Carolyn Thomas 🇨🇦
@heart-sisters.bsky.social
Author of "A Woman's Guide to Living With Heart Disease" published by @HopkinsPress.bsky.social
Speaker. Jargon translator. Narrator. Mayo Clinic-trained patient activist. www.myheartsisters.org Zack & Rosie's Baba. #ElbowsUp
Slava Ukraini 🇺�
Speaker. Jargon translator. Narrator. Mayo Clinic-trained patient activist. www.myheartsisters.org Zack & Rosie's Baba. #ElbowsUp
Slava Ukraini 🇺�
Pinned
Will this newly approved crash test dummy make car accidents less deadly for women?
www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/w...
www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/w...
Will This Newly Approved Crash Test Dummy Make Car Accidents Less Deadly for Women?
The government approved the specifications of THOR-05F, marking a first step toward the government and manufacturers potentially using the dummy in future car safety tests. But it still represents onl...
www.smithsonianmag.com
December 1, 2025 at 4:36 AM
Will this newly approved crash test dummy make car accidents less deadly for women?
www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/w...
www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/w...
I wonder if the surgeon I met recently (note: NOT a cardiologist) would believe that non-obstructive coronary artery disease actually exists (esp. in women) if he read this from #StanfordMed stanfordhealthcare.org/medical-cond...
November 30, 2025 at 3:41 PM
I wonder if the surgeon I met recently (note: NOT a cardiologist) would believe that non-obstructive coronary artery disease actually exists (esp. in women) if he read this from #StanfordMed stanfordhealthcare.org/medical-cond...
Reposted by Carolyn Thomas 🇨🇦
Would you drive your car if its brakes were "failing"?
And do our physicians cling to the hurtfully inaccurate name “heart FAILURE” simply because that’s what they’ve always called it?
myheartsisters.org/2019/09/22/c...
And do our physicians cling to the hurtfully inaccurate name “heart FAILURE” simply because that’s what they’ve always called it?
myheartsisters.org/2019/09/22/c...
Would you drive your car if its brakes were “failing”?
Once you hear the words “heart failure” aimed at you, you cannot unhear that diagnosis. When will physicians finally stop saying these hurtful words out loud?
myheartsisters.org
November 12, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Would you drive your car if its brakes were "failing"?
And do our physicians cling to the hurtfully inaccurate name “heart FAILURE” simply because that’s what they’ve always called it?
myheartsisters.org/2019/09/22/c...
And do our physicians cling to the hurtfully inaccurate name “heart FAILURE” simply because that’s what they’ve always called it?
myheartsisters.org/2019/09/22/c...
How to spend every moment of your MRI trying NOT to push the emergency call button: a patient's important feedback www.jmirs.org/article/S193... #LelainiaLloyd #NMOSD
A Tale of Two MRIs
I was 36 years old when I had my first MRI. I remember being told to put one of those
awful hospital gowns before being led into a dark cool room. The MRI machine stood
in the centre of the room, hulk...
www.jmirs.org
November 30, 2025 at 3:15 PM
How to spend every moment of your MRI trying NOT to push the emergency call button: a patient's important feedback www.jmirs.org/article/S193... #LelainiaLloyd #NMOSD
Two ways to portray heart failure. One of them works. And so many reader comments about why that is.
"The scariest words in the world were “You have heart failure”.
I thought Okay, that’s it, I am dying. What’s the point?"
myheartsisters.org/2016/03/13/t...
"The scariest words in the world were “You have heart failure”.
I thought Okay, that’s it, I am dying. What’s the point?"
myheartsisters.org/2016/03/13/t...
Two ways to portray heart failure. One of them works.
Which of these two heart failure awareness campaigns would you find most compelling? Which poster would you put up on your staff room bulletin board? Which non-profit organization would you be more…
myheartsisters.org
November 23, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Two ways to portray heart failure. One of them works. And so many reader comments about why that is.
"The scariest words in the world were “You have heart failure”.
I thought Okay, that’s it, I am dying. What’s the point?"
myheartsisters.org/2016/03/13/t...
"The scariest words in the world were “You have heart failure”.
I thought Okay, that’s it, I am dying. What’s the point?"
myheartsisters.org/2016/03/13/t...
Reposted by Carolyn Thomas 🇨🇦
I take on average 10,000 stills and a half hour of video every week. Most I'll never think about again. This I'll hold onto until I grow old. 4 hours ago.
Zero edits. No recoloring. No cropping. Nothing. Just straight up reality. 🦑
Zero edits. No recoloring. No cropping. Nothing. Just straight up reality. 🦑
November 23, 2025 at 5:21 AM
I take on average 10,000 stills and a half hour of video every week. Most I'll never think about again. This I'll hold onto until I grow old. 4 hours ago.
