Carolyn Thomas is a heart attack survivor and a 2008 graduate of the annual WomenHeart Science and Leadership Symposium at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. She was also named by “Our Bodies Ourselves” of Boston in 2009 as one of 20 inductees from seven countries acknowledged as “Women’s Health Heroes” for community activism in promoting women’s health. This post originally appeared on her Heart Sisters blog. She also writes at The Ethical Nag: Marketing Ethics for the Easily Swayed and you can follow her on twitter at @HeartSisters or @TheEthicalNag.

‘Healthy Privilege’ – When You Just Can’t Imagine Being Sick

Carolyn Thomas | May 6, 2013
What I’ve learned since my heart attack is that, until you or somebody you care about are personally affected by a life-altering diagnosis, it’s almost impossible to really get what being sick every day actually means…

Self-Tracking Tech Revolution? Not So Fast…

Carolyn Thomas | April 8, 2013
When the report called "Tracking for Health" was released last month, media headlines announced: “Over Two-Thirds Track Health Indicators!” Surprisingly, very few headlines ran the real news from the report: “Only 21% Use Technology to Self-Track!” Yet as of last autumn, more than 500 tech companies are busy developing The Next Big Thing in self-tracking tools.

Does Knowing Change Behaving?

Carolyn Thomas | January 17, 2013
One of my blog readers recently told us about why most of those self-tracking health apps may not in fact be particularly useful: "Fundamentally, sick people are the LEAST likely to be self-quantifiers. We, in fact, relish the thought of NOT obsessing about our health, to take it for granted like we do, say, gravity."

When You Fear Being Labeled a “Difficult” Patient

Carolyn Thomas | December 10, 2012
Most patients know what this feels like, so it’s reassuring to learn that academics are actually studying it: our fear of being labeled a “difficult patient”.

Study: '91% discharged from hospital without care plan'

Carolyn Thomas | November 15, 2012
When I was discharged from hospital following my heart attack, I was wheelchaired down to the front door, patted on the head, and waved off with a small pile of brochures and a follow-up appointment in six weeks'?? time.

Guest Blog: 'I Care about You' and Other Things to Say to Sick Friends

Carolyn Thomas | September 14, 2012
In honour of National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week, I think I'll talk about what to say when somebody you care about is ill - rather than the well-meaning (but often annoying) greeting: 'You look great!'

Guest Blog: Why You'll Listen to Me ' but Not to Your Doctor

Carolyn Thomas | May 25, 2012
As I like to remind my women's heart health presentation audiences, I am not a physician. I'm not a nurse. I am merely a dull-witted heart attack survivor. I also warn them that a lot of what I'm about to say to them is already available out there, likely printed on some wrinkled-up Heart and Stroke Foundation brochure stuffed into the magazine rack at their doctor's office.

Guest Blog: A Second Opinion from Dr. Google

Carolyn Thomas | April 16, 2012
I've often suspected that if only the E.R. doctor who misdiagnosed me with indigestion had bothered to just Google my cardiac symptoms (chest pain, nausea, sweating and pain radiating down my left arm), he and Dr. Google would have almost immediately hit upon my correct diagnosis.

Guest Blog: When Patients Demand Treatments That Won't Work

Carolyn Thomas | November 4, 2011
When my son Ben came down with a sore throat this past summer, he went to his doctor for antibiotics. Both agreed it sure sounded like strep, so without having to wait for the throat swab test results, Ben left the office with a prescription for antibiotics. But were they the appropriate treatment? Do all bugs need drugs?

Guest Blog: Is it Post-heart Attack Depression ' or Just Feeling Sad?

Carolyn Thomas | August 4, 2011
One of the small joys of having launched my site [http://myheartsisters.org/] is discovering by happy accident the wisdom of other writers ' even when they're writing on unrelated topics not remotely connected to my favourite subject which is, of course, women and heart disease. For example, I happened upon a link to Sandra Pawula's lovely blog called Always Well Within. Sandra teaches mindfulness meditation, and she lives in Hawai'i (note her correct spelling).

Guest Blog: Say What? Do Patients Really Hear What Doctors Tell Them?

Carolyn Thomas | March 3, 2011
I had a heart attack two years ago and was taken immediately to the O.R. for a stent implantation. Overwhelmed and terrified, I knew nothing of what was about to happen to me. What I learned later was that my stent may help a newly-opened artery to stay open. But a new study now suggests heart patients believe that stents have far greater benefits than they actually do. Should it be up to patients to ensure that doctor-patient communication is accurate or effective during an emotionally overwhelming medical event?

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