Community DC Jenni Chase & American Heart Association

Guest Host Jenni Chase spoke to Dr. HangHang Wang and to Delya Sommerville about February being Heart Month, and all the ways the American Heart Association is supporting heart health awareness.
More information at www.heart.org

Episode Transcript

(00:05):
Good morning, and thanks so muchfor listening to this iHeartRadio station. Jenny
Chase here to talk about American HeartMonth, the time when we put our
hearts and the hearts of others.First. Want to welcome doctor Han Han
Wong, an American Heart Association supporterand Assistant Professor to Surgery for Johns Hopkins
Medicine. Hi, doctor Wong,thank you so much for joining me this
morning. Sure, thank you forthe opportunity. Jenny. Let's start by

(00:28):
finding out a little bit about you. Tell me about your background. What
got you into medicine. So,I actually grew up in China, and
I came to the United States forcollege when I was eighteen years old.
I went to Grinnell College in themiddle of nowhere in Iowa, and then
I trained in medical school at Dartmuss I became first interested in medicine actually

(00:51):
early, because my mother was ahematologist, so I spent a lot of
time with her in the hospital whenI'm just growing up looking into the microscope.
Yeah, he came in interested.Since then, while in medical school,
I became interested in cardiac surgery orheart surgery because my mentor was a

(01:11):
cardiac surgeon and he really took meunder his wing. I went to the
operating image. There's some surgeries andreally developed to interest them. I'm always
just so in awe of people inthe medical profession because a lot of us
just don't have the aptitude for that. So it's very commendable what you do
and the lives that you save.Okay, let's talk about the American Heart
Association. Why is this cause andwearing red so important? Sure, I

(01:37):
know this is the one hundred yearcelebration of the AHA, and it really
celebrates its pottal role in combating heartdisease. I think across the country,
wearing red just symbolizes our collective effortto raise awareness and save lives from cardiovascular
disease because it is still the numberone killer for Americans for lives worldwide,

(01:57):
and I think it's wearing red isa powerful reminder that losing even one life
to this condition and uses one toomany. I think so many of my
fellow women still may not be awarethat heart disease is our number one health
threat. Correct, Yes, absolutely, and it's very concerning reality. I
think many women are not aware thatheart disease is their number one health threat.

(02:22):
And really this is the thing thata barrier to profession and early intervention
for heart disease as well, becausea lot of people when they think of
heart disease, they think of schemicheart disease where the heart does not get
enough flood or oxygen, whereas ablockage of the corner arteries that supply gives
blood supply to the hearts. Butheart disease is much more complex than that,

(02:45):
and it affects women in unique ways, in ways that are often more
complex than men. We know thatwhen in three women are diagnosed with cardivastergi
leads every year, making it reallythe leading cause of death for women worldwide,
with a number of women lost throughall forms of cancer combined. But

(03:05):
unfortunately, there's still the perception thatheart disease is a man's illness and really
obscures the reality of his impact onwomen, and especially for a women of
color. We know that nearly halfof black and Hispanic women are living with
some form of heart disease, andreally this is not just a number.
I think this is a cause ofaction for increased awareness and proactive health measures

(03:30):
among women, especially for the youngergeneration, because our health really is built
upon early in life through healthy habits, awareness, understanding of the risk factors,
and unfortunately a lot of the youngergeneration have really not thought about heart
disease as a big threat to life. This topic, Doctor Wong, has

(03:50):
become quite personal for me. I'vebeen going to a cardiologist and I've got
some issues we're trying to work through, so this cause is even more important
to me. And ever, I'vegot a history of heart disease in my
family, so I've really become laserfocused on what i can do to take
care of myself and how important itis to just spread this message. We

(04:12):
know that CPR is less likely tohappen in the case of a cardiac arrest
and a woman. Why is that. Why don't women receive it as often
as men? Yeah, it's reallyunfortunate. And we know that women are
less likely to receive CPR from abystander, and the survival rate for women
after Southern cardiac arress is twenty threepercent lower because women. Too. Many

(04:32):
women just die from cardiac arrests becausewomen are afraid of physical contact that's needed
for CPR. And my experience,really it's about educating the public about life
saving importance of CPR, and weneed to emphasize that when life is that
stake, taking action should override anyhesitation about the physical contact. You should

