Heart Disease in Women

(upbeat music) - And welcome back to, "Family Health Matters."

I'm Shelley Irwin.

With me today is Mindy Seufert, Heart Ball Co-Chair and mom with our American Heart Association West Michigan.

So good that you are here, Mindy.

You as well, Winnie Walsh, American Heart Association Development Director.

Ooh, I bet you asked for time, talents, and treasures, don't you?

- That I do.

- Yes.

- Sometimes yours too, Shelley.

- Well, that too.

I mean, it's important that we all play in the same red sandbox because we all have hearts, and we certainly want them to be united and to be well.

American Heart Association West Michigan is strong in our own community.

Take it away with let's just say, an elevator pitch.

- Absolutely.

So as you said, I serve as the Development Director for the American Heart Association here in West Michigan.

We are a national organization but I always like to tell people, we really are a local organization that has the backing of these national resources, research, and experts.

Right here in West Michigan, we are doing all sorts of things, whether it comes to research happening right here in our own community at Van Andel Institute, at Hope College in Holland, at the MSU College of Human Medicine campus downtown.

We are training individuals in the life-saving skill of CPR.

We're putting cardiac emergency response plans in schools.

We're working with free clinics to make sure that people know how to measure their blood pressure, and to be able to seek medical care when they need to.

So really, the American Heart Association is kind of a part of people's daily lives and daily happenings right here around West Michigan.

- Why are we all wearing red?

- We are wearing red to raise awareness about the number one health risk for Americans which not everybody knows about.

Heart disease is unfortunately the number one killer of all Americans.

It will claim the lives of one in four individuals, and then specifically one in three women.

And if you're looking at individuals of color and from different ethnic backgrounds, that number, unfortunately, for survivorship can even go down.

So wearing red helps us spread the message and create that awareness because a lot of people just don't know it's their number one health risk.

- Mindy, what are you doing May 4th?

- Well, on May 4th, I'm gonna be helping Co-Chair the Grand Rapids Heart Ball, here in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan.

I'm very much looking forward to doing that.

- Great, we'll talk about the specifics in just a minute.

But I'd like you to set the scene.

Yes, this is March Women's History Month, the women's month where women are dying of heart disease.

But you have a son that's had some challenges when it comes to heart disease, so we'll open up the conversation to all.

Would you tell us a little bit about Charlie?

- Oh, sure.

Thank you for asking and for having me today.

We have three sons, and our middle son, Charlie, who is currently 16, was born with a congenital heart defect after birth.

We were hoping it was benign.

It wasn't.

So he spent some time in the NICU for a week, and then had some intervention through Dr. Ron Grifka in the cath lab at about nine weeks of age.

Fast forward to his 10th birth year, and that is when he had his first open-heart surgery.

And then most recently had some more deterioration with those different congenital heart defects that we were facing, and unfortunately needed to have a heart transplant.

That's the short story.

- There was no precursor or a symptom in utero?

It was post-delivery?

- That's correct.

It was a valve problem, and if you can imagine the size of a heart inside of a neonatal-size child, the size of the valve, they wouldn't have been able to detect it until after birth.

- When was his first surgery?

- He was 10 years old so 2016.

- What was life like between 0 and 10?

- He had a nice, wonderful, normal life.

We had to watch very closely for challenges with exercise, challenges with eating.

And he was able to just continue as normal, and seeing the physicians every six months for EKGs, for echocardiograms, for MRIs, and they would follow him.

So we were pretty lucky up until that point.

And then really, just the last six months, they noticed a dramatic change in how those valves were working, and how the heart muscle was working.

So it was time to go in and open him up, perform that open-heart surgery, take care of what they could surgically, and it really bought him a lot of great health time until age 16.

- Yes, we'll get back to you on that.

At what point should Mindy, and obviously this is probably going on with another family post-delivery, at what point should the American Heart Association be contacted for support?

Do you help with that?

- We can help with support at any time.

You can contact our local office or our national office when it comes to support services.

