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Culturally Speaking: The South Florida Sunday Podcast
Maternal Health & Heart Health with American Heart Association and Dr. Melanie Altizer
00:12:15
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- [00:00]
A
Happy Mother's Day. By the way, Shirin, hanging out with you. And it is said that moms are the heart of the family. So it is only fitting today that we're sharing how moms and the women we love can protect their heart health. Joining me to talk about Maternal Health is Dr. Melanie Altheiser. Dr. Altizer is actually the Chief of OB GYN and Facility Medical Director of OB Hospitalists at St. Mary's Medical Center. And she's also a supporter of the American Heart Association's work with the Palm Beach Health Network. She's the one supporting all the new moms and families out there. Thank you so much for joining the show today today. Dr. Altizer.
- [00:33]
B
Thank you. I'm so happy to be here.
- [00:35]
A
Of course. So you've been working in this field for quite some time now. Can you talk about that? And what about working with moms and new babies inspires you?
- [00:43]
B
I completed my residency training in 2008, have been a practicing OB GYN since that time. And I can't think of anything more rewarding than being the first set of hands on a new baby and caring for new moms and their families as they welcome their children into this world. So it's just a very rewarding profession and most of the time an ob, it's a really happy experience. But certainly there are times where it's scary for the moms. Either both the mom or the baby may have a health condition and it can be scary. And so I like to be there during those pivotal moments as well to provide that support, encouragement to patients and their families.
- [01:20]
A
Oh my goodness. Yes, there are some dire statistics surrounding maternal health. Speaking of scary, can you tell us about some of these concerning trends?
- [01:27]
B
Absolutely. You know, over the past several decades, at least the last three decades in this country, we have seen an increase about 140% of pregnancy related deaths. And especially cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes. And so that's a very alarming statistic. And to kind of follow up on that, our black moms face a greater risk than their pregnant counterparts of developing high blood pressure, strokes, cardiac complications during pregnancy. And it's very alarming trend that we're seeing in this country.
- [01:59]
A
And you know what, as a mom myself, I was very surprised to learn that a lot of the society's ideas around pregnancy are not really correct. Like your diet, your thinking, I'm pregnant, I'm eating for two, I can eat whatever I want. I can, you know, have it whenever I want. And then you also have so many more People that are hands on with you, so they're catering to you. So you don't have to get up and do this or exercise or walk around. You kind of, you know, do less. But what you need to do is quite the opposite of that. So can you talk about that and like ways that women can lower their risk?
- [02:29]
B
Absolutely. So I think you're right. I think there is a perception that you can eat whatever you want and maybe don't have to be as active during pregnancy. And certainly there are conditions where moms have certain dietary restrictions that they will be made aware of by their provider. But in general, we encourage all their moms to eat a very healthy, well balanced diet and still want them to avoid, you know, ultra processed food, fatty or greasy foods that are not as great for cardiovascular health or blood pressure. And we also recommend that our moms stay as active as possible within the, you know, guidelines given to them by their OB provider. We know that health during pregnancy can be predictive of long term health. Specifically, moms that develop blood pressure problems during pregnancy, such as gestational hypertension or preeclampsia, have a lifelong risk of going on to develop chronic high blood pressure and heart disease. And similarly, moms that develop diabetes related to pregnancy have a lifelong risk after that of developing type 2 diabetes. So diet and exercise are still very, very important for our pregnant moms.
- [03:38]
A
Yeah, and you know, also with pregnancy and menopause, your body is kind of going through a lot of hormonal changes. Even if you never had a problem, sometimes those problems do develop and you have to watch out for that.
- [03:49]
B
Absolutely. We know that, you know, once you go through perimenopause and menopause, the hormone makeup of the body changes for women and we have less estrogen around and estrogen can be somewhat cardio protective during our reproductive years. And so one of the things we encourage moms to kind of counteract that natural change, change that takes place when you start to reach the perimenopause stage is making sure that you have a well balanced diet and pay attention to your cardiac health. Exercise frequently, do everything you can to optimize your cardiac health so that you can mitigate some of the things that happen once you go through menopause.
- [04:26]
A
It's really hard sometimes because you go from like being completely healthy or, you know, not having to watch out for your blood pressure or anything like that, to having to be one of the people to, you know, make sure that you are actually eating healthy and you are keeping up with, you know, exercising and all that as well.
- [04:43]
B
Absolutely. I think that's a great point. You know, the moms are a lot of times the glue that holds the families together. And they often will prioritize their health and well being last often putting their children and their families above their own health. And so it is so important, if I could just emphasize for our moms out there and women of all ages to really prioritize your health too, that allows you to take better care of your family.
- [05:08]
A
Absolutely. And another thing I want to point out is advocating for yourself or you know, having someone that is actually willing to advocate for you. There's like so many stories out there that could have had a better ending if there was someone there kind of pushing back. I know that in most cases you're working with the best and the brightest, but no one really knows your body better than you.
