I just wrote the word April and all I can say is OMG!
Or rather thank God.
This was one long, rainy, snowy winter. March did not come in like a lion and leave like a lamb. It was just a pain in the ass the whole time.
But spring is here and the weather predictions are deliciously in the 80's.
And now continuing the theme of just the facts these are some of my own.
Since our last newsletter healthcare reform was passed. Finally! It may not be all we want it to be but it's a beginning. And we sorely needed to begin this process. Many important social changes have begun in small ways and became important landmark changes in our society.
Although this process has been fraught with deep polarities, the polls have shown women were more supportive than the general population. Reform will make healthcare more affordable, and women will benefit from the bill's ban on denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.
The bill will also make health insurance plans more affordable for women by prohibiting gender rating. Gender rating is a commonly practiced by many insurers and consists of charging a woman higher health insurance premiums, compared to a man of similar age and health status.
But women are also more unlikely to be insured because they have lower incomes and it will especially affect women under the poverty line.
In the line of interesting facts about women:
-We have exceptional balance because we have a lower center of gravity, wide hips and narrower shoulders -Female intuition is finally being validated in the laboratory and given the respect it deserves. -According to a 2007 Census Bureau report, one third of American women aged 25 to 29 have earned a bachelor's or advanced college degree. -The breasts of human women are much larger in proportion than those of other female mammals. The prominent size, while not necessary for milk production, is most likely a result of sexual selection. -Women in the U.S. labor force currently earn just over 77 cents for every dollar men earn!
As for teens:
- One in five teens has high cholesterol -Today, more than twice as many children - almost three times as many teens -are overweight as in 1980. -Teens are spending on average 53 hours per week using gadgets like cellphones and iPods. That's 7.5 hours per day. -60% of high school seniors are having sex
Facts are often a wake up call. April is as good a time as any to pay attention!
I keep retelling this story because I want people to understand how deep are the obstacles for women to put their heart health first. In Washington DC last week we met with Dr. Suzanne Haynes who leads the Office on Women’s Health Cardiovascular Team for the US Department of and Human Services They have two key messages they want to deliver. The first is to have women know the signs of a heart attack:
-pain in the neck jaw
-one or both arms or the center of chest
-nausea
-shortness of breath
-fatigue (what woman isn’t tired?)
And if they have these signs for five minutes take action and call 911.
Seems pretty straightforward you would think. But when they surveyed a group of women many of them said they wouldn’t call 911. Why? Are you ready? Because they were embarrassed to have the medics come into their homes, which they felt were messy or dirty. They were afraid the police would come and they didn’t want their neighbors to know the condition of their homes.
This brings the concept of “to die for” to a whole new level. Self-esteem, self esteem, self esteem.We need to change this way of thinking. We are worthy beyond the dust of the floor, an unmade bed or dishes in the sink.Don’t you think! How about a revolutionary concept, put your heart health first. We can retell the story of women and their hearts.
Join the movement!
After all the serious heart business it was finally time to satisfy the stomach.It came in the form of Rasika billed as a modern Indian restaurant, which was delish and creative with mostly small plates, which are my fave. It’s a little noisy but the service is impeccable and the seating was lounge style. Their signature dish is an appetizer, Palak Chaat, fried spinach. Okay it’s fried but very light a crispy. Maybe not totally heart healthy but made my stomach happy.
Creating Events of the Heart was quite an evolving process. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither was EOH.
In one of Pamela and my early experiments, very early we decided that in exploring all things heart, we wanted to know and understand what it was that turned people’s heart’s on. So after much thought we decided to take a cross-country trip and pose that question. We called it the Heart On Tour. You can imagine with a New York accent how this sounded in the middle of the country. Some people asked, “Is this about sex?”
We decided to document the trip.Well I borrowed my nice Erica’s video camera but had no experience using one.Let’s just say the early film resembled The Blair Witch Project.
But there was a point where it all fell into place probably around Moab Utah. And by the end of the trip we learned a lot about what turned people’s heart’s on including our on. So I want to take the opportunity when I blog now to report back to you what’s turning my heart on these days and encourage you to write back to me and tell my about you Heart On’s. And because I’m now a hip blogger I will refer to it as HO.
For two weeks this month the Tokyo contingent as I call them my son Josh, daughter-in-law Lenore and my two granddaughters Pavi who’s 5 ½ and Gigi nearly 3 spent two weeks in New York. OMG!Heaven! It was a total oxytocin high. The girls call me Nonna (which is Italian for Grandma) It was either Bubbie or Nonna and Nonna won. Everyday they were in New York was a wonderful day. With your children you are so busy getting on with your life (and I was very busy) I didn’t stop enough. Ah but with the girls myfocus was them. I could just tune into the divine duo and experience all their curiosity and humor and connect to their very active minds. I saw Mary Poppins through the wonder in Pavi’s eyes. HO! I navigatws the dinosaurs at the Museum of Natural History with two rambunctious girls running in different directions my aerobics for the day. HO!Experienced The magic of snow in Central Park.We lunched at the Shake Shack. The burgers are too die and Iactually ate the bun!HO! And delighted in their complete obsession with Habebe. Poor Habebe. He is such a wonderful gentleman.
I know he breathed a sigh of relief when they left. Gigi informed me that she was no longer a baby but was now a “big kid”.And if all of this deliciousness with the girls wasn’t enough both of my daughter-in- laws informed me that they are pregnant. OyVey HO! Lenore and Josh with a third. And Elizabeth who lives in LA and often assists EOH when we do projects there, and Zach are having their first baby. Pamela our resident psychic feels two boys are coming. My cup runneth over. This is what turns my Heart On!
Once again last week I found myself glued to the TV watching the aftermath of a catastrophic event. Every reporter from Haiti said it was the worst disaster they had ever seen. The destruction was beyond comprehension.
For me the greatest heartbreak was for the most vulnerable, the children. Those faces whose huge shocked eyes were either injured or joining the ranks of thousands of orphans. How do they ever heal this horrific blow to their lives?
Because of war, or natural disasters or just the myriad economic, psychological and sociological stress of contemporary life, childhood for legions of children is not a happy healthy, nurturing time. Research from the Harvard School of Public Health indicates that the more adversity in early life - abuse, neglect, poverty, and other stressors can later lead to physical diseases such as hypertension, heart disease, obesity, stroke.
In the US, the fact that childhood obesity is reaching epidemic proportions and that more then 1/3 of children between 12 and 19 are in danger of having high cholesterol is outrageous.
We have been saying for a long time Heart Disease is not and "Old Man's Disease." I never thought I would think of it beginning in childhood. If not for ourselves for our children we need to wake up. My mantra these days is "heart disease is 80% preventable."
So this month when I see my granddaughters for Valentines Day and they want to go to McDonald's I'll suggest the Salad Bar