And we also, a really interesting fact about some of the work happening right here in Michigan, the American Heart Association actually piloted the legislation that requires all newborns to be screened for congenital heart defects.

That was not something that had previously been required within the state of Michigan.

So we were really able to come in and partner with legislators, and make sure, because finding that information as soon as you can is so critical to the health of new babies.

And so we're really lucky in Michigan to have been able to partner with the legislators, and have that as a requirement now.

- Mindy, back to your story.

So there was open-heart surgery.

- Yes ma'am.

- At age 10.

And then was there a transplant you say?

- Yep, so over the Christmas break, this past holiday break, he had shown signs of some additional pain and chest tightness and shortness of breath, and just a little variety of things that had been deteriorating.

So eventually, it was time to take him in to be seen because just the normal things that you would do for your child when they aren't feeling well weren't working.

So we did take him to the emergency room, and they did see that he was in atrial fibrillation.

And so that's a pretty severe heart condition.

And when you couple that with the heart failure that he was already in, and the valve problems that he had, and the pump of the left ventricle, it just wouldn't tolerate the AFib.

So they needed to get him out of AFib.

But unfortunately, after getting him back into sinus rhythm normally, his heart had taken such a toll, such a dramatic toll that there was nothing else left that could be done but to put him on the list for a heart transplant at that time.

- Yes and because of a soul, you now have a new heart, right?

- This is correct.

There was a donor match identified that was willing to give and to donate, which is part of what philanthropy's all about, right?

And we were so fortunate and so lucky and blessed to feel that his time was not done.

And so there was a nice match, and the surgery was successful, and he's now been home six weeks post-discharge, and two months post-surgery, and recovering quite well.

Stronger every day, more stamina every day, healing and staying healthy.

- Yes, thank you for that.

Will he return to sports?

- He will, as a matter of fact.

In fact, his number one sport that he'll tell you he loves the most is golf.

And he's also been an avid tennis player on the varsity team, and played basketball all the way through last year.

So he is looking forward to swinging with the spring sports that started this week, slowly but surely.

Working with physical therapy, working with cardiac rehab and his team.

And so hopefully, when the competitions begin after spring break, and he's able to return to school safely then, he will be planning to participate as he did last year on the varsity golf team at East Grand Rapids High School.

- Great, well standby for more on Charlie.

Back to the American Heart Association, of course.

The West Michigan chapter, you all are about time, talents, and treasures.

What other programs do you have for those who need your services?

Whether it's Charlie and his family, or a woman that's just perhaps had a heart attack?

- Absolutely.

So there are several programs that the American Heart Association has across West Michigan.

And like I said, if you are in need of support in any way, please contact our local office, or we can connect you with some of our national resources.

A lot of what we do in the community is working with our local health organizations.

We are so blessed in West Michigan to have such excellent cardiac care, whether that's through Corewell Health, or Trinity Health, U of M Health-West, or the newly-merged cardiovascular network who I do have to say is the presenting sponsor of our Grand Rapids Heart Ball.

Yes, they have so many amazing programs to help people in need that we partner with them to be able to deliver that care.

And then we also work with those who maybe don't have a primary care provider.

For those who are underinsured or don't have any insurance, we are able to help you find referrals, and working with our free health clinics in the community, and getting you that information and that healthcare that you need.

Because it really is about connecting with your doctor, and making sure that you are taking care of yourself, and all of those precursors for stress and risk.

- Wonderful, we'll talk about that Heart Ball in just a second.

Where does stroke fall into play under the subset of heart disease?

- Yeah, so what a lot of people don't realize about the American Heart Association is we are also the American Stroke Association.

The Stroke Association is the subsidiary of the American Heart Association because they are so closely linked.

Stroke is the number four cause of death in the United States, and it is the leading cause of disability in men and women.

With stroke, we always talk about being able to spot the signs FAST.

F-A-S-T. Face drooping, arm weakness, slurred speech, and then time to call 911.

