Community - Moving to the beat of you
Inspiring Stories
Nicole Atkinson has been a longtime friend of Sister to Sister, working on our Baltimore campaign since 2004. Being young and fit, it never occurred to Nicole to get herself screened. Then at an Executive Women’s Event in 2007, she got curious about her numbers and decided to get screened. It’s a good thing she did...
Nicole Atkinson, 25
Towson, Maryland
Public Relations Executive
What motivated you to take heart-health action?
When I had my cardiac screening at the Sister to Sister executive women’s luncheon recently, I found out that my cholesterol was a bit high. At 25, energetic and of average size, I was very surprised. I quickly motivated and committed to dropping those points! It’s hard to really think heart-healthy when you’re young—you don’t think about what you put into your body, especially if you’re not gaining weight.
What tools most guided you along your journey?
I started watching what I ate, counting calories, drinking more water (two liters per day) and exercising three to four times a week before work. I never really did that before.
What changes did you have to make to become heart healthy?
I try to eat in moderation, stop when I’m full and choose healthier options when I’m dining out. I definitely cheat, but I try to be more mindful about what I put into my body. Also, I was never one to devote time to exercise. I found that getting up a bit early (which I always swore I’d never do) and hitting the elliptical or circuit training for 40 minutes before work made a difference. My waist was smaller, my thighs were smaller and my stomach actually looked ‘cut’ rather than doughy. I also take the stairs at work most of the time. Seeing results, feeling great when you look in a mirror, and actually seeing your risk factors decrease is a real motivator.
When you began your journey, were there any risk factors that you targeted? Which ones were they, and what did you do to reduce their impact?
When I began my journey of getting heart healthy, I focused primarily on lowering my cholesterol. I had a normal BMI, weight and blood pressure, but my cholesterol was higher than it should have been. The nurse from Sister to Sister counseled me and said ‘What are you eating?’ I said, ‘When I want a snack I make a ham and cheese roll-up or a turkey and cheese roll-up or I’ll nosh on cheese and crackers.’ She said I should munch on veggies instead. I cut out those meat and cheese snacks and, in about a year, I dropped my cholesterol level 30 points, and even decreased my waist and BMI (even though I wasn’t targeting that).
What advice would you give to other women to be heart healthy?
Start by just changing one thing and see how far it gets you. Instead of eating a bagel in the morning, eat a bowl of cereal with a banana. You’ll get more protein from the milk, one fruit serving, whole grain servings, less calories and you’ll probably be fuller. If you order a sandwich at a deli that’s four-inches thick with deli meat, take out half. Ask for mustard instead of mayonnaise and extra lettuce and tomato. Get baked chips if you have to have them. Or, if you don’t want to change what you’re eating, try a new exercise routine. For a while I really became a fan of “strip-aerobics.” It’s a hoot and an amazing workout that you can do with your girlfriends. We laughed at ourselves, sweated, worked hard, got sore and saw real results. Whatever you do, try having fun doing it.
In your opinion, what is the hardest part of becoming healthier and how are you overcoming that?
If your spouse/partner/roommates or close friends aren’t working at it with you, it can be tough. Like if everyone goes out for Happy Hour on Fridays and drinks four cocktails or four beers, chicken fingers, French fries and Buffalo wings, it can be hard to be disciplined to order two beers, drinking a glass of water in between and munching on a salad or grilled chicken sandwich.
Do you have a favorite heart healthy recipe? If so, what is it?
I love grilled chicken thighs (I find breasts too dry) with grilled vegetables like squash and mushrooms, and a salad.
Have you attended a Sister to Sister health event? If so, which one was it and how did it help you in your mission for heart health?
I have been attending Baltimore’s Sister to Sister health fairs and luncheons for years. I compete with myself every year and actually save my results so I can compare.
Are there other ways that Sister to Sister has helped you?
It’s taught me that making small changes can have a big impact on my heart health.
Betsy’s story came to our attention when she was the guest speaker at Sister to Sister’s 2008 Executive Women’s Luncheon in Jacksonville, Florida. Her experience reminds us that even if you have no risk factors, it’s important to know warning signs of heart distress.
Betsy Abdulghani, 44
St. Augustine, Florida
Flight attendant (international) for American Airlines
What motivated you to take heart-health action?
Actually, I’m one of those people who had a heart attack but had no risk factors. In May 2007, I came in from a trip and felt a bit more stressed and tired than normal and I thought I was doing too much.
