Emma Waite walks with her children. Their wide smiles reveal the joy and relief of knowing their mother’s heart is beating and heart disease will not claim her life.
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The Coopernook family is a snapshot of heart disease in NSW and last week Emma visited Parliament House in Canberra to share her story at the inaugural Women and Heart Disease forum.
In May 2015 Emma was hospitalised with heart disease. She was 41-years-old and one of her arteries was completely blocked. She underwent an angioplasty procedure to open the blocked artery and three stents were implanted.
“When I think of what could have happened had I not insisted that there was something wrong with me, I think of my husband without his wife and my three beautiful children without their mother,” Emma said.
Emma endured three months of symptoms and appointments before she was diagnosed.
When I think of what could have happened had I not insisted that there was something wrong with me, I think of my husband without his wife and my three beautiful children without their mother.
- Emma Waite
“I was made to feel like I was over reacting or making up symptoms which was unfair and demoralising.”
Professor Andrew Boyle, Emma’s cardiologist, also attended the forum and said he sees first-hand the need for a continued focus on women and heart disease;
“Unfortunately Emma’s story is not uncommon. Eighty per cent of participants in heart disease clinical trials are historically male. As a result, the symptoms experienced by women, and the risks for women, are still not as well understood as those of men,” Professor Boyle said.
“It’s vital that we continue to promote the message that heart disease is not just a men’s health issue.”
Heart disease is the biggest killer of women in Australia, claiming three times as many lives as breast cancer every year, according to the Heart Foundation.
Julie Anne Mitchell, Heart Foundation’s national spokesperson for women and heart disease also spoke at the Parliament House.
“Currently only 35 per cent of women are aware that heart disease is the biggest killer of women in Australia. This is not good enough. We need more women aware and more clinicians encouraging women to have a heart health check to make a real difference,” Ms Mitchell said.
The forum at Parliament House brought together leaders in women’s health to take a multidisciplinary approach to the disparities in prevention, diagnosis, management and research. They strongly endorsed the following five recommendations based on the joint Communique: Outcomes of the Cardiovascular Risk and Disease in Australian Women Summit for tackling the disease:
- A commonwealth funded communication campaign with national reach to raise awareness of heart disease in women.
- Greater investment in research to address the specific risks facing Australian women.
- A commitment to ensure future cardiovascular guidelines specifically address gender related issues.
- Implementation of sustainable prevention and management programs that support improving cardiovascular health outcomes for women.
- Improved awareness of heart disease in women in undergraduate and post graduate medical training.