(04:55):
not be afraid to touch the personwhen you're giving life saving CPR. And
I think some people are still havingthe misconception that you need to do mouth
to mouth resuscitation. That is notthe case. The technique of hand hands
only CPR really is the most importantpart, and it's sent straightforward, an
effective way to help someone in cardikorresh And there is a special website for

(05:17):
that at CPR dot heart dot org. And if I remember correctly, I've
been told by several folks with theAHA that you can learn it in ninety
seconds. It's very straightforward. Yes, the idea that you can learn a
life saving technique in less than twominutes is just incredible. Let's talk some

(05:38):
more about go Red for women.I know it's focused on many issues to
help reduce disparities that women face inmedical care. What are some of those
kind of like talking about us notgetting CPR because we're afraid to be touched.
I think number one is research andrepresentation of women historically hard to These
research have only focused on men andwomen are very under represented. A lot

(06:00):
of the big trials, the majorityof the enrollments or men and women really
were very underrepresented in these studies.So then we draw conclusions from these trials.
We developed guidelines according to these researchstudies, but a lot of times
women were not studied at all inthese trials. So I think go RED

(06:23):
for Women advocates for increased inclusion ofwomen in clinical trials and research studies,
and that will ensure find these findingsform these studies they're relevant and beneficial for
women our health. Another thing I'venoticed is that them involvements, women are
still underrepresented in science, technology,engineering, and mathematics fields. I know

(06:44):
there's a stem go RED which iseffort to encourage and support young women to
pursue careers in these areas. Ithink that will help bring more female perspectives
to the forefront of medical research.And additional areas is maternal health. We
know that unfortunately, the United Stateshas one of the highest maternal mortality rates

(07:05):
among developed countries, and credit Aster'sdisease is actually a leading cause contributing to
the mortality rate. I think thisissue is very important. It disproportionately affects
women of color as well, andI think Go Read for Women is committed
to gratificating for that for better maternalhealth care practices, especially reducing pregnancy related

(07:30):
death by addressing the cardigaster risks associatedwith the pregnancy and childbirth. What about
our mental well being and self care? How are you guys promoting that?
I think mental health is very importantbecause women are twice as likely to suffer
from depression, which can really adverselyaffect hard health. And go Right for
women I know promotes initiatives focus onmental well being for women, advocates for

(07:56):
comprehensive health care the dresses both thephysical and mental asthet exit of heart health.
Maybe that's what's causing my heart issuesyears of depression. Just keeping it
real here, doctor Wong, Whatare some steps we can take during this
heart month and all your long toofor that matter. I think first of
all, just be aware understand thatprotivastrial disease is the leading health threats for

(08:16):
women really is the first step.And to spread this awareness within your community.
Recognize the interconnectness of mental and physicalhealth. Recognize that stress and anxiety
depression can really have tangible effects inyour heart health and the importance of taking
care of yourself mentally alongside your physicalhealth. The second thing I would recommend

(08:41):
is to take action empower yourself byknowing your numbers. What are the critical
indicators of your health. While theseinclude your blood pressure, cholesterol levels,
your blood sugar, body mass index. For most people in normal blood pressure
reading is one twenty or eighty orlower. High door pressure is a significant
risk factor for heart disease and strokewhen we know that, and it disproportionately

(09:05):
affects women and people of color aswell. There are some recent studies that
have shown that specifically women that Iwas very happy to read one of the
studies that was specifically focused on women'sheart health and enrolled all women in the
study, and they've shown that,in addition to hypoculture obesity, smoking,
diabetes actually is one of the strongestrisk factors for premature onset of cornery ardor

(09:31):
disease in women. So understanding yourfamily history, understanding your own risk factors,
and engaging in research, either participatingin research studies or staying informed about
the latest findings can empower you andto make informed decisions. And I think
being at an advocate for women,especially women of color and who are facing

(09:54):
figurvan challenges in these areas, andit's important advocating for equitable health care practices
and policies and working together to reducethe disparity that we mentioned and to improve
outcomes for all women. And thenjust learn hands on CPR. We mentioned
that hands only CPR very form bothalart and only in ninety seconds. And

