This concerned Ruiz, who was born with a congenital heart defect (CHD) and was used to an extremely active lifestyle. When the pandemic hit, she was laid off and decided to focus on her physical and mental health. She started walking around a marked bike-walk path in her neighborhood. She would walk by her old middle school and high school or some of the mom-and-pop shops she frequented as a teen. “The best part is remembering the memories I made there with friends while I was growing up.” When she visited her doctor in June of 2020, he told her that it was important to keep some consistent physical activity in her life not only for her heart health, but her mental health as well, because, as he said, “the pandemic wasn’t slowing down at the time.” Ruiz upped her game, walking 5 to 10 miles per day. “I just appreciated the outdoors,” she says. By December 2020, she had walked off 30 pounds and changed her eating habits along the way. “I’ve always had struggles around food. But when I started walking, I found myself not craving fast food as much,” Ruiz says. “Now, I’m fine with substituting healthier options.”
Early Diagnosis and Treatment of a Heart Defect Put Ruiz on the Track to Good Heart Health
Born with pulmonary stenosis, Dianne Ruiz was just a year old when she had surgery to correct the heart valve condition signaled by a heart murmur. “Luckily they caught it early. After my surgery, doctors told my parents to just keep me as active as possible so my heart could get stronger,” she says. Ruiz’s parents enrolled her in dance classes as soon as she could walk, which began her love of ballet, salsa, and hip hop. “My parents made me feel like there wasn’t anything wrong with me. They just wanted to keep me busy,” Ruiz says. In school and throughout college, Ruiz also participated in basketball, soccer, softball, and track. “I was a natural athlete and I’m very extroverted,” she says. “Sports helped me socially because I was around so many different types of people.” Congenital heart defects occur in roughly 1 percent of all live births in the United States, says Lauren Lastinger, MD, a cardiologist with a specialty in adult congenital heart disease at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, in Columbus. Thanks to early detection and advances in medical care, roughly 95 percent of babies born with a noncritical congestive heart defect survive to adulthood, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports. Still, children with congenital heart disease may require further treatment as adults. “We used to think children with pulmonary stenosis were cured once the valve was repaired, but we know now they may need a heart valve replacement later in life,” Dr. Lastinger says. “The best thing to do is see a cardiologist who specializes in adult congenital heart disease and be followed over time.” Since survival rates for individuals born with a congenital heart defect have increased, the focus has shifted from survival to quality of life. For Ruiz, now 35, this means the prospect of one day starting a family. “I want to make sure my body is healthy, if that ever comes into play,” she says. “I want to be in the best possible shape.” Until recently, the risk of pregnancy complications for women born with a congenital heart defect was unclear. But a population-based study of 7,512 pregnancies in 4,015 women with CHD in Germany concluded that many women born with a congenital heart defect are able to get through pregnancy and give birth safely. The research, published in October 2021 in the European Heart Journal, did, however, find a small but increased risk of still births or babies dying within the first month of life, and a sixfold greater risk of CHD in the children born to mothers with CHD. “We do report health problems around the time of birth, which are relevant and important," said Astrid Lammers, MD, first author of the study and a consultant in pediatric cardiology, in a press release. “However, thanks to advanced neonatal support and techniques, a majority of these problems can be overcome with medical support, albeit with surgery and prolonged hospitalization.” Dr. Lammers currently works in the department for adults with CHD at University Hospital Münster in Germany. “Being healthier before a potential pregnancy increases your chances of conceiving, having a successful pregnancy with a lower risk of pregnancy complications, and being healthier once the baby is born,” says Kara Whitaker, PhD, MPH, assistant professor of health and human physiology at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. To increase the chances of a healthy pregnancy, Lastinger urges women born with congenital heart disease to see a cardiologist for a pre-pregnancy checkup. “Most women with congenital heart disease can safely achieve pregnancy. But it’s important to see your cardiologist before pregnancy to assess your risk,” she says. Another reason to keep close tabs on your heart health: Women with congenital heart disease are at higher risk for having a child with congenital heart disease, compared with the general population, Lastinger says.
Take Steps to Keep Your Heart Healthy — No Matter What Life Throws Your Way
Exercise is important to improve your heart function if you have a heart condition and to prevent heart disease, a condition that affects more than 18 million Americans, according to the CDC. A study published in August 2020 in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found that walking at least 30 minutes per day after heart attack, for example, was associated with a 29 percent lower risk of dying. For optimal health, the CDC recommends muscle-strengthening activities on two or more days a week that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms). For heart health benefits, the American Heart Association recommends that most adults participate in at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes per week of vigorous aerobic activity, or a combination of both, spread throughout the week. A quick way to know if you’re getting enough daily physical activity for heart health is to monitor your steps with a wearable step counter, such as a FitBit or the step counter on your iPhone, which you can wear during your workouts. According to a recent study published in September 2021 in JAMA Open Network of 2,110 participants from the CARDIA study, those who took approximately 7,000 steps or more per day experienced the heart-health benefits of exercising, including a lower risk of premature death in mid-life, and improvements in blood pressure, glucose control, and triglycerides (a type fat in the blood that can increase the risk of heart disease). “The sweet spot is 7,000 steps, but I encourage everyone to strive above and beyond that by getting 7,000 to 13,000 steps per day,” Dr. Whitaker says. “That’s the range where you’ll start to see improvements in all of the things that are important for cardiometabolic health, such as lower blood pressure and improved blood glucose control.” But 7,000 steps is just an average. “There will be days when you can’t hit that mark. But it’s not a failure. It’s just an opportunity to try to do better the next day,” Whitaker says.
Ruiz Uses Her Story to Help Other Women Stay Fit
Now 35, Ruiz recently started a new full-time position as a recruiter for the Walt Disney Company. And she’s more determined than ever to fit exercise into her busy schedule. As an ambassador for the American Heart Association’s 2022 Class of Real Women, she is helping to spread awareness on the importance of exercise for heart health. “I’m making sure I do some form of physical activity because I’m sitting so much during the day now,” Ruiz says. She works out twice a week at a friend’s personal training gym near her home, and walks three to five miles per day after work and on weekends. Ruiz says that she is motivated to stay as healthy as possible. “I remind myself that exercise is the best investment I can make in myself,” Ruiz says. “even if I just walk a mile some days, I’ve still done something for my heart health.”
