Dealing with the Beta Blocker Stupids: The Patient’s Perspective

Before you attribute forgetting where you parked your car to an early senior moment, read this: After my heart attack, I thought I had brain damage. I went back to working as a choreographer, but couldn’t concentrate and be creative in the same way I had before. I found out I wasn’t alone. “I can…

Exporing the “Icky Period” Problem

When a younger woman is put on a blood thinner the doctor or nurse isn’t likely to tell her, “Guess what, this is probably going to make your period a bit of a challenge.  It came as a big surprise to me,” said Eliz Greene who is 42 and currently takes Plavix®.  “Talking about the…

Goodbye, Blood Draw!

When she was diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation and placed on the blood thinning medication warfarin, Patty Borkowski began regular trips to the Anticoagulation Clinic at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She didn’t realize her experience was different from that of other women on blood thinners. A consistent and controlled blood thinner level is essential for…

What’s In Your Wallet: Be prepared for injuries and emergencies

While blood thinning medication allows many women with heart disease to live productive lives, the risk of bleeding creates peril even from small cuts. “I was told even shaving my legs was too risky while on Coumadin®,” Said Eliz Greene a heart attack survivor and host of the Patient’s Perspective Teleconference presented by the Embrace…

Survivors are lucky – champions are brave: Kay Marie Koras

Did you know nearly 50 million women are living with heart disease? It is true! February is Heart Health Awareness Month, and certainly there is an effort to educate women about their heart risk. During the past three years, the Red Dress campaign has elevated awareness significantly. Now, more than half of women will identify…