TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — February is American Heart Month, an initiative focused on raising awareness about cardiovascular disease — the leading cause of death in the U.S. according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Susan Smith, a 79-year-old heart attack survivor, said she never thought this would happen to her.
"When the reality hit and I was on that gurney, I was scared to death. I was terrified, and I felt foolish because of what was happening to me. I had no idea," Smith said.
Smith was always on the go and liked to stay busy.
"I was 70 years old. I was living my best life, having a great time after retiring from corporate,and I got to do all the things I wanted to do. I spent my entire day running around," Smith said. "I thrived on it because the busyness gave me energy, gave me confidence. It helped me go on to the next project. I mean it felt good, but I learned later that that busyness is a level of stress," Smith said.
That stress caught up with Smith.
She said for two weeks she felt exhausted and had an annoying ache in her collarbone, but pushed through the pain until she made a trip to the store.
"I bought everything I needed and I reached up for a package of cookies and they fell to the floor. And I knew if I leaned all the way down, I'd faint," Smith said.
She then called the doctor's office.
"She said it sounds like you should call your cardiologist or go to the nearest emergency room. I said I can't go to the ER. I have too much to do. She said, you can't do anything if you're dead," Smith said.
Smith got right in at Tucson Medical Center (TMC) and was rushed into the Cardiac Catheterization Lab or Cath Lab to get a stent in her heart as she was having an active heart attack.
This was not how she expected to spend her 71st birthday, in the hospital, staying there for four days to recover.
"So they fitted me with a defibrillator life vest, which looks like a sports bra, but it's got wires and sensors inside. It has silver paddles in the back that will shock you if you have a heart attack," Smith said.
TMC Cardiologist Dr. Basel Skeif says heart disease risk factors are the same for men and women.
"But the most common things are high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, smoking is a very big factor, and those are stuff you could change. The stuff which you cannot change is basically family history and age," Dr. Skeif said.
He says prevention is key.
"So if you have a strong family history, you should not be waiting until something happens. You should start looking at your risk factors early on and treat these risk factors as early as you can."
He says do not ignore the symptoms.
"So the most common symptoms, of course, is like chest pain, as you know, but a lot of times people don't present with chest pain. It's discomfort in the chest, it's shortness of breath, it's abdominal pain," Dr. Skeif explained. "It could be even like a shoulder or neck pain. All these symptoms could mean that you're having something wrong with your heart."
Stress and lack of sleep also affect heart health. To keep your heart healthy, he says be sure to exercise, diet and treat the risk factors.
"So if people are having a bad diet, a lot of like fried food, a lot of saturated fat, not following a good diet like Mediterranean diet, that will decrease their life by many, many years. And the earlier they change their diet, the more benefit they get over time," Dr. Skeif continued.
He said just 30 minutes five days a week will gain somebody a lot of increase in life expectancy.
It's also important to know your blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
"Normal blood pressure should be below 130 on the top and below 80 on the bottom. Anything higher than this is abnormal," Dr. Skeif said. "Every 10 points higher than normal on the top blood pressure increases your risk by about 30% to have heart issues and stroke."
He says the same thing with cholesterol. The lower the cholesterol, the better.
Smith said after her heart attack, she learned how to slow down. She gave up a lot of her social life activities and really focused on just taking time to herself.
"I had to give up everything. All the clubs, not just a social visit, but I was running two writing groups online. I was posting faithfully on four platforms, and a newsletter a month. I mean, I was working, although I was retired. I had to give it all up," Smith said.
After her near-death experience, Smith said she felt compelled to be an advocate for heart health. She is now spreading what she learned about cardiovascular disease through speaking engagements, hosting a women heart support group at TMC, and through her book called, "My heart attack saved my life, but for what?"
"And I tell the story of the heart attack. It's meant to frighten the woman reading it. It's a scary story because it's surprising and you're living a normal life and you have these things that you don't know," Smith said. "And so the first part is about the heart attack and the second part is about how I had to learn to change my life because you can't keep running on those busy fumes. You have to change."
If you're interested in attending the support group, it's every month on the 4th Wednesday of the month at TMC.
Smith says it was a good friend of hers that convinced her to stop the busyness and relax.
"He said, do you think you can just stop being so busy and just be? So that's my mantra. And I say it to this day is 'just be'. If I practice that every morning, it's like a meditation and helps me start the day," Smith said.
She thanks her husband Tomás, kids, sisters, and friends for being supportive and understanding.
Take care of your heart, because you only have one.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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Vanessa Gongora is KGUN 9's Westside reporter.. Vanessa fell in love with storytelling by growing up in sports. She was fascinated by how sports reporters go beyond the x's & o's to tell players' stories, and how sports bring people together, inspiring Vanessa to provide the same impact as a journalist. Share your story ideas and important issues with Vanessa by emailing vanessa.gongora@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
