Veterans Voice: Event raises awareness of heart disease in women vets
Nancy Euell, 63, spent five years in the Air Force on active duty and another 15 as a civilian employee. So when she moved from Atlanta to Rhode Island and wanted to find a doctor, she didn’t hesitate to sign up for VA Providence Healthcare. She was familiar with the quality of care that the VA offers and wasted no time enrolling upon her arrival.
Euell scheduled a routine physical where she was pleased to meet Dr. Lauren Schlanger, her new primary care physician. Tests were ordered to get a better picture of Eull’s overall health at that initial meeting and it was then that an irregular heartbeat was detected. “They said it was a murmur. Then they went on to test some more and they wanted to know if I ever had rheumatic fever,” she remembers. Her mitral valve wasn’t working as expected so Euell was placed on a heart monitor for observation.
“My heart stopped beating or skipped a lot of beats,” recalls Euell about the time she spent on the monitor. Consequently, she was referred to the VA Vascular Medicine Outpatient Clinic in West Roxbury for more monitoring and further study. Specialists there decided to operate.
“April 12 two years ago I went in to have open heart surgery.” However, it wasn’t just one valve that was causing issues. “They found that they had to replace the mitral valve, they had to replace the aortic valve, and they had to repair the bicuspid valve. Bottom line is nobody, including myself, knew how sick I was.“
Euell’s experience wasn’t unusual. Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of women. Many symptoms may be subtle and go unnoticed, including unusual fatigue, indigestion, lightheadedness, sweating and shortness of breath. Other, more obvious signs of cardiovascular distress may include neck, jaw, shoulder, upper back and abdominal discomfort.
Female veterans are especially vulnerable because there is a prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors, including hypertension, obesity, depression, lipids, tobacco use and PTSD, according to a 2019 article in “Circulation,” a publication of the American Heart Association. Last year, at the organization’s annual scientific sessions, Dr. Ramin Ebrahimi raised an alarm within the veteran community when he presented more conclusive evidence linking female warriors with post-traumatic stress disorder directly to a 20 percent increased risk of ischemic heart disease.
“The association we found was incredibly strong,” said Dr. Ebrahimi in an interview with US News. "We have a rising number of women veterans, and a large proportion of them— nearly 1 in 5 — have PTSD. These women are at high risk for heart disease, and what’s more, they appear to be getting it at a younger age — even in their 40s. This is not something we can ignore.”
Euell has PTSD but knew “nothing about heart disease or what the signs were.” She was fortunate that she had proactively scheduled her annual checkup and that Dr. Schlanger discovered her condition during the medical workup.
Linda D’Andrea-Peck’s experience was very different. The 69-year-old Army veteran had scheduled a routine exam with Dr. Schlanger in the spring of 2019. The night before her physical, D’Andrea-Peck experienced a little pain in her right arm. “I thought it was because I carried something heavy that day.” She remembers quickly dismissing the discomfort. “My husband gave me a couple of aspirins and [I thought] I was fine.”
Dubbed “Wonder Woman” by her drill sergeants in basic training, D’Andrea-Peck was expecting to receive a stellar report from her doctor when she drove to Providence the next day. “I love being outside. I love being active ... I felt like I was doing all of the right things.”
The physical was uneventful at first. “They did my blood pressure, my temperature and they told me everything was good,” she remembers. While she was sitting and waiting to meet with her physician, “I had a pain go up my arm like I’ve never had before, and it went all the way up to my jaw.” D’Andrea-Peck was having a heart attack.
Looking back now, the Desert Storm veteran says “I had a guardian angel with me,” explaining that if the attack had happened just an hour earlier, she would have been en route from her home in Burrillville, far away from any hospital. She feels incredibly fortunate to have been just feet away from the VA emergency room when it happened so that she was able to receive immediate care.
D’Andrea-Peck needed triple bypass surgery and had an extended stay because she went into atrial fibrillation while in the hospital. Months later she continued to experience fatigue during her recuperation and it was discovered that she had a hole in her heart, which necessitated another operation to surgically implant a patch in June of 2020.
At each step along the journey from heart attack through cardiac rehabilitation and back to the operating room again, the VA Healthcare System has been there to diagnose and address D’Andrea-Peck’s medical challenges. “The VA has treated me very well,” she says. Cardiac Nurse Practitioner Jeannie Ursillo, in particular, is someone for whom D’Andrea-Peck is most thankful. Ursillo recognized that something was wrong after D’Andrea-Peck’s initial hospital stay and slow recovery. She ordered further testing and D’Andrea-Peck believes, “If it wasn’t for Jeannie, I don’t think I’d be alive.”
Friday is national Go Red for Women, an annual day designated by the American Heart Association to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of cardiovascular disease. Tonya Maselli McConnell, LICSW, of the VA Providence Healthcare System has orchestrated a one-hour virtual Go Red event, designed specifically for female veterans. Information about nutrition, the connection between relationships and a healthy heart, mindfulness and VA resources will be shared. Female veterans can participate by visiting the VA Providence Facebook or Twitter page and following the link to the event on Feb. 5 at noon.
If you can’t participate in this week’s event, D’Andrea-Peck wants to remind other women that “even though you think you’re healthy, you need to go to the doctor” and urges fellow veterans to “get that primary care doctor and get a checkup.” Speaking from experience, D’Andrea-Peck and Euell both know all too well that scheduling a routine physical may actually save your life.
Live Fierce: Go Red, sponsored by the Providence VA Medical Center and the American Heart Association, will be held online on Friday, Feb. 5 from 12-1 p.m. Interested veterans are encouraged to wear red and join this virtual event to raise awareness of cardiovascular disease. Call (401) 273-7100, ext. 16191, or email Tonya.MaselliMcConnell@va.gov for more information.
Calendar of events
All meetings are in person unless noted. Please wear masks and practice social distancing.
◘ Feb. 1, (Virtual) Chronic Pain Self-Management Program Workshop for veterans, caregivers and families, 1-3:30 p.m. For more information and/or to register contact Ellen Lynch, Providence VA Medical Center. Call (401) 273-7100, x 13970 or email ellen.lynch@va.gov.
◘ Feb. 3, (Virtual) Family Bereavement Group, 1-2:15 p.m., offered by the Providence VA Healthcare System. To participate, pre-register by calling Bill San Antonio at (401) 273-7100, x13605.
◘ Free tax preparation assistance being offered to VA Providence Healthcare System enrollees from Feb. 16-April 15. By appointment only. Call (401) 273-1000, ext. 12025 for more information.