(10:18):
once you learn that, when yousee someone who's suffering from and cardio arrest,
ca on imun one and perform chustcompressions, just such a valuable thing
to know how to do. Whatare some common things that you see in
your practice with women in heart disease? Are there some common variables? Yes,
So in my practice, I havea focus on unique ways heart disease

(10:41):
manifests and impacts of women. It'svery different. One of the things we
do see a lot is people withas I mentioned before, is skeing it
cart disease where the heart is notgetting enough oxygen and not getting enough bluss
flow. And I've seen in mypractice of women experience this very differently from
men and the classic symptoms we knowas chest pain that men report, women

(11:05):
often don't experience that they have moresubtle and less symptoms fatigue, shortness of
breath, sometimes nausea, vomiting,And I have seen several patients even recently
who presented to the emergency room andthe doctors there thought they were having an
anxiety attack or they were having agastric reefox and they were given either anti

(11:26):
anxiety or anti acids. When theywere having a heart attack accidentally and they
were sent home and they had tocome back to the emergency room because it
was not getting better. And thesecond time was when the doctors took them
seriously and recognized that they were havinga QW coordinate syndrome, just like a
sudden storm within the harsh blood vesselsand the blood supply was caught off and

(11:48):
suddenly blocked. It really delayed theircare. And even when it's diagnosed,
we know that women are often treatedless aggressively when they are diagnosed with their
heart attacks. They receive less interventionssuch as having a stench place or a
corna rd by poster tree, andit's they're less likely to be prescribed the

(12:09):
essential medications that help them purchase statinsor an aspirin and I think the disparity
really contributes to the poorer outcomes forwomen and underscores the need for an inclusive
approach and recognizes and addresses speech justsome differences. And speaking of a QW
cordinator syndrome, as I mentioned,one of the very little known fact is

(12:31):
that twenty five percent of cases ofa QW coordinator syndrome in women under age
fifty or due to spontaneous cornator arterydeception. I don't know if you've even
heard of spontaneous cornaory dissection, butit's a tear that occurs in a coordinator
artery and it's very different from men. So when men have a heart attack

(12:52):
or to corninate syndrome, it's mostoften due to a blockage within a cornate
arteries and that's what people know verywell. But in WI, if you
are under age fifty, twenty fivepercent time you have this spontaneous corneraorage a
section and it's the most common causeof pregnancy associated heart attacks. Also for
forty three percent of pregnancy associated heartattacks. And I've seen several paces where

(13:16):
these are not recognized because when womenis under age fifty, they come in
with a heart attack and a lotof oftentimes they are misdiagnosed and people don't
know that they're actually having a spontaneousCornie diffection of care and ary. And
this is very important because affects womenof child bearing ages and pregnant women.

(13:37):
So this is with its link topregnancy, it really calls for a heightened
vigilance and tailored management to this.And one of the other conditions I of
caen see is micocout products. It'sanother condition that disproportionally affects women, and
that's when the valve between the heartsselect atrium and ventricle, it doesn't close

(14:00):
properly, so there's blood leaking backwardsand it gives people palpitations. The key
short of grasp and over time theheart muscle weakens and the heart is not
able to pump blood as well.And recently there's been attention take to this
disease because when the disease gets reallysevere, people have severe mutual regretiation or

(14:22):
leaky valve and they it's time forsurgical innovation. They have to undergo surgery
to repair that. And unfortunately,the guidelines we have to when these patients
need to be repaired is really anumber of the size of their hearts,
and we know that women and menhave different sizes of their hearts. It's

(14:43):
really reasonly that people have realized thatthe same indications, the same indicators cannot
be used for women that are usedfor men, because when women reach that
threshold, it's already too late.I think it's very important to realize that
women need earlier surgical interventions and thecurrent recommendations that we have the guide slides

(15:05):
are actually incomplete or it does notapply uniformally to women. So I think
these are many of the diseases Isee in women in my practice, and
really emphasizes the need for tailored approachfor both diagnoses and treatment and patient education
exactly and sure that women receive thesame care that they need in the specific

