Feb. 6 is known as National Wear Red Day, powered by “Go Red for Women,” which was founded by the American Heart Association. On this day, people across the country wore red to support the fight against heart disease in women. Whether it’s a red dress, a red sweater, or just a “Go Red” pin, everyone was encouraged to participate.

More than 41 million American women are living with one or more types of cardiovascular disease, yet only one in five women view heart disease as their greatest health threat, according to the American Heart Association.

Janice Recca, University Admissions Counselor at FDU, is one who sees heart disease as her greatest threat. She promotes “Go Red for Women” as an AHA Survivor-Ambassador.

In 2004, Recca was working as a paralegal. She always ate right and exercised, but had a very stressful job. She started feeling more tired than usual. She thought maybe she was just not getting enough sleep, or maybe working too hard at her job. While it can be stressful to have a job and raise three kids at the same time, Recca felt in her gut that something was not right.

On Halloween of 2004, Recca and her husband decided to get a CT scan. When she got the report a few days later, Recca was shocked. The report stated that she had a very large aneurysm in the thoracic aorta, the largest blood vessel in the heart. She kept saying, “This can’t be me. I take very good care of myself. This can’t be me!” Her doctor insisted she do nothing until he arranged for her to see a cardiothoracic surgeon. She then visited a surgeon in Morristown who advised that she needed surgery eventually, but did not know much about the condition or how emergent it was.

Luckily for Recca, she was able to see a world renowned surgeon at Mt. Sinai in New York. He put her at ease by saying that while the aneurysm was large it was not urgent that she have the surgery right away. She was advised to go about living a normal life except that she was restricted from working out with weights, lifting heavy objects and getting stressed out. She was ordered to keep her blood pressure very low, her emotional state relaxed and make sure that she got in at least an hour of low impact exercise five days a week.

In April of 2006, a CT scan showed that the aneurysm had enlarged to a very dangerous size. Recca was told by the surgeon at Mt. Sinai that the time had come for her to undergo surgery. The risk of her “walking around with the aneurysm” was more risky than the open heart surgery that she needed to replace the affected aorta. Unfortunately, Recca discovered that the surgeon at Mt. Sinai did not accept her health insurance. The cost of heart surgery could be $200,000. Recca was forced to find another surgeon to do the same surgery she needed to save her life. Although many cardiac surgeons do bypass surgery and valve replacements, there are relatively few that have the experience to replace a damaged aorta. There was no medical procedure or medication that would help.

Luckily for Recca, she found one of the top cardiac surgeons in New York, Dr. Craig Smith, Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York. Smith, who also had performed surgery on former President Bill Clinton, agreed to do Recca’s surgery and was covered by her health insurance plan.

While she awaited surgery, Recca continued her healthy lifestyle. In addition to her walking, she added yoga and meditation followed by a stringent diet of fresh fruits, vegetables and lean protein. What she felt was important for her to do was to keep her stress level down, and yoga and meditation helped her to do that. The life saving surgery was performed on Aug. 11, 2006.

It has been two and a half years since Janice Recca has had her surgery, and she feels great, no longer having that continuous exhausted feeling. She continues to do yoga, as well as exercises most every day. She has taken up spinning and jogging, off-road bicycling and tries to maintain a healthy diet. There are no restrictions on what she can do.

Several factors can raise the risk of heart disease, according to the American Heart Association. Some factors that cannot be controlled are age, gender, heredity and a previous stroke or heart attack. The older you get, the more likely you are to develop heart disease. People of all ages, including children, can get it. While men have a greater risk of having a heart attack than women, women are more likely to die from one.

Approximately 450,000 women each year die from heart disease, according to the American Heart Association. If you have a strong family history of heart disease or stroke, you may be at risk too.
In the case of Recca, she did not have a family history of aneurysms and did not have other high risk factors. No one knows what caused the aneurysm which would have certainly proved fatal if undetected. What Recca did not know at the time was that her feelings of exhaustion were not normal. She was so busy with her career, her family and her commitments that she chose to ignore the only symptom she had. Recca admits to being “incredibly lucky.”

In order to support “Go Red for Women,” the Melodies of Heaven Gospel Choir and Colleges Against Cancer are hosting “Jump Rope for Heart” on Feb. 21 in Twombly Lounge. “Jump Rope for Heart” promotes the value of physical activity and helps spread the message to eat healthy, be physically active, quit smoking and maintain a healthy blood pressure and weight. The jump rope team that has the “most endurance” will win a cash prize, and all proceeds made will go to the American Heart Association.

If there’s one risk factor Recca would advise students to be aware of, it’s this: Know your family history. “Students need to know that it’s never too soon to start living a heart-healthy lifestyle. Eat well, get enough sleep and make some type of physical activity part of a daily routine. Last but not least, stay in tune with your body – listen when it’s trying to tell you something,” Recca said.

BY MARISSA HYMAN
STAFF WRITER