She Learned From Her Heart Attack

Local woman would have made changes had she known what was coming

She’s got a lot to live for—Nancy Zosky (right) is taking better care of herself after learning the hard way about her heart health. One of her favorite ways to have fun: going to a country music concert with her sister, Jayne Dzienis of Bethlehem.

Nancy Zosky was lucky. When she felt nausea, sweating and chest discomfort last March, her husband, Pete, called 9-1-1 right away. At Lehigh Valley Health Network, cardiologist David Cox, M.D., opened her blocked artery within 18 minutes. Despite suffering a serious heart attack, she had no permanent damage—and now she’s reflecting on what she would have done differently had she known what was coming.

‘I would have looked at my risk factors.’ “I’m young and thin, so people can’t believe I had a heart attack,” Zosky says. Even though her father had died from heart failure, she didn’t think about her own risk. She’d lost 45 pounds five years earlier and gotten her blood pressure and cholesterol under control. She’d changed her diet, exercised every day and saw her doctor regularly. But her family history of heart disease, smoking habit and stress level were enough to tip the balance.

“Every woman should see her doctor to determine her risk for heart problems,” says Deborah Sundlof, D.O., a cardiologist at the health network. “It’s not too early to start thinking about this in your 20s or 30s. The sooner you start a healthy diet and exercise lifestyle, the easier it is to stick with it.”

‘I would have gotten serious about quitting smoking.’ Despite doing so many things right, Zosky smoked for 20 years. (See story below about the impact of smoking on your heart.)

‘I would have let go of what I couldn’t control.’ Stress on the job and at home had been Zosky’s constant companion for the past few years. “Even if I do everything else right but don’t get rid of stress, I’m still at risk,” she says. “Now I rely on my colleagues to tell me if I’m getting too stressed out.”

‘I would have taken better care of me.’ Like so many women, Zosky “worried about everyone else” and ignored her own well-being. When she took charge of her health, she did herself and her family a favor, since women typically set the tone. “If you lead a healthy lifestyle and make time for yourself, you’ll help your family develop healthy habits too,” Sundlof says.

A key component in Zosky’s recovery was cardiac rehabilitation. “Rehab gave me confidence,” she says. “I learned what I could do in a monitored, safe environment. I also learned that you’re not in this alone. Whatever you need, there are people to help you.”

Want to Know More about women and heart disease? Call 610-402-CARE.

Published from Healthy You Magazine, September-October 2008

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