Latest / From Recovery to Wellness | Life After Heart Surgery, Aneurysm Repair & Cardiac Healing / Maternal Health & Long-Term Risk

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Maternal Health & Long-Term Risk · From Recovery to Wellness | Life After Heart Surgery, Aneurysm Repair & Cardiac Healing

• 0:07
  Welcome to From Recovery to Wellness, the podcast
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  where we explore the path to better health, one
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  conversation at a time. I'm Ernita Williams.
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  heart surgery, survivor, wellness advocate, and
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  your host. For too long, heart disease has been
• 0:23
  thought of as a man's disease, yet it remains
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  the leading cause of death among women. Many
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  of the health events women experience throughout
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  their lives, from pregnancy and preeclampsia
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  to menopause, autoimmune diseases, and hormonal
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  changes can have a lasting impact on heart health.
• 0:39
  Yet these connections are often overlooked. In
• 0:42
  this special women's heart health series, we'll
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  examine the unique factors that influence cardiovascular
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  health in women across every stage of life. Together
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  we'll explore the latest insights, uncover hidden
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  risk factors, discuss practical prevention strategies,
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  and empower women to become stronger advocates
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  for their own health. Each week you'll hear a
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  heart health lesson, a did you know segment,
• 1:05
  a heart supportive food of the week. and a reflection
• 1:09
  question designed to help you apply what you've
• 1:11
  learned to your own wellness journey. Whether
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  you're seeking information for yourself, a loved
• 1:18
  one, or simply want to better understand women's
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  heart health, you're in the right place. So thank
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  you for joining me and let's begin today's conversation
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  and continue moving from recovery to wellness.
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  Now we're in episode three and I just want to
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  thank those of you who have been following me
• 1:36
  and are returning and then welcome the new listeners.
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  So in this episode, I will cover briefly, it
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  is very brief, maternal health and long -term
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  heart risk. And the reason that these are very
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  brief is because I can only go by my lived experience
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  and and what research has shown and found. And
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  so because I'm not a medical professional, a
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  therapist or anything like that, and so I just
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  wanna, you know, just kind of enlighten you and
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  make you aware of what's going on, you know,
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  when it comes to women's heart health and how
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  our maternal health may put us at risk for cardiovascular
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  issues later in life. So with that said, I just
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  wanna reiterate that maternal health complications
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  are often viewed as isolated events, but they
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  can actually act as early warning signs for long
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  -term cardiovascular risk. Pregnancy places stress
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  on the vascular system. When complications arise,
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  they may reveal how the heart and blood vessels
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  will respond later in life. And in many cases,
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  pregnancy is the first time underlying heart
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  risk becomes visible. And I just must add that
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  I am textbook for that. I had preeclampsia during
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  my childbearing years. And then later in life,
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  several decades later, I had an aneurysm. And
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  what had they think happened is that when I had
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  preeclampsia, that raised my blood pressure.
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  and made my heart pump harder. And it's kind
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  of like just a fist banging up against your arteries
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  and your vascular system. And so it has weakened
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  the walls of my... my arteries and I had an aneurysm
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  tear and so thank goodness it did not rupture
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  and so they were able to go in open me up and
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  do stop my heart put me on a heart pump and then
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  put a graph on my aorta because that's where
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  the where the weakness was and that there's the
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  saying that it could have that could have started
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  from very early in my pregnancy, my maternal
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  life years ago. And so that is something now
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  though that they really are just now talking
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  about at least revealing it to the general public.
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  So I'm just I'm just wanting to make you aware
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  of the things that are coming on board when it
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  comes to maternal health and long -term heart
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  risk. Also, I just want to just wrap it up and
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  say that yes, pregnancy complications can serve
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  as early indicators of future cardiovascular
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  disease. But the thing is, is that we have to
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  know and be aware of how this may affect us.
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  And the way to do that is we need to ask questions.
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  And if there are any certain conditions that
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  you may have, preeclampsia, just high blood pressure.
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  swelling feet any of that just ask because you
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  don't know if you don't ask and if the doctor
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  doesn't know you know you keep digging until
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  you do find out something and if they just don't
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  have any answers you just stay on top of it anyway
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  just keep searching and and and and and just
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  trying to find out ask questions get a second
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  opinion because it is extremely important because
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  had I known some of the things that were happening
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  to me that would affect me here later in life,
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  I most definitely would have been on it. And
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  I go by the... the advice that Maya Angelou gave.
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  When you know better, you do better. And I most
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  definitely will say that it does make a difference.
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  You know, it will change your life. When you
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  know when you're knowledgeable or something,
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  just act on it. You know, just ask questions.
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  I can't say that enough. Do your research and
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  be an advocate for yourself. That's the main
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  thing. Just advocate for yourself. You know,
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  and so I won't belabor this, but I just wanted
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  to. You know put that out there and so now we'll
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  move on To the reflection question which kind
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  of hinges. Well, it does hinge on this The question
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  is, what would change in women's health care
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  if pregnancy history was treated as a lifelong
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  risk marker? A lot of things could happen. You
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  would be monitored throughout with your primary
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  care physician. Even after you pass childbearing
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  age, this would be something that they would...
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  I would think that the doctors would monitor
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  and take a little bit more care in documenting
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  and everything. So yeah, that would change women's
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  health care. It could save a lot of lives. It
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  could prevent a lot of things probably. It could
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  probably cut the risk of heart disease later
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  on in life as well. And so. Um, you know, I just,
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  uh, I just can't say that enough. And so now
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  I'll move on to the food of the week, which is
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  salmon. Now salmon is rich in omega -3 fatty
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  acids. It supports heart and vascular health.
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  It is also a good source of a protein for us.
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  It is also good to have salmon at least, uh,
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  or fish at least, but preferably salmon. That's
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  what is highly recommended by the nutritionists
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  and dieticians to have it at least three times
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  a week. And so that is definitely one that is
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  that supports heart health. And so I keep that
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  in my refrigerator in my freezer, you know, and
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  I make sure that I get that three times a week.
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  And sometimes I don't like the taste of it. Sometimes
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  it's kind of fishy, has a real fishy taste. But
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  I, you know, kind of spruce it up with hot sauce
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  or something, because I like spicy food as well.
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  But yeah, I don't use too much. that because
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  the hot sauce has salt or sodium in it as well.
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  And you know that that can push your blood pressure
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  up. So, you know, I don't want to get into that
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  too much, but I usually just put olive oil and
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  a little basil on top for most of the times and
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  just, you know, eat it that way. So, you know,
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  I just want to thank you today for joining me
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  for today's episode. And I hope our conversation
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  has provided information, encouragement and practical
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  insights that you can carry with you on your
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  wellness journey. And remember, heart health
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  is not defined by a single appointment, diagnosis,
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  or stage of life. It's shaped by the choices
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  we make, the knowledge we gain, and the steps
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  we take each day to care for ourselves. So if
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  you found this episode helpful, please consider
• 9:25
  subscribing, sharing it with a friend, and leaving
• 9:28
  a review. Together, we can help more women understand
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  the unique factors that influence our heart health
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  and empower them to become advocates for their
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  own well -being. So until next time, take care.
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  of your heart, take care of yourself, and continue
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  moving from recovery to wellness. And be well.