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KALAMAZOO MI–Amy Swager suffered a serious heart attack in her hometown of Climax three years ago. She was taken to the Borgess Heart Institute after receiving CPR and emergency responders from the Climax Township Fire Department shocked her heart back into rhythm with an automated external defibrillator. At the Borgess Heart Institute, Swager received an automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillator to monitor her heart, and if necessary, deliver an internal shock to correct abnormal rhythms.
First support network for women living with heart disease
Amy Swager and Sherry DeDitius are launching a branch of WomenHeart, the area’s first support network for women living with heart disease. The initial WomenHeart meeting is an open house for women and professionals. It will be held 6:30 pm, Thursday, December 8, in room 123 of the Borgess Lawrence Education Center. Subsequent meetings are scheduled for 6:30 pm, the second Thursday evening of each month. Most meetings will take place at Borgess Medical Center.
“Amy and I both have experienced heart disease,” Sherry DeDitius said. “Living with heart disease can mean facing many medical and emotional obstacles like social isolation. We want to help other women with heart disease by sharing information we learned in our training as community educators at the WomenHeart Science & Leadership Symposium in collaboration with the Mayo Clinic.
“The Red Bag of Courage Program is one element of WomenHeart we will bring to southwest Michigan women,” DeDitius said. “It places educational information on heart disease directly into the hands of women living with or at-risk for heart disease.
“We invite area women to join us, DeDitius said. “Our mission as ‘Heart Champions’ of the WomenHeart program is to ensure that every woman has access to heart disease prevention and early detection, accurate diagnosis, and proper treatment.”
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women in the United States and more women than men have died from heart disease every year since 1984. There are more deaths in this group from heart disease than from all cancers combined, including breast cancer. WomenHeart is a national coalition for women with heart disease founded in 1999. WomenHeart patient support groups help women in 27 states.
For more information on WomenHeart, contact deditius@comcast.net or WomenHeart.org.
