The Dr. Oz Show
Airdate: October 25, 2012
Dr. Oz's Exclusive Interview With Rosie
O'Donnell
- Rosie O'Donnell talks exclusively with Dr. Oz about her heart attack
- Heart attack warning signs every woman should know
- Risk factors of heart attack and how to reduce them
- What Rosie won't leave home without: aspirin
Rosie O'Donnell talks to Dr. Oz about
her recent heart attack. What are the warning signs of a heart
attack? Rosie and Dr. Oz talk about warning signs, risk factors and
how to reduce them, and what Rosie won't leave home without.
Photo credit:
FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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Dr. Oz's
Exclusive Interview With Rosie O'Donnell
Less than a year
ago, Rosie O'Donnell
- star of stage, screen, television, author of several books -
appeared on The Dr. Oz Show to talk about her struggles with weight
loss. Today, she's back to talk about her recent heart attack. She's
the biggest, most well-known celebrity to experience the “widow
maker” heart attack and survive.
Ms. O'Donnell sat
right down and said, I had a heart attack. She's feeling better than
ever. The day after having a stent put in place, she said she feels
brighter.
The day of her
heart attack, Ms. O'Donnell and her wife, Michelle, were going to the
mall. In the parking lot, they saw a woman parked in the handicapped
space struggling to get out of her car. Rosie said the woman so small
and so weak she hardly weighed anything and wasn't strong enough to
help Rosie help her out of the car.
Two hours later,
Rosie felt pain in both of her arms and in her right breast. She
thought she pulled a muscle from helping the woman out of the car.
Later in the day, Rosie was at home painting with her son and he said
she looked like a ghost she was so pale. She was feeling tired and
went upstairs to lay down. The trip up the stairs was exhausting and
she immediately fell asleep.
That afternoon,
Rosie went to her therapist appointment and even asked her therapist
if she could be having a heart attack. Together, they got online and
looked up the symptoms. Rosie said some of the symptoms fit what she
was feeling yet she dismissed them. She went home and went back to
bed.
After waking from
another nap, Rosie said she ate some crackers and had water. Michelle
and her kids all said something was wrong and she should probably go
to the hospital but she dismissed them. As soon as Rosie got upstairs
she threw up. It was a weird kind of vomit coming out of no where and
it was very non-typical.
Rosie said to
Michelle she thought she was having a heart attack but, again,
dismissed it. Michelle gave her four baby aspirins and Rosie when
back to sleep.
She didn't go to
the doctor until 4pm the next day, a full day and a half since her
first symptoms. Surprisingly, 50% of women who experience these
symptoms of a heart attack ignore them and most die.
Ms. O'Donnell said
it was her body's way of saying enough already, it's time to take
care of yourself. A friend visiting Rosie in the hospital asked the
nurse how well she was doing. The nurse said she excellent because
everyone else who has this type of heart attack are dead.
If this or anything
of this severity happened to Michelle or her children, Rosie said
would have immediately taken them to the hospital and wouldn't have
taken no for an answer. Rosie said she didn't want to bother anyone,
didn't want to get out of her PJ's, and feared that she may be
weighed at the hospital. Funny but true – we women think of these
things.
Dr. Oz: The
Widow Maker Heart Attack
Dr. Oz is amazed
Rosie is alive. Rosie is amazed she is alive. The blockage in her
heart is called the widow maker and more often is called the widower
maker. Plaque build up in the heart slows down blood flow. When scabs
of plaque break off they enter the heart creating an erratic heart
rate and damage the tissue of the heart causing a bruise. Most
people, most women, who experience this type of heart attack don't
survive. And that fact Rosie went a day and a half after her heart
attack before going to the doctor her survival is even more amazing.
Dr. Oz showed a
tissue sample of a woman's heart, a woman who didn't survive the
widow maker, the heart was covered in fat and filled with hard tissue
– plaque.