There is a very well known physician from U of M Health-West that we presented with an award last year who told me one thing that I'll never forget, and that is that time is brain, because the faster that you can spot a stroke and get that medical care, those are functions that someone will be able to keep doing.

I mean, the more time there is between a stroke happening and being able to get those medications that can bust clots and prevent that permanent damage, the better someone's quality of life and chances of survivalship will be moving forward.

- I wanna talk a little bit about prevention, obviously is key.

Was there a way to prevent Charlie's congenital defect?

- No, there was not unfortunately because it was congenital, it was from birth.

And so we had to just go with what we could with the best options available.

- Yes, why are you Co-Chairing the Heart Ball?

- Well, thanks for asking.

From a very young age, it's been important to me.

I've been shown the value of volunteerism and fundraising by my parents and grandparents.

And so it was important to me to be a philanthropist as well.

And so naturally, I work in the healthcare field, and I have a passion for cardiovascular disease as well as stroke.

And then having a son with a congenital heart defect, it was a natural fit.

And I've seen firsthand through my work and our family, the value that the American Heart and Stroke Association can bring.

So I was happy to be involved.

- Yeah and Winnie said, "Yes, thank you.

"You can be Co-Chair."

Let's get into the event.

May 4th, do you wanna lead me off here?

- Yeah, so May 4th we will be having our Heart Ball.

It is at the Goei Center in downtown Grand Rapids, of course, Co-Chaired by Mindy.

And then her co-chair is Dr. Ron Grifka from U of M Health-West, also works with the cardiovascular network who actually was on Charlie's care team.

So when we were talking about ways that Co-Chairmanship would work, I mean, we really couldn't have asked for a better and more impactful pairing to be able to bring into the event.

But we're so excited to host it this year.

This is only our second year coming back into the physical ballroom post-COVID.

We feel like we can safely bring everybody back together, and we're nearing a full house.

So if anybody wants to come to the Heart Ball, this is my second plug here.

Please let us know soon because Mindy and Dr. Grifka have been doing such an amazing job bringing people in the community that want to make a difference, and really impact the programs and the research that we're having right here in West Michigan.

So if you wanna be a part of it, tickets are selling out so contact us soon.

- Great, what will we experience, Mindy, under your Co-Chairmanship?

You gonna make it a big deal?

- Sure.

We always gotta have a lot of fun, right?

- Yes, yes.

- That's how the Seuferts roll.

So there will be a silent auction, a live auction.

There will be entertainment, beverages, great, healthy food that tastes wonderful as well.

So lots of camaraderie, and a really cool program lined up too to watch a little story about a special person in his path.

- Yes, speaking of story, a special person and more, we do want to see Charlie.

Not in person, but set us up for what we will see.

- Oh, thank you.

Sure.

He's gonna have a a clip here coming up.

Charlie was selected to apply for a national golf award, and was able to win through the First Tee organization, the honorary trip out to Pebble Beach to play in the Senior PGA Tour of Champions.

He was paired with Corey Pavin, and was able to go play five days last fall before all this took place.

And they did a nice story on him because they had seen the history and where he was at, and why golf was such an important sport for him because it would be one of those sports that wouldn't be ripped away should something happen like this.

And so it's his passion and so this is the video.

- Great.

Let's take a look at Charlie.

- Okay guys, where are we?

- Pebble Beach.

- Pebble Beach - And this is your first time playing?

- Yes.

- Oh yeah.

- She's recording a video guys.

(everyone laughing) - I feel like I'm in the celebrity program but Charlie's the celebrity.

- And the pro.

- He's all in one.

(upbeat music) (golf clubbing whacking) - So I've had a congenital heart defect since I was born.

And in fifth grade, I did have open heart surgery.

It was really a check on what I was gonna be able to do with the rest of my life.

And unfortunately, I can't play a lot of contact sports, can't play running sports, and that's when I really fully found my love for golf.

That's the only sport that my heart isn't able to restrict me.

Golf helped me persevere through my heart problems, and hopefully, it will continue because I have more challenges with my heart to face, and I really hope that golf can continue to be the light through the darkness.

