It always amazes me how one event in a persons life can change things in their life forever. I had one of these experiences in the spring of 2007. I had gone to work as I normally did, and one of the things I always did when I first arrived was to greet the employees in the factory, and complete safety checks. Except on that particular day when I started walking out in the plant I started to feel a tightness in my chest that worsened the more I walked. I have known for approximately fifteen years prior to this that I have high cholesterol, but I didn't know the plak was forming in my coronary arteries. I knew that my cholesterol was hereditary, and was prominent in women in my mothers family, but I had not treated it or taken care of myself as I should. So, I knew as I walked back to my office that I was having the beginnings of a mild heart attack. I sat at my desk and got out the bottle of aspirin I had in my drawer, and immediately chewed two of the aspirin and sat and tried not to panic. After sitting there for several minutes, my boss finally came into the office and I told him I wasn't feeling well and was going home to rest for a while. I didn't actually believe at that time what was going on, it wasn't until several weeks later when I had heart surgery did I find out how bad the disease really was. I now have four stents in my heart, and could still need to have by-pass surgery in the future. Since that time I have made some minor changes in my diet, and take the medication my doctor prescribes. According to the American Heart Association, nearly twice as many women suffer from Heart Disease, Stroke and Cardiovascular Disease than women that suffer from all forms of cancer, including breast cancer. I hope that anyone who reads this will take the time to learn what the signs and symptoms of heart disease are, and take care of your heart!