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Three
successful screenings, greater awareness
during Heart Health Awareness Month
The
culmination of Women’s Heart Health
Awareness Month in February also marks the
end of a successful series of heart health
screenings presented by the 2BigHearts
Foundation and held In conjunction with
three major medical centers in the Chicago
area.
Jim
Clarke founded the 2BigHearts Foundation in
memory of his late wife Gigi and
sister-in-law Sally who, at
the ages of 44 and 49 respectively,
lost their lives to heart disease on the
same day. Both had undiagnosed
cardiomyopathy (enlargement of the heart).
Their deaths could have been prevented with
increased awareness.
Heart disease continues to be the #1
killer of women in the United States.
“Everybody
loves these screenings,” Mr. Clarke says.
“Women who participate are so appreciative
and so thankful. They fill up very quickly,
an indication of how women feel about the
importance of screening, and their strong
desire for health care information. When
people hear what happened to Gigi and Sally
they really demand information — and
competent information.”
The
2BigHearts Foundation and La Porte Regional
Health System partnered with
corporate sponsor New Buffalo Savings
Bank to offer women free heart screenings on
Saturday, February
17th at the New Buffalo
Savings Bank in New Buffalo, MI. The
2BigHearts Foundation and La Porte Regional
Health System have offered four free heart
screenings since February 2004 to over 400
women.
Dr.
Carolyn Woo, Dean of the Mendoza School of
Business at Notre Dame, participated in the
screening at New Buffalo Savings Bank.
She described it as a “very special
experience.”
“It
was a humbling experience,” Dr. Woo
explains, “to realize that there are so
many big-hearted people who made the
screening possible. The people on-site just
want to make sure that we are well cared
for; they as for nothing more — just the
well-being of strangers who for a moment
become someone special.
“The
good deeds could never make up for your
loss,” Dr. Woo notes, referring to the
loss of Jim Clarke’s wife Gigi and her
sister Sally. “But your loss results in
such a generous ministry by so many, to so
many.”
On
February 3 , the 2BigHearts Foundation, in
conjunction with St. James Heart and
Vascular Institute, part of St. James
Hospital and Health Centers, offered a free
women’s heart screening that attracted
nearly 100 women to undergo diagnostic
testing for heart problems. The event was
held in Olympia Fields, Illinois.
“In
this day and age, we have more opportunities
to prevent heart disease and have the best
potential to have the best health
possible by identifying the risks and making
lifestyle
changes,” says Barbara Zeng Kwasny,
Nurse Practitioner and Manager of the
Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Department of
the St. James Heart and Vascular Institute,.
“As women, we need to be proactive in
identifying our risks.” Kwasny explains
that cardiomyopathy, which led to Gigi and
Sally’s deaths, is not
easily identifiable because the
warning signs can pass under the radar. “If
a person is
keeping up with their healthcare, a
warning sign can lead to further screenings
identifying the disease,” she says.
A
third heart screening was held in
conjunction with the respected Rush
University Medical Center on February 24th.
The screening included an echocardiogram, an
ECG, fasting blood sugar, lipid panel,
height/weight/blood pressure, evaluation of
waist circumference and BMI, health risk
assessment, and an exit consultation with a
cardiologist or nurse practitioner.
“I
tell patients who have several risk factors
that they need to know their own bodies and
how they feel when there’s nothing wrong,”
says cardiologist Anabelle Volgman, MD,
medical director of the Rush Heart Center
for Women. “If there is a change, such as
unexplained extreme fatigue, it may be a
sign that there is something wrong and they
should seek medical help,” The Rush
screening attracted more than four dozen
participants, eight of whom were found to
have irregularities warranting further
examination.
Kate
Warren of Long Beach, IN was a friend of
Gigi and Sally. In the Spring of 2006,
approaching her 50th birthday,
she thought it wise to get a screening. It
was a smart decision; an abnormal EKG was
detected. “It turned out to be nothing,
but it made me more mindful of my choices,”
Ms. Warren explains. “And I’m an RN.”
Many women are reluctant to get a screening,
she says. “I think a lot of women are
scared. They say, ‘What if they find
something?’ I say, What if they find
something that could save your life!” Gigi
and Sally, she adds, “had no idea” that
they had heart problems. Screening would
have detected their cardiac abnormalities
and they might be alive today.. “If you
can prevent one woman from going through
what Jim Clarke went through, that’s what
it’s all about,” Ms. Warren adds. “It’s
all about awareness.”
The
Foundation strives to increase awareness of
the issue of heart disease in women and
works with the health care community to
educate women and families about the causes
and prevention of heart disease in women.
“By
telling the story of my wife and her sister,
I hope to stress that a similarly tragic
scenario is completely avoidable with proper
heart health education,” Jim Clarke says.
“Had we known about their condition, both
Gigi and Sally could have sought treatment
that might have saved their lives.”
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