Silencing Heart Disease:
Health Story

Aired on Lifetime Television
Sunday, January 8 and October 8
Show 301

Linda Ruecker didn't "feel right" hanging Christmas decorations. Three weeks later, she had a heart attack. Thirty-something Sylvia Lockett had trouble breathing, She suffered congestive heart failure, but luckily she was able to receive a transplant that changed her life. One out of three women dies from cardiovascular disease. "It's a silent killer of women. Until a decade ago we thought it was a man's disease," says Dr. Elizabeth Nabel, director of the Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. "Prevention is key, and more education is necessary, but we have made progress," says Dr. Anne Taylor of the University of Minnesota. "Women can benefit from new non-invasive testing and imaging techniques. There are also new drugs, and gene and stem cell studies," she adds. "With education, heart disease is preventable," says Dr. Sharonne Hayes of the Mayo Clinic.