Achi news desk-
Charity appeal Heart of Scotland is launching a new version of their campaign to warn women of the dangers of heart disease, and affected families are joining the cause.
More than 2,500 women die from coronary heart disease in Scotland each year; twice the number of deaths from breast cancer.
The husband and son of an Ayrshire woman who died after suffering a heart attack have supported the campaign, saying that the experience of her death turned the family’s life upside down.
Theresa Potter died suddenly after suffering a heart attack at home in July 2020. Her husband Dougie remembers how quickly the moment passed, despite Theresa being fit and well.
He said: “I heard this wailing. I ran upstairs, and she was dead. Lying in bed dead. I was on the phone to the ambulance and the operator is telling us to try to resuscitate him. I was trying my hardest and trying my hardest.
“Then the doorbell rang, and I thought how is this, I can’t answer the door and it was an ambulance. It was that quick.”
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Coronary heart disease (CHD), often described as a ‘man’s disease’ according to the charity, is one of the biggest single killers of women in Scotland.
Left untreated, heart disease can lead to a life-threatening heart attack or stroke.
To move the dial, raise more awareness and help prevent women dying from heart disease, the new advertising campaign which will be shared across social media, features ‘Theresa’s Story’.
Heart Research UK has famous voices supporting their campaign in Kaye Adams and Mark Bonnar, and they are pushing the message to encourage women to get a cholesterol test.
The advertisement to accompany the campaign directs the viewer’s gaze towards an overweight middle-aged man in a cafe who shows signs of discomfort and indigestion, the usual signs of a heart attack. However, the person who suffers a heart attack is the female waitress.
Data collected by the charity shows that 37 per cent of women have never had their cholesterol checked, 73 per cent do not realize that coronary heart disease claims more lives than breast cancer each year and three do not another one in five women realize that the risk of CHD increases after menopause.
Lynn Stewart, Community Fundraiser for the Scottish Heart Appeal, said: “It’s vital that we raise awareness of heart disease in women across Scotland and tackle these alarming statistics head on. Heart disease is not just a man’s disease, and we are on a mission to change this narrative.
“We want to empower more women of all ages to understand the risks and recognize the symptoms of a heart attack. It is through our Scottish Heart Appeal that we can fund more research and continue to fight heart disease.”
For more information on the signs and symptoms of a heart attack in women, visit the Heart Research UK website here.