(15:28):
to their needs. You know,like we started off talking, I just
I think awareness and spreading the wordis just so important because if I had,
if I was a betting woman,I would bet that a lot of
females do not realize that heart diseaseis our number one health threat. That's
a that's pretty eye opening. DoctorWrong. Thank you so much for your
time today. Is there anything you'dlike to add before we wrap up,

(15:50):
I think that I would love toadvocate for more women and I would look
for everyone to be engaged more withAsha. I know that they ahhade.
The website is deliberly dot heart dotorg. You can find a lot of
information and I would love for morepeople to get involved in women's health and

(16:11):
for heart disease to go to goread for women. If you're interested in
women's health issues and you get CPRtraining and really to empower you to save
lives and emergency situations. It's allabout saving lives, which is something you
do. And again I'm in aweof you, doctor Wrong, thank you,
thank you for this opportunity. Onceagain. February is American Heart Month.

(16:33):
My next guest, del Ya Summerville, is a volunteer with the American
Heart Association. Dell, y'all welcome. We know that CPR is super duper
important to you. Please share yourstory if you don't mind. Oh yeah,
thank you. Jenny. A littleover two years ago on Hold October

(16:55):
Wednesday morning and this early morning,and I'm still dunk outside my usual run
with my running group, with myall female running group, and Wednesdays was
always when we ran Capital loops,so we basically just ran around the capital
in circles, so that particularly atsome point I was running with other people,

(17:22):
but at that point I was runningalone. I was on my own.
And again I don't know because Idon't remember any of that day or
the two days that follow but Icollapsed. I collapsed and my heart stopped,
so I practically, I practically diedoutside the Capitol. I was very
fortunate that another runner, congress WomanHeartsler, was out two in the dark,

(17:51):
and and she ran by and andthen she came back from me because
she she felt something was wrong.She called to help Kevin. Capitol Hill
police officer started doing CPR because atthat point I did not have pauls.
I was not breathing, so hestarted CPR, and then Makyla came with

(18:14):
a d with a defibrillator and restartedmy heart. And then the rest is
kind of history. For your numscame. They took me to g W.
At that point, I didn't evenknow who I was. They took
me with with a tag that's theg W Santa Fe. But yeah,

(18:34):
the rest is history. I'm herebecause of CPR. I survived. How
long did it take you to recoverfrom this episode? And are you fully
recovered the the prophet I had tohave a surgery and I had cardio rehab,

(18:55):
which I would recommend to anybody withwith with cardi problems. Cardiagree have
was really really helpful and actually putme back on the treadmill. Iran and
I I'm okay, Yeah, I'mokay again. CPR sake my life.
Amen. There were people in theright place at the right time for you,

(19:18):
Thank goodness. Tell yeah, you'vebecome very very passionate about CPR education.
Tell us about that. Absolutely,it could happen to anybody, because
I went from you know, reasonablyhealthy, a runner, looking fit and
looking relatively young. For something likethis to happen to me, right,

(19:41):
I could never ever, you know, so that it could happen to me.
And as we all know, ithappened to somebody very famous in this
country that are hangler in front ofmany viewers on national TV. Indeed,
it could happen to anybody. Soyeah, I'm very passionate about CPR,

(20:02):
and I think if I can usethis opportunity to just tell your listeners that
you know, you don't know whenyou're going to need it or you also
don't know when you're going to needit to help somebody. And if somebody
saved my life, fave them oar'tlife. You may be able to save
somebody's life. So I would recommendyou know the burning CTR, getting the

(20:25):
CPR and Thurst Day training and certification. The American Heart Association can help you
with that. Go on the website. It's hard dot work and you can
see multiple options there for you,whatever works for you. You can also
learn you know, hands only CTRin two simple steps. Really, so

(20:51):
most people actually will experience, youknow, cardiogress what I experience, not
on a medical facility. It willbe at home, it might be at
school, it might be again ata stadium. So you need to call
for help, and you need tocall nine one one, and then you
need to start pushing hard and fastin the center of the chest. And

(21:12):
you know, some people say,you know, start singing staying alive.
Yeah, so I'm not gonna singit. But it's basically any tune that
has one hundred, two hundred andtwenty beats per minute, and you just
just keep doing that and again askfor help, call on one one and