It's my self-commentary.

116 yards.

Wind's coming from left to right.

Probably a gap wedge.

We'll see how this goes.

(golf club whacking) See, yesterday I was with a pro which was really nice 'cause they knew where the pin placements were probably gonna be.

Left it short.

The week has been absolutely spectacular so far.

I got to find out that I'm with Corey Pavin, and I had the pleasure of playing a practice round with him yesterday.

He really wanted to play a practice around with me today so I wouldn't be nervous playing with him, and someone who's definitely a role model to me.

I'd be able to get that out.

He was like, "I didn't really ever feel that "except for one time when I was throwing the first pitch out "at a Dodgers game "because I was a Ryder Cup Captain."

And he just like subtly just dropped that, and I didn't know that.

I was like, "I am playing 18 holes today, "and I'm playing another 36 the next two days "with a US Open Champion and a Ryder Cup Captain."

And that was just like one of the times where I just really clicked, and I was able to just see how amazing this experience was, and just how special and truly unbelievable this was.

It's something that I will always look back on.

(golf club whacking) Oh, where's the ball?

(laughs) Do you trust me?

I wouldn't.

(golf club whacking) Kind of dug to China on that one but I've been coaching with the First Tee for the past two years, and I've been volunteering for the past five.

Living in Grand Rapids, there's some inner city programs that I've been able to volunteer with, with kids who are less fortunate.

And it's been extremely rewarding.

I would love to play college golf if I have the opportunity.

You always get these questions in school, "Where do you see yourself in 20 years?"

Everyone's like, "Oh, I hope I see myself being rich "or having this cool job or professional sport."

I just always say I see myself being happy because to me, that's the most important thing.

If I can try and live every day out and be happy and have a good positive day, that's what's important to me.

(upbeat music fades) - Wow.

Sign him up for the PGA.

What's his strength?

Is he a driver?

Is he a putt putt?

Not put putt but is he a putter?

- Sure, he does love to hit the ball real hard and fast.

We talk about how important it is to be in the fairway though.

But you always gotta think about you drive for show and you putt for dough.

So we talk about those things and he works on all of 'em.

He's got a great staff of teachers to help him with that.

- Mindy, does he realize, and I'll lead the question, that he's a role model in that that kind of way?

- You know, I would think at this point, he would know he's a role model.

He's a positive kid, and that attitude and that strength that he has is what's gotten him through these different, challenging times.

And so it's gonna be interesting when he goes back to school 'cause nobody will have seen him for three months.

So that's gonna be a little different.

But I think with his strength and his attitude, and being that good role model for other children and other families that he is talked to along the way, I think it's in there.

He knows he's a good role model, yeah.

If not, he sure will soon.

- Yep, "Mom, I know I'm not!"

Tell me, let's get into CPR.

Obviously, this has been on the forefront from another role model, a football player that well, God saved his life, as the human.

So how important that we talk about CPR, that our kids know CPR and more?

- CPR is one of the most important things that anyone can learn.

And I encourage anybody who's watching us today to really keen in on this part because anybody in this room watching this program right now can learn how to save a life.

All of us have the ability to do it.

Of course, Shelley, you were referencing Damar Hamlin who had his cardiac arrest on the field, and was been able to receive emergency treatment there, and that was because they had an AED present, they had a cardiac emergency response plan in place, and they were able to enact all of those systems to save his life.

But the truth is 70% of cardiac arrests happen outside of a hospital.

And of those 70%, most of them happen at home.

The second most common place is the workplace.

So chances are, if you are ever in a situation where someone is having a cardiac arrest, which means that your heart has actually stopped, you are gonna be performing it on a colleague, a family member, or a loved one, which is a very scary thought.

But performing CPR is much easier than most people think it is.

We always say at the American Heart Association that it takes two steps to save a life.

The first is pushing hard and fast in the center of the chest.

There's a couple songs that you can do chest compressions to.

♪ Staying alive, staying alive - Yes, yes.

And then another one is, "Baby Shark," which not a lot of people know.

