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Heart Disease: Let’s Talk About the Emotional Side

Posted by Kanaaz Pereira, Connect Moderator @kanaazpereira, Mar 9, 2020

Recovery from a cardiovascular event is not easy; it’s not just the physical pain–the emotional pain can be an unexpected challenge. Depression, anxiety, fatigue, feelings of guilt, emotional distress are common repercussions of heart disease, heart attacks, heart failure or heart surgery.

Talking with people who’ve gone through a similar experience can help make sense of the emotional and psychological aspects of heart disease. Connect is a place where such honest conversations can safely take place, where you can learn to feel better, together. I invite you to share your thoughts and emotions.
How has a heart-related diagnosis/treatment affected your mind and mood? How did you cope with these emotions? What strategies and tips would you offer a friend who’s going through a similar experience?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Heart & Blood Health Support Group.

Mentor
Debra, Volunteer Mentor | @karukgirl | Oct 1, 2023
In reply to @joaf37 "Thanks for this thoughtful message. I am new to the Mayo Connect system and am still..." + (show)
@joaf37

Thanks for this thoughtful message. I am new to the Mayo Connect system and am still not sure how to use it . I've been stumbling along trying to figure it out. But to your point, I have already gained positively from reading the experiences of others whose comments I have read. That's been my driving force to share comments myself. I don't use social media systems at all so not a wizard at this concept by any means. You asked how I heard about the system. I have been a patient of the Mayo Clinic for eons with different intensity over time. I am a current patient but also a patient at Vanderbilt for other issues. While Vanderbilt is distant it's far closer than Rochester per where I live. As a current patient, I've been receiving quite a few communications from Mayo from different perspectives. I also contribute to them per all the value they have provided to me over time and their patient care policies beyond their medical capabilities. Basically one of the emails I received was about this system so I tried it. Again, thanks for your comments!

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I'm happy you are here and have found some value already. It sounds like you and I are similar, I am low tech and not on social media either. You will get the hang of it...if I can anyone can!
Some of the threads go back several years, but the information is still valid and beneficial. I learned about Connect when I was in Rochester for my first visit. It was a little pamphlet in some folder I got. I signed up and I'm still here three years later! No matter how you learned about Connect, I'm glad you found us! And WELCOME again!

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joaf37 | @joaf37 | Oct 1, 2023
In reply to @karukgirl "I'm happy you are here and have found some value already. It sounds like you and..." + (show)
@karukgirl

I'm happy you are here and have found some value already. It sounds like you and I are similar, I am low tech and not on social media either. You will get the hang of it...if I can anyone can!
Some of the threads go back several years, but the information is still valid and beneficial. I learned about Connect when I was in Rochester for my first visit. It was a little pamphlet in some folder I got. I signed up and I'm still here three years later! No matter how you learned about Connect, I'm glad you found us! And WELCOME again!

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Thanks for this added information -- I had no idea that this was in place for so long. Glad to find it now. Hate to say it but too many MDs more and more recently just don't take the time to explain things. The Mayo Connect fills that cap and has for me in some ways already. (My experience at Mayo has been different per MDs discussing the issues.) I am going to Vanderbilt for cardio care .. in 4 days elapsed time they ran all the right tests (I knew what they were) identified my situation and I had the appointment for a key procedure to address it. The local MDs in the top clinic where I live didn't do any tests to even check it out. So I decided to travel 200 miles to Vanderbilt, Mayo is just too far for more routine appointments. However I still have the same challenge per the cardio MD explaining things. Case in point, in their rests they discovered I had had a heart attack. My MD (who is a professor there) just told me literally as if it were a "nice to know". I was stunned and literally too stunned to even be upset until I got back to the hotel where I was staying. I'm still dealing with that new albatross along with the current issues. He does answer questions but doesn't explain much. So, I truly do appreciate having this resource now.

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