News Release

Staffers ‘go red’ for heart disease awareness

March 2, 2009

To increase awareness of heart disease in women, employees in the Swatara Building recently “went red.”

Donning red jackets, the staff members celebrated the American Heart Association’s “Go Red” campaign focusing on women and heart disease. “More women die of heart disease than all other causes of death combined. More women than men die from cardiovascular disease which is why women need to be aware of their risk factors,” says a recent edition of The Medical Minute, a service of the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.

The Swatara Building participants also shared their personal stories of dealing with heart problems in an effort to increase awareness in women. The personal stories include:

Rosemarie Long, Staff Assistant, Enrollment Services
“Dec. 30, 2008 around 2 p.m., while shopping in the Giant Grocery Store in Middletown I started to get a pressure pain in my chest which spread up my throat and then my jaws started to hurt, it was also hard to breathe.  I hurried home and called the doctor who sent me immediately to the emergency room.  Once there, the first thing the nurse did was to put a nitroglycerin pill under my tongue, then another one and the pain started to let up. After a lot of tests were done it was decided that I should have a heart catheterization and they found an artery that was 90% blocked.  Two stents were placed in the artery.  The good news is the way it happened and the fact that I got to the hospital as quickly as I did to not have damage to my heart.  If I had ignored the symptoms doctors said I would have had a full-scale heart attack in two or three days. So the quicker you act when you have any symptoms, the better it will be for you.”

Catherine Hook, Staff Assistant, Financial Aid Office

“Having a friend, our own Rose Long here at Penn State Harrisburg diagnosed recently with heart disease, brings to light the vulnerability of us as women. Public awareness is crucial as we all seem to think of ourselves as not subject to the risks. My own daughter, who is just 31 years old, was just diagnosed in January as being at risk for a serious heart attack due to three blockages. Already she has been prescribed medication and placed on a rigid diet. My husband had bypass surgery in 1991 and just three years ago had stents surgically implanted due to continued heart deterioration. My husband lost his mother, father, and brother to heart disease. I lost my own mother and two aunts to heart attacks, so heart disease is a constant threat to my family and I'm sure many others.”

Kathleen A. A. Ruggiero, Staff Assistant, Registrar Office
“My maternal grandparents both suffered from heart disease. My grandmother suffered a massive heart attack when I was 15. She went into cardiac arrest twice and survived. She lived to be 85. My grandfather suffered a heart attack when I was 16 and had to have quadruple bypass surgery. He also lived to be 85.  My father, like his father and brother, suffered from congestive heart failure. I was 19 when he was air lifted to Hershey Medical Center. He surprised his doctors by eventually making a full recovery and gaining back full capacity of his heart.”

Joanna Williams, Assistant Director, Multicultural Recruitment and Community Affairs
“In September 1989, my oldest sister was rushed to the hospital in Petersburg, Va., diagnosed as having a massive heart attack, was taken into emergency surgery and died on the operating table.   After her passing we learned that one of my sisters had breast cancer. In April 1992 my mother went to the doctor thinking she had a very bad cold.  She was short of breath – could hardly walk.   She left the doctor's office and was directed to report immediately to the hospital. Two days later she and my siblings had a medical consultation with the heart specialist, informing us that she would have to have a triple heart bypass.  After a week and a half of preparation, the surgery was performed.  She survived the surgery but did not totally recover due to complications.”

Cynthia Johnston, Recruitment Coordinator, Multicultural Recruitment and Community Affairs
“Heart disease and high blood pressure run in my family. My paternal grandmother was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and has been on medication her whole adult life. She is now in her mid-eighties. Two of my aunts on my father’s side have heart problems. One aunt had a heart attack in a drug store while purchasing cough medicine for what she thought was a cold. Women have very different symptoms than men. Women have cold/flu like symptoms, swollen hands, back pain, achiness, and always feeling tired; my aunt had all of these symptoms.  She has not fully recovered. Another aunt was diagnosed as well with heart disease and is now on medication. It is so important to know your family history so you can be proactive. I spoke with my doctor early about high blood pressure and heart disease running in my family.”

Barbara A. Thompson, Director, Multicultural Recruitment and Community Affairs
“My mother recently had stents placed in her heart to increase its functionality.  This is very much needed in that she has been living with 40 percent heart capacity for a number of years now.  This will be her fourth stent in addition to a heart defibrillator.  For a woman who has always been very active, walking at one time three miles every morning, slowing down, being out of breath and tired all the time does not provide the best quality of life.  Her sister, who raised me from two years old, had to have quintuple bypass surgery some years ago.   While I have two mothers, both of their lives have been threatened by heart disease which impacts the whole family.  Awareness and support are needed to make a difference for all of us to prevent and treat heart disease.”