The stent inserted
into Rosie's heart was put in place by going through her wrist. A
wire went through her blood vessels transporting a balloon into the
blocked artery. When the balloon opens it crushes the plaque allowing
blood to again flow through the heart.
Dr. Oz showed a
video from Rosie's actual stent operation. One side of her heart was
not receiving much, if any, blood. Once the balloon was inflated,
that same area, previously without blood flow, lit up like a rush
hour highway map on the TV news report. It was truly surprising how
much blood was not getting through.
Dr. Allison Spatz,
cardiologist and Rosie's doctor, it used to be believed that women
experienced heart attacks at later stages in their lives than men.
That's just not true. Women have the same level of risk as men when
it comes to heart attacks.
Rosie shared that
she was 10 years old when her mother died and as she was being
wheeled into the operating room for her stent procedure, she was
thinking that her daughter is now nine years old. Rosie doesn't
remember much about her mother and wondered what her own daughter
would remember about her if she died. She didn't want to leave her
children.
Michelle, Rosie's
wife, joined them on the stage. After the heart attack, Michelle says
the family switched to a plant based diet and started taking short,
regular walks gradually increasing the time. Rosie had been taking
care Michelle during the summer while she struggled with her own
health issues.
Heart attack risks
double for those caring for a sick spouse. Rosie said she ate every
piece of sugar in the hospital gift shops – don't clap for that, it
probably killed me, she said.
Visiting different
hospitals over the summer, Rosie and Michelle struggled with the pain
Michelle was experiencing and trying to figure out what was going on.
Rosie contacted everyone she knew to try to figure it out, she even
contacted Dr. Oz. It wasn't until after Michelle went into surgery
and the tumors in her stomach removed were doctors able to diagnose
her with Desmoid tumors.
[The
Mayo Clinic's website says “Desmoid tumors, a rare type
of soft tissue neoplasm (new abnormal growth or tumor), usually
develop in the arms, legs, abdomen or chest of children and adults.”]
Dr. Oz, Rosie, and
Michelle have teamed up to increase awareness of Desmoid tumors as
well as raise funds for Rosie and Michelle's new organization
DTRF.org. Click
here to visit DTRF.org and learn more about the organization and the
disease.
Dr. Oz: Heart
Attack Warning Signs
Heart
attacks are the number one killer of women today. The signs of a
heart attack in women are different the signs for men.
Rosie
said one problem is that the media doesn't talk about women's heart
attacks or women's signs of a heart attack and on television and in
the movies all you see is a man clutching his chest then falling
down. Her symptoms were bad but not that bad and they came on slowly.
Dr.
Oz Women Heart Attack Sign #1: Pain
Pain
can be experienced anywhere in the body during a heart attack but
commonly pain radiates from the arms, or one arm, the jaw, neck, or
shoulder. The arms may feel weighty and tingly. Pain will be much
more than moderate. Pressure in the chest is often felt and compared
to a heavy weight on the chest. If this pain lasts for more than one
minute and is associated with exertion, it's time to call 9-1-1.
Dr.
Oz Women Heart Attack Sign #2: Nausea and Indigestion
During
a heart attack, nausea and indigestion that is not soothed
immediately with antacids could be a sign of a heart attack.
Dr.
Oz Women Heart Attack Sign #3: Unusual Fatigue
Rosie
said she was unbearably tired during her heart attack. Walking up her
stairs was exhausting. This is extremely common, 70% of women who
have a heart attack feel this unusual fatigue for the days or weeks
before a heart attack. The type of fatigue that doesn't allow for
normal chores and isn't relieved with rest or sleep.
Dr.
Oz Women Heart Attack Sign #4: Dizziness and Light-Headed
This
type of dizziness and light-headed feeling doesn't go away when
sitting with the eyes closed.
Dr.
Oz Women Heart Attack Sign #5: Shortness of Breath
This
is the biggest warning sign signaling that the heart cannot pump the
blood. Shortness of breathing occurring during normal activity is a
common sign of a heart attack.
