Heart disease has been the leading cause of death in the United States since 1921.
A few weeks ago, my husband Nate began experiencing chest pain and lightheadedness while exercising, sending us to the ER for a long, scary day. The concern was his heart, and in the weeks that followed, Nate underwent a cardiac CT angiogram, wore a heart monitor, and saw several specialists. What doctors kept coming back to was his family history, and how significantly it raises his and his siblings' risk moving forward.
Heart disease doesn't always announce itself. I'm running 26.2 miles through New York City on November 1st for the American Heart Association — the largest private funder of cardiovascular research in the country, working to better understand, detect, and treat heart disease for families like ours. Running NYC has been a goal of mine for years, and I can't think of a better reason to finally do it.
