NewsWest 9
ODESSA - The fight against heart disease in women is coloring the country. It's all to raise awareness about heart disease, which is the number one killer of women in the United States and the leading cause of death in Ector County.
Heart attacks can strike at any time and at any age. Just ask 42-year-old Cindy Keel-White.
"The first time they said, 'you have about six months, that's hard to hear," Cindy said.
Cindy's ordeal began back in 2009 when she had a heart attack at just 37-years-old.
"I had shoulder pain in my left arm, I had shortness of breath, nausea, sweating," Cindy said. "I didn't think it was a heart attack, I just thought I wasn't feeling well."
Cindy said she lived a healthy and active lifestyle, so the diagnosis that came in the months after emergency bypass surgery was devastating.
"I found out at that time that I was in heart failure," Cindy said.
According to the American Heart Association, heart failure is a chronic, progressive condition and essentially means the heart isn't able to keep up with its workload.
Heart diseases are caused by anything that can damage the heart muscle.
"That can be from having a heart attack," Marilyn Wade, R. N. and Certified Heart Failure Nurse at Medical Center Hospital said. "Hereditary plays a big part. Blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, all these things can lead to cardiovascular disease."
In Cindy's case, it went back more than two decades.
"I had Hodgkin's-lymphoma when I was a teenager and the radiation treatment that I received for the cancer all those years ago damaged my heart," Cindy said.
"There is no cure for heart failure other than a transplant," Wade said.
In 2011, at just 39-years-old, Cindy got a heart transplant.
Next month will mark three years since she received her new heart.
The staff at MCH is trying to raise awareness about the number one killer in America.
Heart disease is also the leading cause of death in Ector County.
"If we can prevent it from happening then we can make a much bigger impact on the health of our community," Wade said.
The mother, wife and survivor hopes sharing her story will help others.
"The diagnosis of heart failure is not an expiration date," Cindy said. "Get checked out, go to your doctor, don't be afraid to ask questions."
