Real Stories

Pamela Federline
Wilmington, North Carolina

As a kidney patient, I had already adjusted my lifestyle and diet to managing a chronic disease since my early twenties, but did not understand the quiet storm that was brewing when being overweight collided with my genetics. Having complicated genetics, it should have occurred to me that I could get all of the bad with the good - but it didn't. I was the 'perfect storm.'

In Fall 2008, I had an ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) with a 98% blockage at a critical location in the left anterior descending artery - otherwise known as the 'widowmaker.' Had I not been under observation in the hospital, I would have been found dead in my bed at home by my then 18 year-old son. As a single mother raising a son with high functioning autism, I shudder to think what 'could have been' for him. Instead, with STEMI protocols in place at New Hanover Regional Medical Center, I was in a catheritization lab in under an hour and had two lifesaving stents placed after angioplasty. I spent a couple of days in ICU and had to cope with bleeding complications, but life was now different as I knew it. I started cardiac rehabilitation in December 2008 and have continued in the graduate program at 5 p.m. every M/W/F, mostly with about a dozen men. Collectively, we call ourselves the 'Five O'Clots.'

Over the years since my heart attack, despite working daily at diet, lifestyle, stress management, medication management and more, Coronary Artery Disease has become my constant companion. New blockages appear every year, and after two more stents in 2009, a single LAD bypass in 2010, and two more blockages recently addressed in the circumflex, angina has become a routine variable to be controlled. I have worked closely with my team of physicians to manage medications and change dosages according to symptoms. At one time, I was taking an estimated 14 different medications daily, sometimes in multiple doses. I am now down to 8, with a few over the counter medications. Still, I have to watch carefully for symptoms that require intervention and my friends and family know my nitro protocols almost as well as I do.

In Fall 2010, I was blessed to be able to participate in the WomenHeart's annual symposium to become trained as a WomenHeart Champion. WomenHeart is the National Coalition of Women with Heart Disease and is the nation’s only patient-centered organization supporting women with heart disease. We work all over the U.S. to improve the health and quality of life of women living with or at risk of heart disease, to advocate for their benefit, and to provide emotional support.

Family, friends, work peers, my Heart Sisters, and my health team have all played a part in my path to living well with heart disease. My mission now is to make a difference in YOUR life. Heart disease is the number one killer of men AND women - one in three deaths in the United States. I tell people that if you have a heart, heart disease could be YOUR problem.

What can you do now to make a difference in your life? Learn your risk factors by talking with your family and your doctor, know your numbers, manage your stress, and make an action plan to improve your heart health today. Most importantly, learn the symptoms of a heart attack for men AND women. Call 911 immediately if you believe you might be having a heart attack.

A woman will die every minute in the U.S. from cardiovascular disease. I nearly had my minute. I challenge you to do everything you can to be heart healthy to avoid that minute yourself!!

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Gladys Lundy
Raleigh, North Carolina

Gladys Lundy suffered two strokes before she was 46 years old, leaving her physically incapacitated and unable to talk. She spent the next four years in a nursing home where rehabilitation was difficult. She also battled depression.

“The general knowledge regarding stroke is quite poor in our communities,” said Gladys Lundy, a stroke survivor and president of The Minority Women’s Health Project. “Stroke awareness is about education. . . equipping consumers with information that can possibly save their lives.”

Over time, she relearned how to talk and regained her mobility. Her strength gradually grew, and she began to participate in many volunteer efforts. She convened support groups and talked to leaders in government and industry. Today, she is a member of the Board of Directors for WomenHeart, the national coalition for women with heart disease, and she is a strong advocate for women’s heart health in North Carolina. She is the founder of The Minority Women’s Health Project, a nonprofit organization that addresses health issues affecting women of color, and she recently accepted the position of Chair for the Wake County Area “Power to End Stroke” Leadership Task Force.

“I have a story to tell, and I want other people to hear it,” she said. “I ignored the symptoms of my first stroke because I didn’t know enough. I feel empowered now, because I can share this with others and make a difference.”

Ms. Lundy said information and education are the keys to taking control of one’s heart health. She said both individuals and organizations should come together to support stroke survivors through their lifelong journey of recovery.

“After a life-changing event like a stroke or heart attack, we often think of our lives differently,” she said. “And there is that strong desire to do everything you can to help keep another stroke or heart attack from being a part of your future and to prevent this from reaching your family, friends, and community.”

Ms. Lundy said that now is the time to initiate dialogue within our communities and to improve public knowledge of the risk factors, signs, and symptoms of stroke.

“Many of us know someone who has suffered a stroke; for others, awareness of stroke symptoms may be just the beginning,” she said. “Learning and understanding what stroke is and what it can do is so important. Education must be continued for a lifetime.”

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Travis Knick
Raleigh, North Carolina

Calling 911 early saves lives.

“A heart attack was one of the farthest things from my mind,” said Travis Knick, a 34-year-old police officer. “I didn’t have any of the classic symptoms. I didn’t have chest pain; I didn’t have any tingling. My extremities were not going numb.”

In October 2009, Knick began to perspire profusely while he was at a training facility in central North Carolina. Slender and in good physical shape, he was the picture of perfect health. He had no reason to suspect that he would not finish training that day with his fellow police officers. The weather was comfortable, but he had broken out in a cold sweat. In a matter of minutes, he began to feel very tired. Then his fingers and toes felt like they were curling up and clenching into a fist. The last thing he remembers was collapsing into the arms of one of his instructors. It wasn’t until he was at the cardiac care unit in Pinehurst that he learned he had just had a heart attack.

Looking back, he considers himself to be very lucky, because someone immediately called 911—had circumstances been different, he might not have made it. Travis’s parents are grateful that medical help was available when it was needed.

“Just as calling 911 for other types of emergencies is important, it’s equally true for a heart attack,” his parents said. “The longer parts of your heart go without blood, the more severe the damage. You cannot treat your heart attack yourself. The quicker you can get to the hospital, the quicker you can get professional help, so there’s a much, much better chance for a full recovery.”

Knick does not have any long term physical effects from the heart attack, but went through several weeks of rehabilitation to get his strength back. Today, he is active and has returned to his regular routine, which includes eating healthy, exercising, avoiding tobacco, and eliminating salt from his diet. He is also on cholesterol lowering medication and blood thinners.

“I cannot stress enough how important it is to call 911 if you think you’re having a medical emergency,” he said. “Calling 911 is critical—it is almost always the fastest way to get life-saving treatment.”

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