Heart-to-Heart #4: The Vacant Uterus
Last week, Flicka of The Vacant Uterus went to her primary care doctor to follow-up on an earlier distressing emergency room visit after feeling fluttering and pressure in her chest. Instead of making her feel better, her doctor left her in doubt. She’s supposed to get a cardiology referral, but isn’t sure if or when that will happen.
In the mean time, waiting and wondering if it will happen again is driving me NUTS. It could be months before I feel anything again. It could be hours. Not knowing is the worst part of this. In some ways I hope that it does happen again soon, so that I can go get the tests I need and get some answers. And in some ways I hope it never happens again. Frustration is the word of the day. I don’t know how I should be feeling right now.
Could this be another instance in which a woman’s cardiovascular symptoms are being dismissed because some doctors still believe heart disease is a man’s domain? For Flicka’s sake, I hope not. All the best to Flicka for getting the treatment she deserves.
Tags: cardiovascular-disease, cvd, disease, ekg, health, heart, heart-disease, womenRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Heart-to-Heart
4 opinions for Heart-to-Heart #4: The Vacant Uterus
Dabbling Mum
Apr 17, 2006 at 8:38 pm
Thanks for the post. I hope more doctors take women’s heart health more seriously. My mother’s death certificate says she died from emphysema, but they believe that the actual cause of death was a heart attack due to the strain from a severe asthma attack and combined with her emphysema.
Prior to that, she had a silent heart attack while in surgery and years later, she had a heart attack that nearly cost her, her life.
They never, in my opinion, took those two heart attacks seriously. They just pushed it aside and concentrated on her asthma and emphysema.
Hsien-Hsien Lei, PhD
Apr 18, 2006 at 4:11 am
Dabbling Mom: I’m so sorry to hear about your mom. Hopefully, we won’t let the same thing happen to us. *hugs*
NPs Save Lives
Apr 22, 2006 at 7:20 pm
Unfortunately, too many times Heart disease is underdiagnosed in women. We don’t have the “normal” symptoms like men do when it comes to heart attacks… Nice blog!! Link to come on my site!!
Hsien-Hsien Lei, PhD
Apr 23, 2006 at 6:36 am
NPs Save Lives: Hi! How’ve you been? Women ARE different (better? LOL) than men in many respects including cvd. Glad we’re starting to realize that now.
I’ve added Nurse Practitioner News to the blogroll here and at Genetics and Health. :)
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