With no family history of cardiac problems, the Buena Park resident wasn’t particularly concerned about her heart. During a physical the previous year, Stella learned she had borderline high blood pressure. Over the intervening months, she’d taken medication her doctor prescribed for the condition–at least most of the time. “Sometimes I’d forget my pills for two or three days–but I’d always start up again and felt I had it under control,” she recalls. So when she arrived at the hospital and her friends weren’t there as scheduled, she almost left without being tested. But something told her to follow through.
The HeartMatters screening includes a consultation, body mass index, body-fat analysis, EKG, lipid and glucose screening, blood pressure test, and height, weight and girth measurements. “After the nurse talked with me about my medical history, she took my blood pressure,” says Stella. “It was 230/110. It was such a shock that I blamed it on the monitor.” The nurse took Stella’s blood pressure a second, third and fourth time–now with a new monitor. The numbers remained the same. “I told the nurse I was going home to call my doctor,” says the mother of three, who is also the grandmother of three. “But she said that blood pressure as high as mine was a medical emergency.” Within minutes, Stella was in the hospital’s emergency department to have her other vital signs checked.
In fact, Stella had a particularly severe form of high blood pressure known as malignant hypertension. Affecting about one of every 200 people with high blood pressure, it can lead to death in three to six months. “High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease, which is the leading cause of death among women,” says Laura Garcia, R.N., C., HeartMatters program coordinator. “The chance of having a heart attack, heart failure, stroke, kidney failure or other complications increases twofold with every 20/10 mmHg rise in blood pressure.”
Because Stella’s blood pressure was out of control, and her risk of developing complications so great, she was admitted to the hospital. During the next three days, she underwent testing to determine the effect her condition had on her blood vessels, heart, lungs, brain, kidneys, eyes and other organs. One result provided an explanation why her blood pressure had skyrocketed to such dangerous heights: Stella’s thyroid gland wasn’t functioning properly. “Untreated, a thyroid condition can lead to high blood pressure, heart problems and high cholesterol levels,” says Laura. Stella also learned she wasn’t taking the proper amount of blood pressure medication. To correct this, doctors adjusted her dosage and added two new drugs. The combination worked, lowering her blood pressure–and helping to protect her from heart disease and other complications. “It’s strange,” says Stella. “I always worried about cancer. But I never thought about my heart.”
Today, Stella takes her medications faithfully and tests her blood pressure at least once week. “I’m so grateful that the Anaheim Memorial staff insisted I stay at the hospital,” she says. “If it weren’t for the HeartMatters program, I’d still have high blood pressure–and maybe a heart attack or stroke.”