Rosie
urged women to not be afraid of calling 9-1-1. Don't be worried about
everyone else around you, don't be afraid of the cost because the
cost of not calling is your life and leaving your children without a
mother. Rosie wants every woman to know about these risks and to talk
about them with their daughters.
Dr. Oz: How
To Cut heart Attack Risk Factors
Rosie
said she knew her risk factors, being over weight and having a family
history, but ignored them.
Dr.
Oz Heart Attack Risk Factor #1: Family History...
There
are several risks factors that are out of our control but should be
considered when factoring risks. Being over the age of 55 increases
risks of heart attack along with body shape and family history.
Dr.
Oz Heart Attack Risk Factor #2: Belly Fat
Belly
fat is a risk that you can change. Belly fat releases toxic chemicals
into the body and increases the amount of plaque that can accumulate
in the heart. Simply gaining 20 pounds increases heart attack risks
by 50%.
Dr.
Oz Heart Attack Risk Factor #3: Unhealthy Diet
Rosie
said before her heart attack she would not have believed that eating
healthy was so enjoyable. What used to be her favorite junk foods
have less of a pull. Sugar and salt were terribly appealing to her
and Dr. Oz said do devastating things to the heart.
Dr.
Oz Heart Attack Risk Factor #4: Sedentary Lifestyle
This
is the most important place to start in reducing heart attack risks.
Dr. Oz said getting up and moving helps to reduce every other risk
factor.
Dr.
Oz Heart Attack Risk Factor #5: Smoking
There's
just nothing good about smoking, except when you quit.
Dr.
Oz Heart Attack Risk Factor #6: High Blood Pressure
Increased
blood pressure causes the heart to work harder.
Dr.
Oz Heart Attack Risk Factor #7: Stress
Over
time, stress can contribute to higher blood pressure, increased belly
fat, poor diet and on and on.
Dr.
Oz Heart Attack Risk Factor #8: High Cholesterol
Cholesterol
increases the chance of developing plaque which can damage the heart.
Dr. Spatz said that
women who have a heart attack have an increased risk of a second
heart attack. Women who have experienced a heart attack can decrease
the risks of a second heart attack by lowering cholesterol levels,
changing to a healthy diet, and exercise.
Rosie's heart
attack was on August 14 and since then her risk numbers have
significantly improved. Rosie said it really works and you can change
your numbers that quick.
Dr. Oz: What
Rosie Won't Leave Home Without
Rosie
said there's nothing that makes you want to live more than being that
close to death.
Dr. Oz
encouraged viewers to download his printable heart attack checklist
that can be kept in a wallet or purse. The form also has space to
list medications taken as well as family history.
Rosie said everyone should have aspirin
on hand. Carry aspirin with you at all times, she said, and take an
aspirin should you feel the symptoms of a heart attack and then call
9-1-1. October 25, 2012, Dr. Oz is giving away the handy little
aspirin dispenser that fits on your key chain.
At Heart® Emergency Aspirin has teamed
up with Dr. Oz to give-away 5,000 dispensers on October 25, 2012 at
3pm EST. Click
here to get more details on this give-away.
[If you are reading this post after 3pm
on October 25, 2012 then know that the give-away has ended.
WatchingDrOz is not a part of this give-away, it is sponsored by Dr.
Oz and The Dr. Oz Show. If you have questions about this contest
please contact The Dr. Oz Show through their website at
DoctorOz.com.]
[Click the link to read posts from Ms.
O'Donnell's previous appearance on The Dr. Oz Show:
Dr. Oz: Rosie's Theater Kids
Over a decade ago, Rosie created a
theater program for the poorest schools in Manhattan. It's a 17-week
program that gives kids an opportunity to in a theater production and
to see a theater production. Many of the kids who started in the
program in the early days have graduated high school and won college
scholarships.
Visit RosiesTheaterKids.org
to learn more about her program.
****This post is in progress. Check
back often for updates. I'm typing away!****
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