By Briana Vannozzi
Correspondent
In sea full of red, these women have stories of survival.
“I suffered a heart attack at 35 years old. Actually, after I delivered my daughter I had a SCAD, which stands for spontaneous coronary artery dissection, and actually almost lost my life,” said heart attack survivor Danielle Denlein.
Denlein is sharing her story, along with more than a dozen other New Jersey women as part of the 15th Annual American Heart Association‘s Garden State Go Red for Women Luncheon.
“This is a mission and a movement where we have to get the word out there that heart disease is the number one killer in women. Many people think it’s breast cancer, but it has superseded breast cancer,” said Stephern Allison, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital vice president of cardiovascular services and case management.
“It’s not just about the people in the room. It’s about how we share the news when we go home, when we go to work, when we go to our places of worship and out in the community to share this because it’s a ripple effect,” American Heart Association Founders Affiliate Executive Vice President Heather Kinder said.
Cardiovascular disease kills about one woman every 80 seconds, according to the American Heart Association. But symptoms present differently for females, making it difficult to diagnose. It can be as simple as abdominal or back pain. But there are certain risk factors to look for.
“If a woman has family history they’re more at risk for heart disease. Women with diabetes are many times at a higher risk to have heart disease than women without diabetes. And most importantly post-menopausal women automatically become higher risk as we lose our estrogen protection, heart disease starts creeping up,” said Dr. Rachana Kulkarni, cardiologist at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset.
“I had two strokes, both after my children were born. I had one after my daughter and then one after my son and they were both approximately six months after they were born,” said stroke survivor Catherine Zalewski.
Thirty-five-year-old Zalewski didn’t fall into any of the risk categories.
“I am a fitness competitor and also a personal trainer so it was very shocking,” she said.
Neither did Denlein.
“I didn’t have heart disease in my family and at 35 years old I was completely healthy. I was fit,” she said. “I honestly have no idea. I never in my wildest dreams thought I was going to be in the ER.”
And that’s what medical experts want women to remember.
“One in three women die of heart disease every year, still women consider breast cancer as their biggest risk. But the statistics are heart disease kills more women than all other cancers combined,” Kulkarni said.
The take-home for women today is to know your numbers — that’s cholesterol, blood pressure and diabetes — and it’s never too early to find out.