In 1997, a family history of heart disease was something then-54-year-old Dee Watson thought she would have to deal with when she was older.

But a quick glance at a women’s magazine at the dentist’s office, where she works as a hygienist in Eureka, convinced the Washington resident she should see a cardiologist.

“I had pain in my chest when I was walking. I have always exercised, nothing too strenuous, but I thought I must not be exercising enough.

Then I got on a treadmill and it was the same thing. My chest would hurt but then it would stop as soon as I stopped walking,” Watson, now 67, said.

Watson said she never suspected she could have a heart problem until reading an article in a women’s magazine that listed 10 symptoms of heart disease.

  “I had nine out of the 10,” she said.

A trip to the cardiologist determined Watson had 90 percent blockage in the big major left side artery and two other arteries in her heart.

One week later, she underwent triple-bypass surgery.

Although her maternal grandmother had both diabetes and heart disease, Watson said she did not expect heart disease to affect her so early in her life.

“In my mind it was, ‘Oh, I have to be careful some day when I’m older.’ I really didn’t think I was old enough to have those kinds of problems. It certainly was a surprise,” she said.

According to the American Heart Association, despite the fact that cardiovascular disease kills one in three women, more than 450,000 women a year, only one in five women believes that heart disease is a health threat.

“I don’t think women really think about it that much,” Watson said. “You know the weight is not good and you know you should lose weight, but I don’t think we watched what we ate at all. We just ate what was comfortable.”

Thirteen years later, Watson said, she is more health-conscious and eats better than she ever did because of her experience with heart disease.

And, although her children are only in their 40s, she has passed on her healthier habits to her three daughters and one son.

One thing she stresses is that it is not about being perfect.

“A lot of times, I would look at people who are so good at exercising and who really watch what they eat, and I would feel defeated by that because I’m just not that strict with myself.

“What I’ve taken away from all of this is that it’s OK, I’m not perfect or as good as I should be, but
if you try to be healthy and do the best you can most of the time, you’ll probably be successful.
And if you’ve already done the damage, it does not mean you can’t stop and lead the rest of your life better than what you were doing,” Watson said.


Push for awareness

February is American Heart Month nationally and Women’s Heart Disease Awareness Month in Illinois.

Throughout the month, the American Heart Association will host events, including the national Wear Red Day Feb. 5, and the seventh annual Peoria Heart and Stroke Ball, presented by OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, Feb. 27.

The goal of these events is to raise awareness of heart disease for both men and women.

Watson said she has seen first-hand the importance and impact of such awareness campaigns.

“I remember when there wasn’t much awareness about gum disease. Then there was a big push and a lot of media attention, and now people are more conscious about gum disease,” she said.
She said she hopes women, young and old, will take the message to heart and make changes in their daily habits, even if they are small ones.