Font Size:

Nearly one in three women has some sort of cardiovascular disease.

In fact, coronary heart disease is the single leading cause of death for American women.

It’s known as the silent killer, because the majority of women who die suddenly, had no previous symptoms.

Two local women are now sharing their survival stories to challenge women to take care of themselves.

“I thought this can’t be happening to me,” Susan Cox said. “My blood pressure is a little high, my cholesterol is a little high. I’ll change my eating habits, I’ll even try to exercise, but it’s not always about that, it’s what you are made of.”

Susan Cox knew something wasn’t right. what she didn’t know was that she was dying.

“They just told me I wouldn’t live until Christmas unless I had open heart surgery,” Cox said.

A routine check-up before Thanksgiving showed the 50-year-old mother of three and grandmother to five had heart disease.

“I had two arteries that were 95-percent blocked, one 100-percent and one 80-percent,” Cox said.

Susan had quadruple bypass surgery and spent the Thanksgiving holiday in the hospital, recovering.

“I just thought this is so surreal,” Cox said. “I just came in for a one day procedure, but coronary heart disease isn’t a one day, it’s a lifetime.”

She’s now on medication, has changed her diet and is exercising. She is back to working full-time and celebrating two months since her surgery.

“I love life, and I have so much work that has yet to be done, not only in my life but my children and grandchildren,” Cox said.

Kaye Tseng has been living with heart disease for over a decade.

After her fourth child was born, she noticed her legs were swelling.

Kaye’s doctor ran tests and found the problem.

“My liver enzymes were quite elevated and so basically they knew something was going on and at that point they figured it was with my heart,” Kaye Tseng said.

Kaye was diagnosed with Mitral Regurgitation. It happens when your heart’s mitral valve doesn’t close tightly, allowing blood to flow backward in your heart.

“The good news is I’ve had this condition for 16 years and it’s considered moderate to severe,” Tseng said.

The 54-year-old isn’t on medication for her heart, just for high blood pressure. but, it’s likely her condition will worsen with age, requiring surgery.

“I’m really one of the lucky ones because a lot of people don’t do as well,” Tseng said.

Susan and Kaye are survivors.they reached out for help when they needed it. Now they are urging other women to take charge of their heart health.

“You have to to step up and take control of your own life and I’m glad I did,” Cox said.

And that’s the message she has for other women. She says to listen to your body and talk with your doctor.

“If you have concerns at all about your previous family history or you see your blood pressure is a little elevated or you are running short of breath, tell them, don’t be afraid. I work for a physician and I thought I could do without all that, but that was costing me my life,” Cox said.

“If you really know your body and feel that something is not right then you need to pursue it further,” Tseng said. “And if your doctor won’t you need to get another opinion.”

Both of these women took charge of their health and are now survivors.

“I feel really blessed that it hasn’t gotten worse,” Tseng said.

“I am very lucky. I am one of the lucky ones. I’m so eternally grateful,” Cox said.