It's not heartburn. It's a heart attack. - Joy's story

Early one morning, Joy McCallum went to Cambridge Medical Center's Emergency Department in the family car. She wanted relief from "bad heartburn." When she learned she was really having a heart attack, she was scared.

"I knew that lots of women don't survive heart attacks and thought that my chances weren't too good," says McCallum.

But a carefully planned process gave McCallum a second chance at life. "Suddenly, a whole flock of people were there working on me, starting IVs, giving me medicine and calling out times," she recalls. "I heard a helicopter. And before I knew it, I was in the cath lab at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, where they opened a 99-percent blockage in my left artery and put in a stent."

While the helicopter was bringing McCallum to Abbott Northwestern, the hospital's cath lab team received vital information via fax and phone. As soon as she arrived, they were ready to open McCallum's blocked artery through angioplasty.

Hospitals in Minnesota and western Wisconsin use similar processes to bring heart attack sufferers to Abbott Northwestern, United and other Level 1 hospitals. At a Level 1 hospital, people having heart attacks can immediately go to the cath lab for angioplasty or be rushed to the operating room for emergency bypass surgery.

Women and heart attacks

"Women who are having heart attacks often don't know it," says Dr. Laura Reich, director of Vascular Medical Services at Cambridge Medical Center.

Heart attack symptoms for women may differ from those of men.

• Some women may not have pain in the middle or left side of their chest. Instead, their jaw, teeth, throat, neck, shoulder and back may hurt.
• Other women may have vague chest pain that comes and goes over many days. Or they may not feel chest pain at all.

Other, more subtle signs of a heart attack include…

• extreme fatigue
• nausea
• shortness of breath
• discomfort in the abdominal area
• sweating
• heartburn
• dizziness
• weakness
• loss of appetite
• palpitations

After her "tombstone teaser," Joy McCallum worked hard to live healthier. "The heart attack forced me to do things I had always known I should," she says.

Though she gave up smoking before her heart attack, McCallum had not been exercising like she knew she should. But the supervised exercise program at Cambridge Medical Center's Therapy Center helped her get started safely and confidently.

Therapy Center staff also helped McCallum improve her eating habits. "They all went the extra mile for me," she says. "I got lots of information, booklets, healthy recipes and help from the dietitian."

To her surprise, McCallum discovered she enjoyed heart-healthy cooking. "I had never liked to cook before," she says. "But I really enjoy making healthy food with fresh vegetables and herbs."

Such enthusiasm is paying off: McCallum's cholesterol is down, reducing her risk for more heart trouble. Cholesterol-lowering medicine helps, too.

"I feel great, have energy and have a great outlook," she says.

Female heart attack risks

"Your risk of heart attack increases with age, especially after menopause," says Dr. Reich. "Your risk is higher if your parents or siblings have heart disease."

Although you can't control age or heredity, you can control these factors and lower your chances of having a heart attack:

• smoking
• high blood pressure
• high cholesterol and triglycerides
• diabetes
• inactive lifestyle
• stress
• obesity

Related Links

Women's Heart Centers

Heart health risk assessment

Cambridge Medical Center: Emergency Department

Cambridge Medical Center: Rehabilitation Department

Abbott Northwestern Hospital/Minneapolis Heart Institute: Level 1 Heart Attack Program

United Hospital's Nasseff Heart Center

First published: 01/31/2006
Last updated: 01/31/2006

Reviewed by: Paul Kleeberg, MD, medical director, Allina.com