health
link
www.samc.com
WINTER 2012
On a Mission to Heal Body, Mind and Spirit
Continued on page 5
To better
understand your risk
for heart disease – and
how to reduce it – have a
heart-to-heart with your
doctor. For help finding one,
visit www.samc.com/
find-a-physician or call
559-450-2000.
Stress is a normal part of life for Catherine Monteverde, a
career woman working 50-plus hours a week, devoted wife,
and mother of three grown daughters. But like the majority
of her female counterparts, she never imagined the physical
toll that stress was taking on her body and, more impor-
tantly, on her heart.
“I didn’t think I was that stressed, but looking back I see
how it all added up,” Catherine says. “I was planning our
older daughter’s wedding, visiting colleges with my twin
girls and helping with their college applications, and clos-
ing our family business.”
Perhaps she could squeeze in just one more thing on this
particular day – an evening workout at the gym. Exercising
has always been hit-and-miss for Catherine, but it’s some-
thing she admits she should do more often. That night
her exercise time was cut short by a sudden pain in the
middle of her chest, which the gym trainer suggested
was probably a muscle pull.
“It was like a dull, constant pain that wouldn’t go
away,” Catherine says.
A VERY CLOSE CALL
She assumed that a combination of rest and Tums
would relieve the pain. But after a few hours passed with
no relief, her husband insisted they go to the Saint Agnes
Medical Center ER. It turned out to be the best decision
they ever made.
The EKG ordered by the attending physician showed
nothing wrong with Catherine’s heart. But minutes after
receiving the results, her heart stopped. A code blue was
called and the ER team jumped into action, shocking her
heart twice before it restarted.
According to Saint Agnes cardiologist Dalpinder Sandhu,
MD, Catherine’s heart attack was the result of a coronary
vasospasm, which causes the artery to squeeze together,
A message
from your heart
4
Nurse Navigators are by your side at
every step of breast cancer treatment,
from diagnosis through recovery.
6
Good fats, bad fats? Learn which to
choose and which to avoid – plus a
quick and easy guacamole recipe.
Join Catherine Monteverde
in understanding how to reduce
stress for a healthier heart.