Meeting Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul

This summer I have been volunteering with the American Heart Association in New York City as the communications intern. Throughout my experience here thus far I have had a lot of unique and exciting experiences. Today I was given the opportunity to meet the Lieutenant Governor of New York, Kathy Hochul.

Lieutenant Governor Hochul participated in a podcast to talk about her experience being a care giver for her mother who suffered from heart disease. She spoke about how women need to start making their health a primary concern, not secondary. She added that diseases like heart disease and cardiovascular disease are typically looked at as ‘male diseases’ even though they are extremely common in women as well.

Lt. Governor Hochul talked about how her mother drove herself to the hospital because she didn’t want to worry anyone else. She said that in order to reduce the number of women experiencing heart attacks, women need to be assertive and put their health needs first. She said that it is important to make women aware that the signs of heart attack for women are not the same and are a lot more subtle than those for men. It is extremely important that women are aware of the signs and symptoms of a heart attack so they can get help before its too late.

Typical heart attack symptoms for women are:

§ Uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain in the center of your chest. This pain last more than a few minutes, or it goes away and comes back.

§ Pain or discomfort in arms, back, neck, jaw or stomach.

§ Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.

§ Breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.

Heart disease is preventable. Reduce your risk of heart disease by following these tips:

§ Schedule an appointment with your healthcare provider and learn about your personal risk for heart disease.

§ Quit smoking.

§ Establish an exercise plan.

§ Modify your diet. Include more fruits and vegetables and investigate healthier food options.

Learn more about heart disease and stroke in women at - https://www.goredforwomen.org/