WATCH ME
OWN THE PRESSURE
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Wear Red for Women
From heart disease to
the NYC Marathon
Linda Feingold as she approaches the finish line of the NYC Marathon
on Nov. 3rd, 2019.
BY LINDA FEINGOLD
My name is Linda Feingold,
MEd, MS, RDN and during
my twentieth year as a registered
dietitian and personal trainer
teaching others how to eat and exercise
properly in order to prevent
heart disease, I ended up becoming
a cardiac patient myself.
Being in the health education
business for so long, I literally forgot
that in some people, a family history
of heart disease can override healthy
habits. So when I started developing
back pain that would sometimes radiate
into my chest during my long
runs while training for the NYC
Marathon in 2018, I didn’t assume I
had a heart problem.
Especially since only a few weeks
prior I had my annual physical and
was told my “ten year risk factor for
heart disease was .5-percent”. But I
couldn’t ignore the fact that my dad
had a massive heart attack and went
into cardiac arrest when he was
around my age. So I asked my primary
doctor if she could order me a
stress test and she referred me to a
cardiologist.
Nine days after my 18-mile training
run I was in a cardiologist’s office
learning for the first time that I
had something very wrong with my
heart. I underwent a slew of tests and
exactly one month after that first appointment
I learned I had coronary
artery disease (CAD).
One week later I was in the cath
lab undergoing my first stent placement
for my “widow maker” artery
AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION
which was 99% blocked. I was too
sick to undergo the second stent
placement I needed for another significantly
blocked artery and had
to wait an additional five weeks for
that procedure.
I could have let all this beat me up
emotionally but I refused to do so. I
was weak from four months of being
completely inactive but I picked myself
up, wiped the tears of fear and
frustration, and powered through.
I’m pretty sure I’m the only person
who has ever signed up for a halfmarathon
in the middle of a cardiac
rehab class (If you don’t sign up
immediately for the Brooklyn Half
you’re not getting in!).
I ran that half-marathon six weeks
after graduating from cardiac rehab
only 41 seconds slower than I
did the year before. And my dream
of running the NYC Marathon finally
came true on November 3rd,
2019 at 4:28:05 (my seventh NYC
attempt and second marathon ever
in 23 years!). In addition, in 2019
I earned a personal best in my 1M,
5K, 4M, 10K and marathon times. I
guess it’s true what they say — the
comeback is always greater than the
setback.
In 2020 and beyond, I plan to
continue to educate others in eating
healthfully and exercising, with an
additional emphasis on being in tune
with the body and knowing when
something isn’t right. I plan on being
as active if not more so than before.
Most importantly, I look forward to
more sunrises and sunsets, and more
time with friends and family.
8 February 6, 2020 Schneps Media