen to so many people, and we need to help educate others because a LOT of these issues are preventable.
We still need a few more women who are willing to share their stories and let me take a picture of them to share as well- if you or someone you know is interested, please fill out the application here: Heart Yourself Application
I hope you enjoy reading what these brave women have to say… and I hope you take a little time to research and learn a little bit along the way.
Also… tomorrow is national wear red day to support heart health awareness! So go wear something red and show your support!!
xoxo,
Tracy
(Above stats from https://www.goredforwomen.org/about-heart-disease/facts_about_heart_disease_in_women-sub-category/statistics-at-a-glance/)
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