Friends turn grief into action - 03/05/2008

Fatal Heart Attack at Law Firm Brings Home Importance of Screening

Susan McGuire

Susan McGuire was experiencing chest pains when she arrived at work one January morning, just as she had the day before.

Less than an hour before the doctor’s appointment she had scheduled for later that morning, McGuire was found unconscious without a pulse in the ladies room by her friend and co-worker, Ruth Fry. The mother of an 11-year-old boy and 12-year-old girl had suffered a fatal heart attack.

“This brought home to everyone the fact that we all needed to be screened,” said Fry, who worked with McGuire at the Baltimore law firm Saul Ewing for 20 years. “Sue was only 45 years old. It’s a classic example of a woman who was always putting her family and her children first. This made us realize that we need to take care of ourselves too.”

Call to action

Fry, a member of Sister to Sister’s Baltimore Community Council, suggested that her firm provide employees an extra hour beyond the regular lunch break to attend Sister to Sister’s Women’s Heart Health Fair in Baltimore on February 26th. Each year, Sister to Sister screens thousands of women for heart disease risk factors such as high blood pressure and cholesterol at its Women’s Heart Health Fairs held throughout the country.

She also sent a blast email to local members of the Association of Legal Administrators urging them to attend the Fair. As a result, six other firms in the Baltimore area also provided their employees with extra time off to get screened. In total, 3,100 people attended the Women’s Heart Health Fair, and 750 women were screened within an eight-hour period.

“For me, this was a personal loss, as Sue happened to be my best friend, both on the job and out of work,” Fry wrote in her email. “Our firm is still recovering from this tragic loss. Sue was loved by everyone, she was an exceptional human being, and all around great employee.”

Nearly 40 of Fry’s colleagues attended the Fair, more than double the number of women from the firm who had attended the event the previous year. Many wore heart-shaped pins with McGuire’s photo to the Fair.

Family history of heart disease

McGuire, who worked as a legal secretary at Saul Ewing for 20 years, had a family history of heart disease. Her father suffered a fatal heart attack, while her brother survived a heart attack. McGuire’s sister recently had surgery to insert a stent, a wire mesh tube used to open the artery.

“She knew she had a family history,” said Fry. “But the symptoms she was getting, she didn’t think they were heart related.”

McGuire’s symptoms included chest pains that radiated down her back. She had complained of the pain at lunch the day before her fatal heart attack, and had scheduled an appointment with her doctor the next morning when the pain continued. Click here for more information about heart attack signs.

Fry said McGuire would not let her call an ambulance or drive her to the hospital. Her reaction is not uncommon. People often wait too long before they seek medical care for the warning signs of a heart attack.

If you think a heart attack is happening, call 911 in five minutes or less. If you cannot call 911, ask someone to take you to the hospital. You should never drive yourself. The benefits of calling 911 include:

• Medical personnel can start treating you immediately upon arrival. You may need oxygen, heart medicine, pain relief medicine, or other medications if you are having a heart attack.
• People who are transported by ambulance to the hospital are treated faster than patients who have someone drive them to the hospital.
• Your heart may stop beating during a heart attack. Emergency personnel have equipment to restart your heart if that happens.

A life-saving decision to get screened

Kim Crampton, a litigation support manager at Saul Ewing, was one of the women from the firm who was screened at the event. It was a life-saving decision to attend. Crampton, 45, found out that her total cholesterol was 255, placing her at higher risk for clogged arteries and a heart attack.

“It’s never been this high,” said Crampton, who had only borderline cholesterol when tested previously. “Going over there, and seeing what Sue went through, it shakes you quite a bit.”

Crampton was advised to contact her doctor immediately, and is scheduled to see a cardiologist.

“You’re always dealing with your children, your husband, or other family members. You’re never worrying about yourself. Susan was the same way,” she said. “You know what? I have to deal with this. I want to be here to see my children grow.”

Focus on heart health continues

After the Fair, Sister to Sister held a “Lunch and Learn” presentation at Saul Ewing on heart health. Fry added that her firm has an ongoing wellness program, and she is bringing in the firm’s insurance company to provide cholesterol and blood pressure checks at the office.

“This has been a wake up call for everyone,” she said. “We continue to do things. We’re not stopping with just the Fair.”

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