Just a few weeks after my heart attack, at home recovering, the St. Louis Post Dispatch reported......
Area 2nd Last in Women's Heart Health (May 2008)
"The St. Louis region gets a wake up call in an American Heart Association report. Many women in the metro area do not follow their mothers' advice. They don't eat lots of fruits and vegetables, they don't get regular checkups and they don't get enough exercise.
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As a result, the St. Louis region has become one of America's most unhealthy regions for women, according to the American Heart Association.
St. Louis ranks 37th among 38 largest cities in deaths caused by heart disease, high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, poor diet, lack of exercise and smoking, according to the association's report released today."
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Wow! I ate lots of fruits and vegetables, I exercised at top levels six days a week, had low blood pressure and maintained a healthy body mass index. But what I didn't do almost caused me to lose my life. I missed many years of checkups with my family internist. I had no idea what my cholesterol level was or my heart health risks. I am embarrassed to admit that I smoked until six months before my heart attack.
In life we are dealt many hands over which we have no control. What and how we eat, if and how we exercise, if we smoke or whether we have annual physicals are all within our control. Take back your life. I wake up every day knowing that I have only one life. I am going to live it to the max. I had to have a near death experience to understand this. Do not waste precious time. Maria Robinson said, "Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending."
Ellen Abramson is the author of "Live To Dance," a survivor's heart story.