Lisa Dawson- Heart Disease Survivor

I was training for a half-marathon and found myself getting winded very early on during my runs. I’d get short of breath, and my chest and throat would burn until I rested. At first I chalked it up to a lingering cold, but after a few runs I figured I was simply out of shape and needed to suck it up. I tried to power through the next run – after a few minutes I had to turn around, go home and lie down. I started wondering if something was going on with my heart.
A Google search and the Hope Heart Institute website made it pretty clear I needed to see a doctor. My regular doctor thought I might have exercise-induced asthma, but initial tests didn’t show anything. So she did an EKG, which led to a cardiologist referral. A stress test showed a blockage in my coronary artery.

There’s nothing like a problem with your heart to remind you of your mortality.

The following Monday an angiogram led to the discovery of a blood clot. The location of the clot made a placing a stent difficult, so I was put on blood thinners and beta blockers to help it break down and allow it to be reabsorbed.

Today, I’m doing well. I’ve started running again and tests indicate my heart is healthy, my arteries are clear. I’m still taking some medications and added an aspirin to my daily vitamins. We don’t know what caused the clot, but I’ve got a great team at the Swedish Heart & Vascular Institute keeping an eye on me.


Original Published Link Lisa Dawson- Heart Disease Survivor

#Angiogram, #HeartDisease, #SwedishHeartVascularInstitute #Heart/Cardiac

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Breast Cancer Survivor Uses Her Experience to Help Other Women

Image
On a typical day at  Johns Hopkins Medical Imaging at Green Spring Station , patients coming in for imaging tests such as  MRIs ,  ultrasounds  and  mammograms have a comforting advocate available in the waiting room. Kate Pisano is a patient liaison — there to meet the needs of the patients by providing resources and support. With Kate’s smile and cheerful attitude, it’s not obvious that recently she too was a patient sitting in the waiting room confronting her own major health challenges. Two years ago Kate was fighting breast cancer and facing it alone as a single working mother of two teenaged sons. Months after a painful divorce, Kate noticed a lump in her breast while getting undressed. “I was afraid of what the lump might mean, so I waited several weeks before finally making an appointment with my doctor,” she said. That appointment led to a mammogram followed by a  biopsy . In April of 2012, Kate’s greatest fear was confirmed: She had breast cancer. “The diagnosis was a complet
Read more

Having pancreatic cancer a suspicious tumor on your pancreas

Image
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=15&v=QDwctWY-DOQ Joseph “Cook” Edens III doesn’t let pancreatic cancer get in the way of living a full life. Edens was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and underwent a Whipple procedure at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Unfortunately, a bout of pancreatitis returned, and in 2015, surgeon Christopher Wolfgang and his team performed a total pancreatectomy on Edens, removing his entire pancreas and spleen. The Arlington, Virginia, resident is now cancer-free and back to a busy lifestyle of work, sports and family time. About Johns Hopkins Pancreatic Cancer Care Having pancreatic cancer — or a suspicious tumor on your pancreas — is a frightening diagnosis. Johns Hopkins experts, some of the most experienced pancreatic specialists in the country, are working to dispel fear and create hope in patients with pancreatic disease. Pancreatic cancer, tumors and cysts are being treated with dramatic success at Johns Hopkins. The first step when dealing w
Read more

Howard's Weight Loss Journey

Image
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfmgTU6L524 HOME››ABOUT LAHEY TEXT SIZE | SHARE | PRINT Howard's Story “I thank them for helping me get to where I’m at, and they keep telling me that it was all me doing the work. But, I know that if I wasn’t coming every two weeks to see them, I wouldn’t be this way.” They say timing is everything, and in April 2011, Howard Jardine was eager to change his life. Weighing in at 405 pounds, he decided it was finally time to join Lahey’s Medical Weight Loss program. Looking back, Howard says it was one of the best decisions he has ever made, as he found support from a team that encouraged and motivated him throughout his weight loss journey. At 405 pounds, Howard was the heaviest he had ever been, and the heaviest that he wanted to be. He was starting to feel the strain that the weight was causing on his relationship with his five-year-old daughter, and he didn’t want to miss out on her milestones. Howard’s mother was overweight and suffered a stroke a
Read more