By Gwen Mayes. To kick off National Heart Month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services launched a nationwide campaign, Make the Call. Don’t Miss a Beat to educate, engage and empower women and their families to learn the seven most common symptoms of a heart attack and encourage them to call 9-1-1 as soon as those symptoms arise.

A woman suffers a heart attack every minute in the United States. Yet according to a 2009 American Heart Association survey only half of women indicated they would call 9-1-1 if they thought they were having a heart attack even though they were much more likely to call if a loved one had symptoms. And there is not a good explanation. Some of the reasons are competing priorities (e.g., child care, transportation), denial, not wanting to be a bother, financial worries, and embarrassment.  Many felt that if they just “dismissed” the symptoms they would go away and that even if they went to the emergency room, their symptoms would not be taken seriously.

As a woman living with a congenital heart disease I often get palpitations and have had every one of these thoughts – usually in the middle of the night.  Fortunately, I have never had a heart attack but sometimes I wasn’t so sure and if the symptoms persisted, I knew it was time to take action. One night I took a taxi to the emergency room; another I called a heart “sister” who talked me through the panic until I felt better.  Under no circumstance would I try to drive myself to the emergency room, a point the campaign emphasizes as well.

The seven heart attack symptoms women should be alert to look are:

1. chest pain or discomfort
2. unusual upper body discomfort
3. shortness of breath
4. breaking out in cold sweat
5. unusual or unexplained fatigue (tiredness)
6. light-headedness or sudden dizziness
7. nausea (feeling sick to your stomach)

For more information, go to WomenHeart, the National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease, the nation’s only patient advocacy organization serving over 40 million women living with or at risk of heart disease. As a 2005 graduate of their Scientific and Leadership Symposium, I often speak to women about the signs and symptoms of a heart attack and the importance of knowing when your body well enough to distinguish symptoms of a heart attack from everyday ailments.  Also, talk to your doctor and learn when to “make the call.”

By Gwen Mayes. It was 1998 and I was new in town.   By town, I mean a Midwest city on a big river with well over two million residents and two academic medical centers.  Having been diagnosed with a rare heart disorder many years before, finding a good cardiologist in town was one of my first priorities. 

I checked my health plan, researched the local paper, called the university medical centers and settled on a highly regarded, mid-50s, white-haired cardiologist in private practice with an affiliation at one of the medical centers in the area. 

Our relationship lasted six months.  Well, maybe one year, but that would be a stretch.

As a former physician assistant, I handled the paperwork and repetitive tests that come with seeing a new doctor without concern.  But the first few months of my move I was miserable and an emotional wreck.  My mother died four days after I moved; her mother the next month.  The job I was hired to do was canceled and I missed passing the bar exam by one point.  I was exhausted and trembling at night from the weight of all the changes and uncertainty in my life. 

When the palpitations started, I knew the stress was too much.

“I think I’m depressed,” I said with a lump in my throat to the Midwest cardiologist a bit shocked that I could utter the word.  It was our third visit.  I went on.  “I’m not sleeping well, all I do is cry, and I’m just a bundle of nerves.”    

Without looking up from the note he was scribbling in my chart he said, “Have you thought about looking for help on the internet?”

It was all I could do to sit upright on the examining table.  I was shocked and disappointed that this was his best suggestion.

 “The internet?” I thought to myself.  “Who is going to hold my hand or hug me on the Internet?”

At that moment I realized I needed a different doctor.  I walked out of his office and never returned.

What I had overlooked was the importance of finding a doctor I meshed with personally.  Not just one who had a prominent title, several clinical trials to his name, and a prestigious academic center standing behind him, but one that could simply look me in the eyes and tell that something wasn’t right.  Someone with empathy and a gentle touch.  Someone I could build a relationship with.

The doctor-patient relationship is delicate; for patients living with chronic conditions or illnesses it means balancing personal rapport with clinical knowledge.  Sometimes all you want are the facts from your doctor.  But sometimes, you want a hug and some encouragement and the personal connection is as healing as any pill.   Keep looking until you find the best of both.