Susan L. McGuire experienced chest pains on several occasions, according to a close friend.
When she scheduled an appointment to check things out, it was too late.
McGuire, a 45-year-old legal secretary, suffered a fatal heart attack at her workplace, just as she was heading to the doctor's office last month. Colleagues at the Baltimore law firm Saul Ewing, where the mother of two children worked for 20 years, tried to save her, administrating CPR and using a portable defibrillator. Word of McGuire's death quickly spread throughout Baltimore, in part because so many female workers related to her life as a woman juggling work demands and family concerns. And her tragedy is prompting a renewed urgency among workers at several downtown businesses and in city government to schedule time for heart screenings and other health-related checkups.
A half-dozen law firms are joining Baltimore City government to provide time off next week as an incentive for women to attend a free heart health fair downtown sponsored by the nonprofit Sister to Sister Foundation. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer in the country, yet advocates say growing personal and professional demands are making it easier for workers to neglect their health.
"As women, we take for granted heart health," said Marci Gordon, a partner at Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll's Baltimore office, which is providing one-hour paid leave for hourly workers to attend the fair. "And to hear about someone who passed away from a heart attack in our community and who worked several blocks away, it startled us and made us realize we need to be proactive about taking care of our health."
Despite the prevalence of heart disease-related death among women, many don't think of heart attacks and strokes as a threat to them, according to a 2003 study by the American Heart Association. People still think of heart disease as a man's problem, even though it kills more women than all forms of cancer combined, health advocates say.
"There's a big awareness problem," said Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, the Baltimore health commissioner. "Women have all sorts of serious complications from heart disease, including unexpected death."
The city is giving all nonessential female employees two-hour paid leave to attend the health fair Tuesday at the Baltimore Convention Center. The city has provided similar leaves for other health-related functions.
