Scuba diving instructor Suzanne Weeks was the healthiest person in her neighborhood – until she had a heart attack at the age of 41. Ms. Weeks was a vegetarian who exercised regularly and taught scuba diving part-time at the University of California, San Diego. She didn’t drink or smoke, and had a loving, supportive family. Her cholesterol and blood pressure were normal. "A heart attack was the last thing I thought about,” says Ms. Weeks. “Other than having an extra 20 pounds, my health was excellent.”

Ms. Weeks’ heart attack surprised her friends and family and puzzled her physicians. They speculated that its cause was a coronary spasm, ruptured plaque, or both. As a precautionary measure, they opened one of her coronary arteries with a stent.

She was so alarmed by the heart attack she decided to take proactive steps to prevent a future one. First she needed to learn more about the one she already had, and approached the process like a detective.

Ms. Weeks found the clues to “solve” her heart disease during Healing Hearts, a lifestyle change program at Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine. During the 12-week program, she learned that chronic stress – and the way she suppressed it – was one of the major culprits in her heart attack. She subsequently discovered through advanced diagnostic testing (see article on page 5 for more information) that she had high lipoprotein levels or Lp(a), a genetic risk factor for heart disease.

“If you’d asked me before the heart attack if I was stressed, I would have said no,” notes Ms. Weeks, who had no financial or family worries.

Like many women though, Ms. Weeks took on too much and worried about the small things. The result was chronic stress.

“People like Ms. Weeks, who have the ‘worry’ personality, are chronically releasing stress hormones,” says cardiologist Mimi Guarneri, M.D., medical director of Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine. “Stress hormones cause your heart rate to increase, your blood pressure and blood sugar to rise and your coronary arteries to constrict. This can have a dramatic effect on the heart.”

Through the Healing Hearts program, which included meditation, yoga and stress management, Ms. Weeks learned to slow down, worry less and say no. She also learned the importance of a healthy diet and regular, strenuous exercise. Now she pays more attention to food labels, the amount and the type of fat she is eating and the choices she makes when dining out.

Since her heart attack in March 2006, Ms. Weeks has lost 22 pounds and is back to scuba diving.

“My health has my undivided attention,” says Ms. Weeks. “I now see my life as a gift and as a journey of awareness.” For more information about the Healing Hearts program, call 1-800-SCRIPPS.