#5SmartReads - October 20, 2022

Hitha on heart disease in women, purses, and eels.

October 20, 2022

Do you know the symptoms of a heart attack? Or a stroke?

All of us are familiar with what we’ve seen on TV or movies - the chest pain, the stabbing feeling in your arms, shortness of breath. And yes, those are the most commonly observed symptoms of a cardiac event - in men.

For women, our symptoms and even our triage results can look different.

Women report nausea, extreme fatigue, cold sweats, or lightheadedness. Younger women (under the age of 55) tend to exhibit multiple symptoms, as well as pain in the jaw and upper body, or the feelings of heartburn.

And even if you go to the emergency department with these symptoms and are triaged for a suspected heart attack, your troponin levels may not register high enough (especially if you’re not given a high sensitivity troponin test).

How many women are dying when they don’t have to, from heart disease? This is literally what keeps me up at night and is my North Star in my healthcare career. This is a really important article to read yourself, and to share with your loved ones as well.

And if you’d like to be a part of the solution, please volunteer for Dr. Bertha Hidalgo’s study - it’s a short survey that will help us dive deeper in this problem, so we can ultimately solve it.

Who runs Jalen Hurts’ world? Women.

“I admire anyone who puts their head down and works for what they want. And I know women who do that daily, but they don’t get the same praise as men—they don’t get the praise that they deserve,” Hurts says. “I’ve seen that now with tons of different women in my life that are hustlers. Athletes, coaches, women in the business world of sports. I see it all the time. And they deserve their flowers too. So if me saying something about it brings more attention to it, then I’m all for that.”

There are an infinite number of reasons why I am obsessed with the Philadelphia Eagles, and the number of women in the team’s leadership and now the players’ teams brings me unspeakable joy and a sense of representation. Seeing women excel in fields that can be downright hostile to them adds fuel to my own fire and makes me so happy.

It also has me feeling like it’s time to re-read Alexa Martin’s Playbook series, about football players and the formidable women they love. The final book in the series has the vibes of this article.

Also, an unrelated but another endearing reason I love the Eagles:

Ok folks. It’s time we talked about eels. (@DrEmilyFinch on Twitter)

I must say that I’ve never given a second thought about eels…until I came across this Twitter thread.

And now I’m obsessed.

I don’t want to spoil a thing for you, so trust me on this and read every tweet of this thread (and the replies!). Eels are incredible and also still skeeve me out a bit but I respect these fierce amphibians.

Meg Conley’s essays always leave me reflective and in awe (and slight envy) of her magnificent words and how she weaves the personal and micro stories in the tapestry of culture and society, especially as it pertains to women and mothers.

This one - about purses - is no exception.

Grab your favorite drink and tuck into this beautiful piece on purses - their history, their evolution from purpose to philosophy to religious representation, and why they matter to the owner and to society.

Both egg freezing and egg donation are expensive and complex. Cofertility is looking to change that.

“Cofertility’s founders—all of whom have faced fertility challenges—are trying to build a new model of egg donation, which has traditionally been anonymized and tied to compensation. When someone freezes their eggs through Cofertility, they can do so for free if they choose to donate half of them through the Split program (assuming they meet the eligibility requirements for egg donors, which align with guidelines from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine).”

I hesitate to use the overused word “disruptive” when it comes to startups, as the word is typically attributed to toxic funders or untenable businesses. But Cofertility’s mission is disruptive in that it provides clarity and transparency in two incredibly complicated and cost-prohibitive areas of reproductive health.

Brava, Halle, Lauren, and Arielle, for building something truly incredible from your own personal experiences. You’re going to impact so many lives.

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