A Second Chance
By Christy Bailey

Every day 48-year-old Erin O'Connell Peiffer, of Baltimore, Maryland, takes 19 pills – from blood-thinner drugs to blood pressure medicine and fish oil. At some point in the day, she sees the nine-inch scar on her chest. She says they are reminders about how lucky she is.

In early 2001, Erin had a 99-percent blockage in her coronary or heart artery – a blockage often called the widowmaker. Recovery wasn't easy. Erin was in and out of the hospital 12 times for complications. She was forced to leave her job. Not long after a double bypass surgery to treat the blockage, she saw her doctor for a foot wound that wouldn't heal. She was diagnosed with peripheral arterial disease (PAD), a serious condition that occurs when leg arteries become narrowed or blocked. PAD often precedes or coexists with heart disease. In Erin's case, doctors found that an artery behind her right knee was completely blocked.

Erin beat the odds and survived.
Some aren't so lucky. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women. Nearly every minute, a woman in the United States dies from heart disease. PAD can be lifethreatening as well because it can lead to heart disease or stroke, or can lead to gangrene and amputation of a leg. "Before this happened to me, my biggest concern was breast cancer – not because I have a family history, but because that's what I'd been hearing about," says Erin. She didn't know that eight times as many women die from heart attacks each year as die from breast cancer. Nor did she know that having heart disease increased her risk for PAD. She didn't know how serious PAD was, or that she could have lost her foot.

Now Erin makes sure women know what she didn't. "I got a second chance," she says. "So now I speak for the women who didn't have that chance. I owe it to them."

Erin has shared her story with more women than she can remember. She has talked to small groups of moms and audiences of thousands. She has conducted radio interviews and has appeared in health magazines. She runs a support group. She is a spokesperson for WomenHeart, a national organization dedicated to promoting women's heart health through advocacy, education and patient support. She has also talked to medical professionals.

The content varies from one talk to another, depending on the audience. But Erin's take-home message stays the same: "Take charge of your health."

She urges women to put themselves first. When the kids are sick, women rush to the doctor. But they ignore their own signs and symptoms, because they have to get someone to soccer practice or make dinner. "Women are the queens of excuses," Erin says.

Another thing people can do is know their risks and take steps to manage them. Controllable risk factors for both heart disease and PAD include high cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking, having diabetes, being overweight and not being physically active.

Erin finds time to exercise every day and eats healthy foods. She takes her medicines and sees her doctor regularly. Her doctor, vascular medicine specialist Elizabeth Ratchford, MD, said, "Erin has done a great job with regular exercise and risk-factor modification and keeps a close eye on her symptoms."

"I'm a better person now," says Erin. "I am happier, more fulfilled, more spiritual. I live more frugally."

But the most important change, according to Erin, is that she now gets a chance to help other women avoid what she went through.

"There's a reason I'm here," she says, "a reason I got a second chance." Erin says she's here for her three kids and to educate other women. But there's more to it than that. Erin O'Connell Peiffer is here to make a difference. And she is doing just that.