Tuesday, October 27, 2009

swine flu & heart disease


I got my flu shot today, so now all 3 of us are covered for the seasonal flu (or about as good as we can be).  I tried getting D his swine flu vaccine today, too, but they ran out of the injection while we were in line.  I'd been waffling back and forth somewhat on getting the swine flu shot, but in the end I don't believe the vaccine is evil, and I strongly believe in innoculating ourselves in order to keep both us protected and also to prevent this spreading to those who are more compromised and more likely to suffer complications or even die if they do catch it.  So I'll have to call over the next few days and try to keep up with when they get new supplies of the vaccine.

In other news, I found out today that a friend of a friend had a heart attack-- this is the second young, healthy female, aged 25-30, that I have personally known, who's suffered a heart attack.  Hello, scary.  By the way, did you know that heart disease is the leading killer of women over 25?  So take a moment to click that link and read up on the risk factors and warning signs for women, b/c they're a little different from men.  Makes me want to get in gear about figuring out a work-out schedule I can try to stick to (for once).

4 comments:

  1. Diana's heart attack is SO scary. we think we're invincible.
    p.s. -- love the donovan pic of the moment.

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  2. flu shot? Gooooood! heart attack? YIKES!!! sorry about your friends friend...

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  3. Unfortunately, the female warning signs listed in the article (fatigue, nausea, anxiety) are so vague. Those symptoms could be associated with any of a hundred or more diseases. So I can easily see why it may go undiagnosed. Even when the symptoms are typical of a heart attack (chest pain, arm pain, shortness of breath) still many people don't recognize it as a heart attack, especially if it was a mild one, and so they don't seek the medical attention that they need. Instead they chalk it up to heartburn or something. But immediate care after a heart attack is so vital, both in reducing the effects of the current attack and also in preventing the next one. But with signs and symptoms being so ambiguous, unfortunately heart disease continues to be a real problem. Perhaps we need a better screening method, something your doctor could perform at an annual exam (something less expensive than an echocardiogram or MRI).

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  4. Thanks for the coffee yesterday, I needed it. I woke up this morning and thought she didn't have a heart attack but the reality is she did and she lived- thanks for all the good thoughts and prayers.

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