That night I made a healthy dinner of steamed vegetables over pasta. Afterwards, I had the worst indigestion. Then I noticed pain going down my right arm so I took an aspirin. I became nauseated which I attributed to the aspirin. Ignoring all the symptoms, including some chest tightness, as something serious, I took an Ambien and went to sleep.
Two days later, at the insistence of my spouse, I went in to see my doctor. I still had tightness in my chest and I was tired. He ran an EKG and that’s when the pace of the visit changed. The EKG showed my heart was in distress and that I already had had a heart attack and that I was on the verge of another.
I went to the emergency room and, after waiting a long time, I was sent to the heart cath lab. I had a major heart attack on the table—my artery collapsed during the procedure. Turns out, I had a total blockage of my left anterior distending artery. I now have two stents in that artery (and damage to the lower part of my heart).
In January 2009, after a routine stress test, another blockage was suspected. I underwent another heart cath and a blockage was discovered in front of the first stent. It was cleared through angioplasty and another stent was added.
What do you want women to know about heart health?
I want women to understand that even if you have no risk factors, you still need to know the warning signs of heart distress. For example, the pain I felt in my arm (it was in my right arm, not left as we have been taught is the sign of a heart attack). Also, beyond the risk factors women get screened for, things like lack of sleep and stress can affect a woman’s heart health – two things I definitely was experiencing.
What advice would you give to other women to be heart healthy?
I would say that the number one thing to do is to realize that heart disease is a race-less, gender-less (and ageless) disease. It can attack at anytime. I was just shy of my forty-second birthday when I had a heart attack. Also, if you don’t feel right, ask your doctor to run the battery of tests that can help detect whether you have heart disease. I've also done a lot to change my diet. For example, I watch my salt now. I don’t drink soda (it contains a lot of salt). I’ve started eating edamame and soy and I’ve been incorporating more of a Mediterranean diet.
What’s been the hardest part of becoming healthier?
Because I am a flight attendant, getting access to heart-healthy food is difficult. I fly internationally and, while I carry food with me, I can’t carry fruits and vegetables.
Do you have a favorite heart-healthy recipe you’d like to share?
I absolutely recommend adding edamame to your diet. You can eat it steamed in a salad or cold. I’m also big on eating hummus and I use olive oil when I cook.
Have you attended a Sister to Sister health event?
My first one was 2007 in Jacksonville, Florida. Then I spoke at the 2008 Executive Women’s Luncheon in Jacksonville. In 2008, I went to a Women’s Heart/Mayo Clinic symposium. Back in Jacksonville, I ran a booth for WomenHeart at the 2009 Sister to Sister’s Women’s Heart Health Fair.
How did Sister to Sister help you in your mission for heart health?
It educated me so much on my illness and it put me in a room with some of the greatest minds around. It’s important to find a doctor you can relate to. You need to be treated as an individual and as a woman. You have to find that person to help you during your journey. That’s very important.
Meet Maria Machin, an active member of Sister to Sister who started down the path to heart health after joining a diversity group that focused on women’s empowerment.
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Maria, left, with her mother – her inspiration |
Jacksonville, Florida
Support rep, AT&T
What motivated you to take heart-health action?
My mom died of a heart attack in 2001, but my focus on heart health really started when I became part of Women of AT&T (WOA), a diversity group. In our group, we focus on women’s issues and employee empowerment and we decided to focus on heart health because heart disease is the number-one killer of women. We take for granted our symptoms and that’s why Sister to Sister health fairs are so important. We all need to know more about this.
What are your particular risk factors?
I’m a borderline diabetic and my weight fluctuates a lot. Also, because of my schedule and because I’m on a lot of committees, my eating habits aren’t always the best.
What tools do you use to guide your heart health journey?
I started out by using the Internet—that’s our new library after all—but once I got involved with Sister to Sister, I started using this organization for resources. Most women think the number one killer of women is breast cancer, but once I started researching heart disease, I was stunned to realize that heart disease kills more women.
What changes did you have to make to become heart healthy?
I limit fried food and I won’t eat past 8 PM. I park far from my building or from the store to squeeze in exercise. I also try to de-stress myself, which is tough in everyday life -- especially since I’m Hispanic and we get passionate about things, making it hard to mellow out. But I do try to take time for myself. I got a library card and I’ve started reading romance novels and books about history. I got rid of my television and that helps me stay calm at night. I also have a really good doctor now and, for the last six months, I’ve been trying to get at least eight hours of sleep each night.
