day. And it’s the fact that she understood the symptoms of heart disease.
Heart to Heart (Continued from page 14)
I had to really think of…there was a reason for that.
You know, there was a reason that I had to change
the way I looked and aspired people. Not in the
hookey-dookey sense you know that you had a near
-death experience and now you’re going out there
and being an evangelist and so forth. But, I had to
change the way that I was thinking because he
didn’t die for [nothing]…in my mind, he was not
going to die and just be another person that passed
away. I had to make sure my life was an inspiration of him and began to reach out to other women.
And I think the calling for me was to let go of any…I
don’t want to say insecurity, but I was private person now I’m very open to what happened to me because it will educate other women. And if I can
save one woman, that is really what I’m looking for.
Because the things I went through - not understanding the signs of heart disease – you’re relying
on the doctors, yes, but you also have to be your
own advocate.
Many times we may think we’re invincible and we’re
not going to get heart disease, even though 1 in 3
women die every year of heart disease, we don’t
think it’s going to happen to us.
I would say the best thing you can do is know what
the symptoms are and what the risks are and you
become a heart friend to someone else. So you
now, knowing this information, are now armed with
the ability to say, “Something is wrong. I’m having
heart murmurs, I’ve fatigued, my feet are swelling,
I have a heart murmur”—those things add up after
a while, and even though you don’t think it’s going
to happen to you, it’s going to happen to someone
in your circle. So be a heart friend to them and just
like someone helped me, just ask the question, “Are
you doing okay? Are you sure? Can I help you with
anything?” That’s all it took. You don’t have to beat
it into them or nag them to death, but just know
what the symptoms are and really just look out for
each other.
I had not just one heart valve replaced, but two
heart valves replaced and congestive heart failure,
so the chances of my survival were very slim; but I
survived, and I’m doing a lot of stuff on behalf of
him because through him and all my circumstances
I have life now to be able t o talk to other women
and get the word out about heart disease.
Katrena:
women?
Katrena: You’ve changed your lifestyle. You’re
more considerate of your nutrition and exercise
regimen. So what does that include?
Rosetta:
There are three tiers that we look at
initially prior to going on medication. So you want
to look at your nutrition and how you’re eating.
Reducing the salt and knowing and looking to reduce your cholesterol levels. So I had to learn –
hypertension runs in my family – you hear the word
hypertension but you really don’t know what it
means. So, figure out what amount of salt you can
take. Just processing foods (adds) a tremendous
amount of salt, so know what’s going into your
body and how it affects your body. With that, you
want to at least do 30 minutes of exercise every
day. That doesn’t necessarily mean you have to go
to the gym and do PX90 and all that good stuff, it’s
just maybe walking. Talk to your physician and see
what will get your heart rate up safely. Just walk
and try to do 30 minutes of exercise per day. It’s
24 hours you have; 30 minutes is not a lot to get
that heart moving. Thirdly, if you’re going to be on
medication, please take your medication. That is
key because many times, especially in the AfricanAmerican community and Latino community, we
have a tendency to say, “I want to do everything
else but take my medicine.” You can’t. If you’ve
So, what message do you have for other
Rosetta: Well, I think one of the key messages—
and this happened to me while I was ill prior to
going into the hospital—with the decline in health
there were very noticeable symptoms of heart
disease. The infection was in my body, yes; but
after a while it manifested itself in my heart…the
heart disease came out of that. So, the symptoms
didn’t come out all at once, but really what saved
me was the fact that when I called—I call her my
“heart friend.”
We maybe met once or twice,
but ...based on the phone call she said, “You don’t
sound right.” And she heard the symptoms and she
was like, “You don’t sound right.
Me and my
daughter are coming to get you.” They came and I
was laid out on a mattress. I had just moved, so
boxes were all over. They dressed me—I didn’t
have any clothes on, so they dressed me and they
got me prepared—and then they called 911. If it
wasn’t for this heart friend...I wouldn’t be alive to-
April 2014
24
WWW.EXCEEDMAGONLINE.COM