So if you can't remember, "Staying Alive," "Baby Shark," is one of those songs that is hard to forget for better or worse.

(laughs) - [Shelley] Kind of two different generations there.

- Yes, yes, and then course- - But you know what, but in times of panic, you do go back to what you know.

- Absolutely.

- And music can do that for us, correct?

Yeah.

- Yes and so that's why with those songs, I mean, "Staying Alive," it's literally in the name, that it's easier to remember than, "Baby Shark," because we've all heard it so many times is one that people can definitely go back and rely on.

But of those two steps, like I said, the first one, pushing hard and fast in the center of the chest, and then the second is, of course, calling 911.

Being able to start that chain of command when there is an emergency, and getting those paramedics there is so important.

But doing that bystander CPR is critical because for every minute that goes by that someone is having a cardiac arrest and they don't receive CPR, their chance of survival diminishes by 10%.

So if you do the math, if someone goes 10 minutes without having someone perform CPR, their chance of survivalship is basically zero which is very scary.

And again, anyone can perform CPR so we just encourage everyone.

You can go to cpr.heart.org and watch videos on it.

You can sign up for official trainings.

But you don't need to be trained.

We have Good Samaritan laws so even if you don't quite do it right, you are protected.

The worst thing you can do when performing CPR on someone, other than saving their life, is breaking a rib.

So there's really not a huge health risk of performing it.

And then any CPR is better than no CPR.

And then of course, if there's an AED near you, that's always great to use.

They are designed to be used by bystanders.

Most grocery stores have them, a lot of schools have them.

Where Charlie goes, East Grand Rapids High School, does have an AED on site, and they have cardiac emergency response plans.

So I encourage everyone to notice where your AED is at work, or if you're at the grocery store, or you're at your children's school.

Ask those questions.

Find the AED.

- Thank you for that.

Let's talk a little prevention.

Mindy, have you changed anything in your lifestyle for the better to keep our hearts even healthier than they are?

- Well, it is nice because we learn all this whether we could have changed it or not because it was from birth, we do hear all the important values of staying healthy.

Now that there's a new heart involved, it's even more important than it was when he was born with the condition.

So I've met with several dietitians as standard of care upon the surgical team's discharge, and it's really much what the Heart Association practices.

Practice what they preach.

So lots of fruit and vegetables.

The more antioxidants we can put into our body, the better.

The healthy fats.

Less of the trans fats and the processed junk.

That isn't gonna go well with your arteries in your heart, right?

So the longer we can prevent any type of heart disease in our family, and especially Charlie's, the better off he's gonna be, and the longer it will last, and the stronger he'll be so- - Hasn't sleep been added to the preventative tips?

- It is.

Or it has.

The American Heart Association talks about Life's Essential Eight, and it used to be Life Simple Seven.

Those are seven, eight steps you can take to really live a healthy life.

And the one that we added, bringing it from seven to eight, is sleep.

Because it really helps with your mental health, your physical health.

It helps reducing stress, and not just getting enough sleep but getting good sleep.

So maybe not watching TV at night as some of us, myself included, may like to do, and may have gotten used to.

But yes, good sleep definitely helps with stress, anxiety, and your overall health.

- Mindy, you had a child after Charlie?

- Yes.

- Were there worries?

Or studies show that this is an anomaly or- - Studies show that, I believe it's eight out of a thousand babies, will have some type of heart defect upon birth.

So because it would be considered high-risk, I was able to have some special echocardiograms and ultrasounds done in utero to check for that.

So that was helpful.

And we really appreciated that good preventative care, again, in the cardiology world is so important for everybody.

- Yes, what do you say to the family that's going through what you went through 16 years ago?

- Well, we always talk about how looking forward and staying positive is important.

So things have changed dramatically since then, and they'll continue to change.

The care that we have here in West Michigan is just unmatched.

And in the whole state of Michigan, quite frankly.

So stay the course, stay positive, use your resources, ask questions, take lots of good notes.

It's okay to ask a lot of questions and learn.

