By Briana Vannozzi
Correspondent
At 29 years old, vibrant and in otherwise good health, Christine Rochelle is not who you’d picture as the face of a stroke survivor.
“When you’re young, especially in your 20s, you don’t think about your heart. You think of heart disease as something for someone who is older or maybe somebody who is male,” she said.
That misconception is exactly why the national Go Red for Women movement started in 2003 by the American Heart Association.
“Eighty percent of people who have heart disease can be prevented, so we need to be more aware of our risks are,” said Dr. Aliya Browne, cardiologist and volunteer with the American Heart Association.
A look at the numbers says it all. Nationally, one in three women dies from heart disease and stroke each year. Roughly 44 million women are affected in the U.S. resulting in one death every 80 seconds. If that’s not enough data, the American Heart Association says 90 percent of women have one or more risk factors for cardiovascular disease and stroke, but most can be controlled through diet and exercise.
“Outside of all that, most importantly women need to talk to their families about their risk factors — knowing what their aunts or uncles or parents died of early so they can know what their risk is. Knowing what their cholesterol levels are, their blood pressure levels are and their blood sugar levels are because all of those factor in,” Dr. Browne said.
For Christine, her symptoms started with a terrible migraine she couldn’t kick. It got worse from there.
“I felt that I was speaking in my head faster than what was actually coming out and I was getting very frustrated,” she said.
Like so many, she chalked it up to stress and pushed through the day. She was born with a heart defect — a hurdle she thought had long been cleared — so she eventually made her way to the ER.
“You hear about a lot of the symptoms of a stroke and they seem so extreme. They seem like something you would pick up right away,” she said.
“The type of pain women generally have may be pain in their arms, neck and jaw. They may have shortness of breath, just can’t take a full and deep breath, or difficulty breathing when they’re walking with their packages. They may have palpitations or feeling their hearts flutter. Other symptoms are significant fatigue,” Dr. Browne explained.
African-American and Hispanic women are most at risk for dying of heart disease. Now Christine shares her story and keeps up with her health so others will too.
So does having a nationally recognized day with coordinating color actually translate to progress? Turns out it does. Since the campaign began 13 years ago, there are 285 less cardiovascular deaths among women per day. And while those numbers are substantial the American Heart Association says their work has only just begun.