Retired teacher learns to prioritize her health

Carol Coulther and her husband on a recent trip

Carol Coulther, 63, knows the stress of juggling work, family and volunteering. She also knows how easy it is for women to overlook their health while caring for others.

Coulther, who was a special education teacher for 39 years, has a family history of heart disease. She spent many years caring for her mother who had multiple heart attacks and strokes throughout her life and passed away recently. Since 2016, Coulther’s husband has been recovering from a stroke.

“My life was very busy,” said Coulther of Rockaway, N.J. “I was stretched too thin, and I definitely felt like I was doing everything for everyone.”

During this time, Coulther said, her own heart health wasn’t a priority. She wrongly thought she was fine because she had no symptoms and ate well. When her cardiologist noticed persistently poor cholesterol levels, however, that wake-up call made her worry. 

“It’s OK to get a little scared,” she said. “But then you need to educate yourself and figure out what you need to do to get less scared.”

Coulther started by learning the basics about cholesterol. She had high LDL cholesterol, which often has no symptoms and can only be confirmed with a blood test. It is considered the “bad” cholesterol, because it contributes to fatty buildups in arteries and increases the risk for stroke and heart attack. The dietary changes she made were important, but medication was ultimately needed to control her high LDL level.

The other type of cholesterol, HDL, is called the “good” cholesterol because it may help protect against heart attack and stroke. 

She also learned to advocate for herself. She found a new doctor and started seeing a specialist who ran tests and educated her about lipoprotein (a), a genetic risk factor for heart disease. 

“I have a decent medical vocabulary, but there were times I felt dismissed by doctors,” she said. “There were times when more of the dots should have been connected with my health care.”

So, like a true teacher, she started writing down everything she was learning and all of her questions for the next appointment. She would also jot notes while meeting with her health team.

“When doctors saw me coming in with a notebook, they knew I was serious,” she said.

In addition to taking medication, she also made multiple lifestyle changes and expanded her understanding of foods that affect heart health. She includes more activities in her life like walking and yoga. She also meditates daily to help control her stress levels.

Managing her mental health was just as important as her physical health.  

“People are afraid to do counseling,” she said, “but that’s what helped me feel normal and that’s what led me to do all the other self-care that I needed to do.”

Coulther now is involved with several support groups for caregivers and patients with stroke and heart disease.

“All the work you’re doing isn’t just for you, you’re doing it for everyone you love,” she said. “If I can take what I have learned and help someone, then that’s the greatest feeling.”

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For more information on this health topic, visit heart.org/LDL.

Carol Coulther is volunteer peer group leader of the Stroke Caregiver Support online peer group in the AHA’s Support Network. Would you like help dealing with heart or stroke conditions -- either yours or someone else’s? Join us in the AHA’s Support Network! We are an online community of patients, survivors and caregivers where you can share your experience while getting encouragement, hope and informational resources from others who have been there. Membership is free and the benefits can be priceless. Register today.