Marcy Fiet
Marcy Fiet had biked with her son and was doing some outdoor things, and knew she could get in a quick run before her husband left for work. But the run she took on Sept. 11, 2020, took a different turn when the pain she attributed to a challenging workout turned out to be a spontaneous coronary artery dissection.
Fiet, a nursing professor at Russell Sage, midwife at Albany Med and owner of Sequence Fitness with Marcy, will share her story on Thursday, Feb. 4 at 5 p.m. during the American Heart Association’s Capital Region Glows Red ceremony. That ceremony is on Zoom, and media is welcome to cover it. This is the Zoom link: https://heart.zoom.us/j/88283245735?pwd=VXJRajhIRUNmQkZwNjNBeFE3V05VQT09&from=addon.
Fiet will also turn 44 on Feb. 4.
“I had a headache, I was nauseous, I couldn’t catch a deep breath,” she said of her experience in September 2020. “By the time I got home, the pain was crushing and I couldn’t catch a deep breath. When my husband asked if I was ok, I couldn’t even speak. I took a sip of water, and nearly threw up.”
Fiet said at some level, she knew she was having a serious cardiac issue.
“I thought I just needed to lay down,” she said. “I also didn’t want to bother the doctors and nurses, who are coping with COVID on top of everything else. I lay on the floor; I was in so much pain. Then my left arm went numb, and that’s when I finally said, ‘OK, call 911.’”
“Like so many women, Marcy initially thought that what she was feeling might have been due to overdoing it. Fortunately, she listened to her instincts that something wasn’t right, that it might be her heart, and called 9-1-1,” said Dr. Suzie Mookherjee, cardiologist at Albany Med and member of the Capital Region Board of Directors for the American Heart Association. Dr. Mookherjee will host the Capital Region Glows Red ceremony on Feb. 4. “We want all women to know the signs and symptoms of heart disease. New data shows that young women, especially young women of color, don’t know that heart disease is their No. 1 health threat. Go Red for Women is working to change that.”
Capital Region leaders will join the Capital Region Glows Red Ceremony to show their support of the fight against heart disease in women. As night falls, local organizations will illuminate their buildings red. One of them is CDTA at 110 Watervliet Ave., Albany, which has invited the Albany Fire Department to join them in a socially distanced event that CDTA will broadcast via Facebook Live beginning at 5:30 p.m. on their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/events/132602975367566.
“I lost my sister at too young an age to a heart attack,” said Michele Kollmer, CAP COM at Work Relationship Manager Relationship Manager and co-chair of the 2021 Go Red for Women campaign. “I want women everywhere to recognize their risk for heart disease – and take steps to prevent it.”
“My best friend suffered a stroke, and still lives with the effects of it,” said Christianne Smith, owner of Designsmith Studio and co-chair of the 2021 Capital Region Goes Red campaign. “The American Heart Association started the Go Red movement to change the trajectory of women’s health. I’m proud to be part of this cause.”
“While our current focus is on the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a link between it and heart disease that shouldn’t be ignored,” said John D. Bennett, MD, president and CEO of CDPHP and 2021 Heart Challenge chair for the American Heart Association. “CDPHP is proud to support the American Heart Association by glowing red as a visual reminder for people to pay close attention to their heart health.”
“SEFCU has a long-standing commitment to heart health,” said Mark Duffy, community engagement leader for SEFCU and chair of CycleNation for the American Heart Association. “By supporting the Go Red for Women movement, we are creating awareness, improving the health of women across the Capital Region, and reducing the number of lives taken by cardiac disease.”
“I am thrilled to join the American Heart Association for their virtual ‘Capital Region Glows Red’ ceremony,” said Assemblyman John T. McDonald, D-Cohoes.” This movement has been incredibly important in the fight against heart disease. It is imperative we continue to promote screening and support patients and their families. I look forward to continuing to work with the AHA on initiatives to improve heart health in the Capital Region and beyond.”
“Every day, Albany County updates the community about how COVID is affecting us,” said Daniel P. McCoy, Albany County Executive. “We continue to urge people to stay home, wear a mask when they must go out, and keep their distance. We know that having a healthy heart is important in the fight against COVID, so we are proud to support the Go Red for Women movement and remind women to eat well, exercise, and take care of themselves.”
“CDTA is proud to Glow Red in support of Wear Red Day. CDTA’s frontline workers provide essential service to the Capital Region year-round and their health and this awareness couldn’t be more important,” said Carm Basile, CEO of CDTA and member of the Executive Leadership Team of the Capital Region Heart Walk and Run. “We are also honored to be joined by the brave men and women of the Albany Fire Department, who serve the community every day, as we shine a light on heart health.”