​​​​​​​​​Hey everybody, it's Fritsch and I'm here with Patti, who is a heart survivor. We're going to talk a little bit about her journey and everything that she has been through. Patti, tell me a little bit about when you first started noticing something was off with your heart.

Patti: It was probably a little over 10 years ago. I started trying to get help from other doctors. I kept going to the hospital. They kept telling me basically that it wasn't a heart issue, it was more like anxiety. And I saw a few different cardiologists and they kept saying the same thing.

So basically, they just kind of didn't listen to what I was trying to tell them that there was something seriously wrong with me.

Fritsch: So how did it feel like? What made you decide to go to get a second opinion? Was it just the fact that they weren't listening to you and you knew something more was wrong?

Patti: Well, I went to a different hospital, and they actually listened to me and, but then they told me that I needed open heart surgery. And for me that just didn't seem right. Like I didn't think that my, my heart issue needed that. So, I went for a second opinion and then that's when I ended up at Christ Hospital.

A second opinion - the right diagnosis

Fritsch: So how did it feel when you finally had a care team at the Christ Hospital that listened to you and understood what you were trying to say?

Patti: It was great. And it actually was a relief because it was to the point where I thought I was like going crazy. I was afraid, like, to go to the hospital to get seen because I knew that they would just tell me, “There's nothing wrong with you. It's in your head. You'll be fine.”

So I was happy that when I did go for a second opinion, I met up at Christ Hospital with Doctor Quesada.

Fritsch: So, tell me, what would you say to women out there that may be receiving the same kind of advice or same kind of suggestions from doctors that you know say, “Oh, it's nothing. It's anxiety or it's just stress.” What would you say to women to tell them that maybe, no, there's something else going on?

Patti: “More than that, I would say “listen to your body. Your body is your advocator. Don't just take what somebody says for, you know, like that is the answer.” If you don't think that's the correct answer, I suggest you get a second opinion. It doesn't hurt to get a second opinion and it's your body,

It's your life, so do it.

Specialized care for women's hearts

Fritsch: So, what was your treatment experience like with Doctor Quesada at Christ Hospital?

Patti: Oh, it was great. She's wonderful. I recommend anybody, if they have any heart issues to go see her. She's just fabulous.

Fritsch: Now I have Doctor Quesada. So Doctor Quesada, you have the Women's Heart Center​ at the Christ Hospital and an entire team that is dedicated towards Women's Health. So, tell me, why do you think women's heart symptoms are so misunderstood or misdiagnosed often?

Dr. Quesada: Well, the reality is that it's important to know that heart disease is the number one killer in women. I think everybody needs to know that. And it's important to realize that as we study women, we're realizing the heart disease in men and women is not the same. And sometimes symptoms can be different.

And I think one thing that's really important, especially in Patti's case, is that there are patients that have chest pain or shortness of breath or some kind of cardiac symptom, and because they have open arteries, they get told that their heart disease is not heart related.

Yeah, it's stress or just their head that they're anxious, that that chest pain is not real. But the reality is that there is chest pain due to heart issues, that is with open arteries, and that's because of microvascular disease, little vessel disease of the tiny little vessels that we can't see.

Fritsch: So, what stood out to you when it came to Patty's case the most?

Dr. Quesada: Well, the reality is that Patti's case is not unique. We have a lot of patients, men and women. it's just more common in women, that have chest pain for years or decades, that are given anxiety medications, and they get told it’s not heart related.

But the reality is that they have little vessel dysfunction. They have disease of the tiny little vessels in the heart that we cannot see, or they have spasms, random constriction of the coronary arteries that causes rest chest pains that, again, often gets missed and dismissed.

A team of experts that listens to YOU

Fritsch: So how does it work when you have a patient that you feel is maybe misunderstood or not heard when they come to see you or any member of your team at the Women’s Heart Center?

Dr. Quesada: Well, we listen. We actually listen to the story, and we tell them, “Hey, just because you have open arteries does not mean that this is not heart related. Let's go do specialized testing so that we can figure out why you're having chest pain.”

And the majority of our patients actually have either little vessel disease or coronary vasospasm. And that's the reason for the symptoms they've had for all these years. So after we know what they have, we actually treat them appropriately and people do better.

Fritsch: Yeah, for sure. They're, heard, you know, they really feel heard at that point. Because it does feel like also as women, like we do have stress, we do have anxiety, We are carrying all of the family load. We understand that all of these things are a part of our lives. But sometimes it is absolutely something more.

Dr. Quesada: Exactly. And that's the point. And the reality is that with cardiac disease and especially with coronary vasospasm, that constriction of the coronary arteries, when people are under stress, they have more chest pain. So, yeah, there is a relationship there, But the chest pain is not because they're stressed. The chest pain is because they have a disease in their heart that hasn't been diagnosed.

Fritsch: So, what would you offer as a message to women that maybe don't feel heard or they are feeling like they're misunderstood, or their doctor keeps telling them, “Oh, it's nothing?”

Dr. Quesada: So, my biggest advice is, you know, whether you're seeing a doctor, whether even if you're seeing a cardiologist, just realize that sometimes you need an expert. Sometimes you need someone, and that's what the second opinion is all about.

If you feel like there's something being missed, it's OK to go get a second opinion from an expert. In our case, my entire team at the Women's Heart Center, we specialize in women's heart disease. And so if that's something that's going on, then that's sometimes the time to advocate for yourself and get that second opinion.