What advice would you give to other women to be heart healthy?
Take the time to sleep a bit more. Or, even if you’re not sleeping, rest in the bed. In the past, I’d wake up at 3 AM and get on the computer. Now I stay in bed and try to relax. I also take lots of walks with friends to de-stress.
What’s been the hardest part of becoming healthier?
The food part. I really miss spicy fried chicken.
How are you overcoming that?
I do have it once in a while. I think knowledge is power. I used to be fanatical about my weight—I wanted to be a size six. Now I’ve calmed down about that. For example, I’ve tried to stop eating red meat but, every now and then, I need a hamburger.
Do you have a favorite heart-healthy recipe you’d like to share?
I’ve stopped using thick dressings on my salads. Instead, I’ll put olive oil and lemon on my salad and, if it needs salt, I’ll use a salt substitute.
Have you attended a Sister to Sister health event?
Yes—I’ve been going to Sister to Sister events for four years now.
How did it help you in your mission for heart health?
I believe that if you learn something valuable, it’s your responsibility to pass along the information. I believe it’s part of what we’re here for. So anything I learn, I pass it to friends. My mom worked all her life. She was a single mom who worked three jobs and, while she always paid for health insurance for us, she never went to the doctor. When she finally went to the doctor, she knew something was wrong. I wish we had known about her heart problems a lot sooner.
We met Pat when she was screened at a Sister to Sister Executive Women’s breakfast last year. Turns out, her blood pressure levels had skyrocketed. Read on for her story.
Patricia Lee, 50+ but feeling ageless
Miami, Florida
Staff Specialist at the Miami Dade County Public Schools
What motivated you to take heart-health action?
My now-retired administrative director—who was very involved with Sister to Sister—introduced me to the organization. Every year, Sister to Sister holds a heart health breakfast for businesswomen. I went to one two years ago and I remember getting there early. One of the student nurses did my vitals and told me my blood pressure was high. She asked me if I had been stuck in traffic and I remember saying that I had taken my time getting to the event, which was why I was early. She then asked the senior nurse to repeat my blood pressure test. It was still sky-high and this alarmed her. Though I felt fine, she told me to call my doctor when I got back to my office. I went to the doctor that Monday and, sure enough, my doctor got alarmed as well. She had been treating me for blood pressure and had to put me on another medication. Had I not gone to that breakfast, who knows what would have happened?
What tools most guided you along your journey?
I read everything I can find on dealing with high blood pressure and diabetes. I have a sister who is severely diabetic. Last March, one of her legs was amputated. I have a lot of health issues in my family which makes me feel even more fortunate to be part of Sister to Sister. I always come away from their events with lots of good information.
What changes did you have to make to become heart healthy?
One of my New Year’s resolutions is to meet with a nutritionist. It’s been hard to find time because I work two jobs. Now, because of downsizing, I won’t be working on Saturdays anymore. I’ve made a deal with myself to use that newly found time to get my health together and to start exercising.
When you began your journey, were there any risk factors that you targeted?
My blood pressure was my biggest risk factor. Right now, I take medication to control it but I’ve been told that with diet and exercise, eventually I won’t need it. That’s my goal.
What advice would you give to other women to be heart healthy?
Take nothing for granted. This is something I’ve been telling people for years—even before my sister was diagnosed with diabetes. Also, take care of yourself. I encourage women to see their doctors. I’m also a strong advocate for Sister to Sister. In Miami, we offer free screenings on Valentine’s Day and whenever I can I tell people about my experience. If I hadn’t been screened by Sister to Sister, I could have had a stroke. I’d never had an incident; I had no warning signs. That’s why they call heart disease the silent killer. You have to take care of yourself, eat right and exercise.
What’s been the hardest part of becoming healthier?
Developing good eating habits. Since I work two jobs, I’m seldom home before nine at night. I’m a night owl so, when I get home, instead of showering and going to bed, I find a million things to do and I stick stuff in my mouth (like cookies) that I shouldn’t. I’m becoming much more conscious about what I eat.
Do you have a favorite heart-healthy recipe you’d like to share?
I eat a lot of pasta with garlic. At a recent Sister to Sister event, we received some wonderful heart healthy recipes that will be fun to try, too.
Heart Health Risk Assessment