And just rely on the resources that we have here and utilize those.

- Wonderful.

The dollars that are raised from your luncheons, from your Heart Ball which we'll give the details here in a second, where do they go?

- They go to the programming that we've been talking about.

You know, the research that's happening locally, working with our free and Federally Qualified Health Centers to administer programs at low-cost or for free.

They go to getting information out about congenital heart defects, the awareness, CPR.

Really, there's so many ways that the American Heart Association touches the lives of everyone in our community, and that is what those dollars go towards.

So a donation to the Heart Ball is helping a family whose child has just been diagnosed with a congenital heart defect.

It is going towards training a new generation of lifesavers in high schools.

It's going towards the next groundbreaking research when it comes to heart transplants and any kind of other cardiac care that you can need.

I mean, one thing that Mindy didn't mention is Charlie was only on the transplant list for three days, right?

Was it three days?

- It was eight hours.

- Wow, which is not typical?

- No, no, no, it was amazing.

- And that is one of those, we like to use a line at the American Heart Association that there are the moments that matter when research and care and awareness and knowledge come together and save a life.

And that is exactly what happened in Charlie's situation.

I mean, being on the transplant list for eight hours, that just doesn't happen.

And being able to go through and have successful surgeries, and I don't know, I get a little cheesy too with it, like a little teary because we just saw him on a Zoom call a couple days ago, and you know, he's up and moving.

So that's what your local dollars go towards when you donate to the Heart Ball is those kind of moments when everything comes together.

- Right.

All right, so let's spend time again.

Heart ball is when and where?

- Thursday, May 4th.

Night before Cinco de Mayo.

That's how I always remember it.

At the Goei Center at 6:30 PM.

- Yes, and the evening is such that we'll maybe hear a testimony from one experiencing the good work of the association?

- Yes, as a matter of fact, the Heart Association has asked Charlie if he would be their- - Our feature.

- Yeah, their featured survivor story.

So he'll be their live in person.

- As he should.

As he should, yes.

And there will be an opportunity to donate as well, right?

- Yep, and if you can't attend and you'd like to, you're able to make a donation without attending.

And certainly, the tickets, there's proceeds from the tickets, the corporate sponsors, and then anything that night that we raise with our asks.

So we're looking forward to it being a big one.

- Great.

What would you like to leave us with, Mindy?

- I would like to thank everyone who's ever been involved with American Heart Association.

People that find the will and the way to volunteer, people that find the will and the way to raise money.

And just wanna do it from their heart for the right reason.

So thank you, everybody.

- Great.

Coming full circle back with just under a couple of minutes, Winnie, tell me women have heart attacks too.

- Yes, yes they do.

And like I mentioned earlier, heart disease claims the lives of one in four individuals in total, but it claims the lives of one in three women.

And a lot of that comes around with the education of women's warning signs and symptoms.

And previously, women were not really included in research studies.

Most of the research that was done on heart disease was done on men.

And so that has been something that the American Heart Association has really kind of gone at full force of making sure that women are represented in research, and that the awareness and education corresponds with that.

Women experience different warning signs and symptoms than men when it comes to heart attacks and strokes as well.

With heart attacks, people always think of that chest pain.

But women will often have feelings of indigestion, of arm pain, headaches, and nausea are some of the most common signs for them.

- And again, early intervention.

And along the way, we exercise, we have an apple a day that keeps the doctor away, and get our eight hours of sleep.

How's that?

- Yeah.

- Our best to Charlie and of course, the family.

Middle child, he'll never get out of that will he?

May his golf game thrive.

And your details one more time for getting hold of you at the association please?

- Absolutely, yeah.

So you can just go online and look up the Grand Rapids American Heart Association.

For the Heart Ball, if you're interested in attending, you can go to Heart.org/grandrapidsheartball, and there is ticket, donation, and silent auction information on there.

- Great.

May we all wear red.

Thank you for watching this edition of, "Family Health Matters."

Please take care to you.

I'm Shelley Irwin.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music fades) (soft music)