MESA, AZ — A Mesa woman is uplifting Arizona and raising awareness about heart health.
Meg McCormick is living with heart disease and is now trained to help others dealing with similar struggles.
Heart disease, according to the American Heart Association, is the number one killer of women. The association says it causes one in three deaths each year.
And McCormick knows the struggle.
"I didn't have high cholesterol. I didn't drink. I didn't smoke. I didn't do anything registered on the books,” said McCormick.
Back in 2010, she thought she was healthy, but one day the mother of three went to the doctor... "I said, you know, I am not feeling good. I am falling asleep at my desk. I just don't feel right. He said you know what, let's run these tests. It came back as low potassium. Not a big deal. Great,” she explained.
McCormick didn't sweat it, but she continued taking tests and stayed overnight in a hospital. During her stay, McCormick says she had a heart attack.
"Forty-five minutes after CPR, the doctor came out and told my husband at the time, she's not going to make it. But, if she does, brain damage will be so severe she likely won't have any quality of life,” added McCormick.
She is still here and after experiencing some brain damage, the mom had to learn life all over again.
"I had to learn to drive. I had to learn to cook. I had to learn to brush my teeth. I had to learn directions. I still had to function as a mom of three. But, now I had a handicapped or disability I did not know was such,” added McCormick.
Last fall, what McCormick learned was the knowledge to become a "WomenHeart Champion."
"It's basically a slam dunk four-day symposium on everything heart-related,” added McCormick.
The program, sponsored by the Mayo Clinic, taught her the causes and effects of heart disease, explained the latest trends, the socio-economic disparities in treatments and put her face-to-face with cardiovascular surgeons.
McCormick says she is proud of the work the WomenHeart Champions program has done since last fall. But, one other thing that chokes her up the most, is wearing the red scarf that WomenHeart gives to women living with heart disease.
"When I got mine, it actually brought tears to my face. It was a sisterhood. I felt like someone had been there. They belong. I belong. They understand this. I can walk with them,” added McCormick.
Through her training, McCormick is an advocate for helping others deal with heart disease with the goal of saving lives.
