MURFREESBORO, Tenn.
— February is American Heart Month. And MTSU once again participated in the American Heart Association’s Go
Red for Women campaign.
The MTSU community gathered Friday (Feb. 2 National Wear
Red Day) for a short program and heart-shaped photo opportunity for attendees
assembled in the Liz and Creighton Rhea Atrium.
Those attending
learned about risks and symptoms of heart disease in women and men, too. Heart
disease affects millions of Americans each year. Heart disease and stroke kill 1
in 3 women, but it is nearly 80 percent preventable.
Four MTSU
students’ stories — how they have dealt with heart-associated health issues —
were shared through a video (https://youtu.be/4StCqfYvdJw). They
include:
• Maureen Norris of Murfreesboro, a
foreign language major in the College of Liberal Arts,
has congestive heart failure, a pacemaker and defibrillator.
• Adia Moody of Dyersburg, Tennessee, a
sophomore accounting major in the Jones College of Business,
has neurocardiogenic syncope.
• Lauren Davis of Clarksville, Tennessee,
a junior multimedia journalism major in the College
of Media and Entertainment, has atrial septic defect.
• Mackenzie Carroll of Murfreesboro,
sophomore health administration major in the College of Behavioral and Health
Sciences, has cardiogenic syncope.
Norris, 49, has
endured a congenital heart defect (at birth), mitral valve prolapse, two
strokes two heart attacks, congestive heart failure, a pacemaker and
defibrillator and other medical issues.
“Doctors have
given me six months to live, then three months to live after the pacemaker. I’m
still here,” Norris said. “Here I am, in my senior year of college.”
Moody
experienced dizzy spells as an eighth-grader, and eventually saw cardiologist
Paul Jackson.
“I was scared
because I didn’t really know what to expect,” Moody said. “Dr. Jackson took
great measures to make sure I knew everything about my condition and what to do
if I ever had an episode. … After all the testing and my diagnoses, I have
learned that the sky is the limit as long as I monitor my condition.”
After Davis’
mother had heart surgery when Lauren was 8, doctors tested her for the
possibility of a genetic condition. No problems surfaced. At 10 and having a
breathing problem her family believed to be asthma-related, she returned to the
doctor, who discovered a heart condition.
“I had a hole
in the upper chamber of the heart and it was two times larger than it was
supposed to be,” Davis said. “I had to undergo open heart surgery, where they
found I had a pulmonary vein going to the wrong side of my heart, adding an
extra two hours to my surgery.”
An athlete her
entire life, Carroll “knew something was off” and passed out while running at
track practice. Two weeks later, she collapsed just before a choir practice.
She visited her doctor, who referred her to Vanderbilt Pediatric Cardiology.
“It was
life-changing and it’s challenging, even though I’ve been living with my
condition for five years, but a bright side is I am allowed to always eat in
class and I’ve learned to pinpoint my symptoms to where I don’t pass out
everywhere any more.”
Wear Red Day is
sponsored by MTSU Health Promotion, Student Health Services, Raider Health Corps
and Alpha Chi Omega.
MTSU has more than 240
combined undergraduate and graduate programs.
To learn more
about the national movement, visit https://www.goredforwomen.org/wearredday/.
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