(21:33):
start doing hands only CPR immediately.If you see an adult or a young
adult collapse, a team collaps aroundyou. You've been nominated, deliall for
something pretty special. Tell us aboutthat please. So I've been nominated for
a Woman of Impact campaign. SoI am one of the women of Impact

(22:00):
Many Needs for the Greater Washington area. And basically that campaign is a nine
week campaign that just started on GoalaDay and it's really just putting a spotlight
on women's heart. It's all aboutthat, really to highlight against women and

(22:23):
the risks and the what we cando about it. It's also a fundraising
campaign to help with research and allthe other resources that American Heart Association has
for advocacy, for awareness, raising, et cetera. I was just thinking

(22:45):
about this, and I don't meanto be nosy or too intrusive, but
do you know the first officer whowas there on the scene for you?
Have you met that person? Thankyou for that question. It's a really
good question because it was really reallyimportant for me to meet with them.
Yes, because when they were helpingme, I was out and I was

(23:10):
out for three days, so Ireally had no idea what happened so I
know it's from them and from CongresswomanHurdler, you know, and my other
friends and community members. You knowwhat actually happened. And I'm still learning
funny enow, you know, becausepeople still have stories about that day.

(23:30):
But yeah, I met with thefirst responders. We actually had an event
to recognize them, and they weregiven like a special award, and this
is very important. We did itat the end of the year when it
happened. Would you want to sharethe name of the officer, Kevin Redneck

(23:51):
who did the CPR for me?I can't even imagine the bond you must
feel with him. Yes, andit makes you feel really humble because it's
a whole community that actually faved justme, just one person. I have
never been in your situation, soagain, I just I can't even fathom

(24:14):
it. What a story you haveto tell to share to raise awareness.
Is there anything else you'd like ourlisteners to know today? I think perhaps
you talk just a little bit aboutwomen's hard health. I don't know how
many people actually know that. Youknow, cardiac disease is the number one

(24:37):
killer in women, many women,and in fact it's forty five percent of
females older than twenty years old havesome sort of a cardiac disease. They're
living with that, so I thinkthey again thinking that you know, it
is number one killer of women.I do encourage your listeners to think about

(25:03):
it and think about you risk factorsif you are a female, or think
about risk factors and you loved oneswho are females. Some risks are the
same as with men, but someare different, right. And also if
you advocate for yourself, I think, ask questions and don't ignore science and

(25:25):
symptoms, know your numbers, knowyour again, know your risk factors,
and if you do, do somethingabout it and learn how to do CPR.
Yeah, I was telling doctor Wangthis earlier. This topic has become
really personal for me over the lastfew years while working with the American Heart

(25:45):
Association. My father has had numerousissues with his heart, and come to
find out, I've got something goingon with mine. So I've got an
echo cardiogram actually scheduled for next week. So it's a little scary, a
little daunting, and it's just it'sanother reason why we need to get the

(26:07):
word out about heart health, especiallyto women. Absolutely, and I'm glad
that you are doing it. AndI now am very fortunate to meet many
women, and I hear, youknow, stories, I like to share
my story, but I also heara lot of stories from women, and
quite often you know, we aretoo busy, women are too busy,

(26:32):
or you know, we we wedon't take the time, we ignore,
or we are being ignored because youknow, again you hear those stories.
Yes that oh no, that's nothard, that's just anxiety or things like
that. So I'm really glad thatyou are acting on your on your situation
and I wish you all the best. Thank you so much. That's very

(26:55):
kind of you. For everybody listening, I do want to let you know
about some upcoming Heart Association of eventsin twenty twenty four. The Greater Washington
Region Heart Walk will take place onthe National Mall on Saturday, November the
second. The Greater Maryland Heart Walkis set for the end of December on
the thirty first. In the twentytwenty four Lawyers have Heart ten K,

(27:15):
five K and fun walk set forSaturday May eighteenth at West Potomac Park in
DC. Also, this is prettycool. If you donate to the American
Heart Association this month, your giftis going to be doubled in honor of
Heart Month, so donate today.It'll have twice the life saving power to
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(27:37):
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