- [05:26]
B
So glad you said that. I tell this not only to my own family, but to patients and friends. While I think everyone I've ever met that has gone into healthcare profession is always very well intentioned and well trained. But truly there is no substitute for listening to a patient. And sometimes, you know, our tests don't show something right away. And so it's so important for patients to know, hey, I don't feel right or something is wrong, and feel empowered and confident to advocate for themselves and ask questions. You know, a lot of times the diagnosis won't be immediately available or come to light initially when the patient comes in with an issue. Sometimes it's an evolving process over a few hours or a few days. And so it's important that patients really partner with their doctors and their health care team and speak up and say, you know what, something's not right. I know this test might have said everything's okay, but I'm still feeling X, Y or Z. And so really every patient should feel comfortable advocating for themselves.
- [06:29]
A
And I actually had to learn that through my son because, you know, he's in daycare now and he gets to sick a lot and there have been times where I've taken him in and he doesn't. They can't diagnose what it is. And then I would end up having to bring him back three days later. And they're like, oh, it's the flu or it's this or it's that. So, you know, definitely if you're still not feeling well, you definitely want to keep advocating for yourself.
- [06:49]
B
Yes.
- [06:50]
A
Also, the Palm Beach Health Network and American Heart association are doing some really great things, working together to support moms and families. Can you tell us about this new mom's kit?
- [06:59]
B
I sure can. We are very, very proud of this partnership between Palm Beach Health Network and American Heart Association. I actually helped participate in some of the video training for that kit. But we are providing to new moms kits that an American Heart association infant CPR doll and an accompanying video that's available in, you know, a couple of different languages to really help not only the new moms, but family members become comfortable and familiar with infant CPR and recognizing signs of infant distress and then taking that a step further, kind of building on maternal health. Included in these kits is a blood pressure cuff and instructions on how to take your blood pressure and monitor that and warning signs and symptoms to notify your doctors about. And so we encourage all of our patients that receive those kits, once they are done with them, feel free to share them with family and friends. We want to meet, want to reach as many people as possible with this important educational information.
- [07:58]
A
Oh, that's amazing. These kids are really going to be so helpful for new moms and families all across Palm beach county, especially after pregnancy. You know, the blood pressure thing, that is something that you definitely have to watch out for. A lot of women seem to have, you know, terrible endings because they don't watch their blood pressure after they've had the baby.
- [08:16]
B
Yes. And I think a common misperception and one that I really thankful to you for giving us a platform to help educate about this issue. Another perception out there in the community is that once you have delivered, you are safe and don't have to worry about blood pressure problems related to pregnancy. But actually, that is not true. We know now that sometimes moms don't develop preeclampsia until after delivery. There's still that risk of blood pressure problems, strokes, heart attacks, all the things that can come along with preeclampsia. And it's important that moms know how to check their blood pressure. No warning signs and symptoms of preeclampsia. Things to look out for when they go home. Also important that, you know, partners, family members are aware of these signs, too, because sometimes it might not be the patient that says something. It might be the partner or the family member.
- [09:09]
A
Right, right. Because a lot of moms are like, you know what? I've had this persistent headache. Well, that could be a sign of something going wrong.
- [09:15]
B
Absolutely. You know, I think moms sometimes will chalk it up to, you know what? I've just been through a C section or I've been through a vaginal delivery And I'm tired and I'm not getting much sleep because I'm up at night. Yeah, exactly. Caring for my newborn. But truly the warning signs that are most important to look out for headaches that don't resolve with, you know, Tylenol, abnormal changes in the vision where part of the visual field is cut out, or you're seeing like black spots in the vision where severe upper abdominal pain that's unrelenting, really bad indigestion that doesn't resolve with the normal medications, things of that nature should all definitely prompt someone to seek help from their OB provider or the nearest emergency department. And then in terms of blood pressure monitoring at home. And speaking of those kits that we have been able to partner with American Heart association to secure blood pressure greater than 140 over 90 should definitely prompt a visit to the provider, patient's provider, or the emergency department.
- [10:15]
A
And how can we find more information about this in women's health and particularly maternal health?
- [10:20]
B
Absolutely. Goredforwomen.org and heart.org are great resources where not only family members but patients can find information about health during every stage of life. They also provide free resources and kind of a community type of atmosphere to help support these moms. In addition, I would encourage patients to reach out to their providers. There are multiple resources that often providers have from organizations such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists that help with patient education as well. But particularly though we are so thankful to the American Heart association for their partnership and really their push to educate women about heart health throughout life, all of life stages.
- [11:05]
A
Dr. Altizer, thank you so much for sitting with us and, you know, taking the time to really go over these things because I think that, you know, you're reaching a lot of women out here and just family members in general, kind of letting us know, you know, what to look out for and how to advocate for ourselves. And that's really important. So what is one piece of advice that you would like to kind of leave our listeners with today?
- [11:24]
B
I think the biggest piece of advice, and I give this advice to my own family as well as never be afraid to speak up if something doesn't seem right. A lot of times I think I hear patients say, I don't want to bother you, or, you know, I'll just wait and check on it tomorrow. And sometimes depending upon the problem, tomorrow may be, you know, too too late. So if something doesn't feel right, love and care about yourself and reach out for help. I tell a patient I would rather have someone come in 10 times with a concern and me be able to reassure them that you know everything is okay rather than them stay home and not say anything during the one time where there might be a life threatening illness.
- [12:02]
A
Absolutely. That is all great advice. Like I said before, thank you so much for coming on the show. Life changing advice for someone who is listening right now.
- [12:10]
B
Thank you. I appreciate you for having me and certainly want to wish all of our moms out there a happy Mother's Day.