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Publisher's Note:
I Am a Statistic.
by Lori Murphy
Growing up, we all wanted to “be in that number…” Unfortunately, my new statistic isn’t something to be cheering for. It is something that we all need to be fighting against. I am one of the many women in our community with heart disease.
Family history had all of the telltale signs. Daddy’s quadruple bypass at 43, Mom on medication for high blood pressure. Driven by stress, I am a classic type A personality. I shouldn’t have been surprised.
We’d been celebrating with friends at a Tiger tailgate party all morning. It was finally time to head up into the stands when my husband noticed I was walking slower than everyone else. I felt a bit winded, with pressure in my chest. He insisted on the emergency room, and I insisted he was crazy. Looking back, he saved me from a heart attack.
They say that the symptoms for heart disease in women are different. The statistics from the American Heart Association are staggering. Heart disease is the number one killer of women under the age of 45. Number one. Our propensity for the disease seems to be growing…and that has to change. We need to learn what the subtle symptoms are.
When the American Heart Association asked if we were interested in helping expand education and awareness of the national Go Red for Women campaign, I said yes. I am working with the new committee for West St. Tammany that will host the first Go Red for Women luncheon in Mandeville on May 10. We are following in the footsteps of the Slidell committee that will host its third annual event on March 7.
Our combined fundraising target is $115,000. We hope the money will help reach another objective, a goal that is very important to me right now: To change the statistics for women and heart disease.
We don’t want anyone to be in that number.
p.s. Read more about the American Heart Association Go Red for Women campaign on page 39. If you’d like to join us in the effort, please e-mail me at lori@insidenorthside.com.
