Health message right from heart

Tracey Rudduck-Gudsell is the new Bay of Plenty ambassador for the New Zealand Heart Foundation. Photo / John Borren

Being diagnosed with a heart condition has not stopped Tracey Rudduck-Gudsell drinking wine, eating chocolate or riding rollercoasters but it has made her passionate about making other women aware of the risks of heart disease.

Mrs Rudduck-Gudsell, 54, has three heart conditions - supraventricular tachycardia, mild heart disease and a leaky valve - and has taken on the role of Bay of Plenty ambassador for the New Zealand Heart Foundation.

In her new role she will organise local events as part of the Go Red for Women campaign which empowers women to take care of their health.

"Before I learned of my own heart condition I didn't know much about women and heart disease and was amazed to hear it was the biggest killer of women in New Zealand. More than 50 Kiwi women die of heart disease each week and most of these deaths are premature and totally preventable," said Mrs Rudduck-Gudsell.

Three years earlier she had gone to the doctors after experiencing pain in her chest.

Tests detected a racing rhythm in her heart and investigatory heart surgery was booked.

"Before the surgery, they talked to me about writing goodbye letters to my children, and that is when it hit home to me."

After her diagnosis, Mrs Rudduck-Gudsell took her family on a trip to Disneyland where she made sure she did each scary ride with her two children Oli and Kayla.

"It was like I wanted to prove, I am okay, I am alive, particularly to my family who had had as big a scare as I had."

She did however make lifestyle changes, changing careers, taking up more exercise and dietary changes - "red wine and dark chocolate are good for the heart," she laughed.

She is planning a local high tea event in May for women and is looking forward to speaking to more Bay women affected by the disease.

Kat Macmillan, the foundation's Tauranga-based Midland regional heart health manager, said the organisation was delighted to have Mrs Rudduck-Gudsell on board.

"We have national ambassadors but we have never had a local one before. It is fantastic to have Tracey on board - her experience aligns with the messages we want to get across to women, and she will be able to speak from the heart."

Women and heart disease

* 3000 Kiwi women die of heart disease each year.

* Have a heart and diabetes check if you're aged 55 years and over. If you're of Maori or Pacific descent, or have a strong family history of heart disease, get a heart and diabetes
check from the age of 45.

* Two-thirds of deaths from heart attacks in women occur among those who have no history of chest pain.

* Women who smoke risk having a heart attack 19 years earlier than women who don't smoke.

Source: www.heartfoundation.org.nz/