Zero edits. No recoloring. No cropping. Nothing. Just straight up reality. 🦑
Zero edits. No recoloring. No cropping. Nothing. Just straight up reality. 🦑
Reposted by Carolyn Thomas 🇨🇦
Fifty of the 303 schoolchildren abducted from a Catholic school in Nigeria's Niger state have escaped and are now with their families. n.pr/4pkTJhw
50 schoolchildren escape captivity in Nigeria, more than 200 still held
Fifty of the 303 schoolchildren abducted from a Catholic school in Nigeria's Niger state have escaped and are now with their families.
n.pr
November 23, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Fifty of the 303 schoolchildren abducted from a Catholic school in Nigeria's Niger state have escaped and are now with their families. n.pr/4pkTJhw
Reposted by Carolyn Thomas 🇨🇦
A patient, a caregiver and a cardiologist walk into a bar...
"While doctors are knowledgeable about disease, they don't adequately appreciate that illness changes everything for the patient..." Dr. Rita Charon, author of Narrative Medicine
myheartsisters.org/2020/07/26/n...
"While doctors are knowledgeable about disease, they don't adequately appreciate that illness changes everything for the patient..." Dr. Rita Charon, author of Narrative Medicine
myheartsisters.org/2020/07/26/n...
A patient, a caregiver and a cardiologist walk into a bar…
This study analyzed three narrative points of view, revealing “a strong difference” between how heart failure is perceived by patients, by their family caregivers, and by their heart fa…
myheartsisters.org
November 18, 2025 at 4:05 PM
A patient, a caregiver and a cardiologist walk into a bar...
"While doctors are knowledgeable about disease, they don't adequately appreciate that illness changes everything for the patient..." Dr. Rita Charon, author of Narrative Medicine
myheartsisters.org/2020/07/26/n...
"While doctors are knowledgeable about disease, they don't adequately appreciate that illness changes everything for the patient..." Dr. Rita Charon, author of Narrative Medicine
myheartsisters.org/2020/07/26/n...
Reposted by Carolyn Thomas 🇨🇦
Welcome back to #StatsSunday — your statistical fix, pulled from this week’s stories. Read the story behind this stat here: reasonstobecheerful.world/startups-pro...
November 23, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Welcome back to #StatsSunday — your statistical fix, pulled from this week’s stories. Read the story behind this stat here: reasonstobecheerful.world/startups-pro...
Small kindness - big impact
The 'culture of kindness' in medicine starts when healthcare professionals ask themselves the small question:“Do I want my patients to be comfortable or uncomfortable?”
myheartsisters.org/2025/11/23/s...
The 'culture of kindness' in medicine starts when healthcare professionals ask themselves the small question:“Do I want my patients to be comfortable or uncomfortable?”
myheartsisters.org/2025/11/23/s...
Small kindness – big impact
by Carolyn Thomas ♥ Heart Sisters (on Blue Sky) A study published by Swiss researchers suggests that a culture of kindness in health care has a positive impact on healthcare organizations, he…
myheartsisters.org
November 23, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Small kindness - big impact
The 'culture of kindness' in medicine starts when healthcare professionals ask themselves the small question:“Do I want my patients to be comfortable or uncomfortable?”
myheartsisters.org/2025/11/23/s...
The 'culture of kindness' in medicine starts when healthcare professionals ask themselves the small question:“Do I want my patients to be comfortable or uncomfortable?”
myheartsisters.org/2025/11/23/s...
Looking for meaning in a meaningless diagnosis:
"That which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Don’t cry over anything that can’t cry over you. When life hands out lemons, squeeze out a smile.”
Translation: "Blah blah blah..."
myheartsisters.org/2013/06/16/l...
"That which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Don’t cry over anything that can’t cry over you. When life hands out lemons, squeeze out a smile.”
Translation: "Blah blah blah..."
myheartsisters.org/2013/06/16/l...
Looking for meaning in a meaningless diagnosis
Earth to Deepak Chopra, in the astute words of Salon writer Mary Beth Williams: “Telling seriously ill patients that they just need to be strong and have a good attitude is insulting. Believe…
myheartsisters.org
November 22, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Looking for meaning in a meaningless diagnosis:
"That which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Don’t cry over anything that can’t cry over you. When life hands out lemons, squeeze out a smile.”
Translation: "Blah blah blah..."
myheartsisters.org/2013/06/16/l...
"That which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Don’t cry over anything that can’t cry over you. When life hands out lemons, squeeze out a smile.”
Translation: "Blah blah blah..."
myheartsisters.org/2013/06/16/l...
Reposted by Carolyn Thomas 🇨🇦
"I am concerned, I guess, that we could have a big flu season this year based on what we’re seeing in other parts of the world, and particularly Europe and elsewhere,” said Dr. Adam Lauring, University of Michigan. Go get a flu shot.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/18/h...
www.cnn.com/2025/11/18/h...
A new virus variant and lagging vaccinations may mean the US is in for a severe flu season | CNN
The United States may be heading into its second severe flu season in a row, driven by a mutated strain called subclade K that’s behind early surges in the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan.
www.cnn.com
November 18, 2025 at 7:01 PM
"I am concerned, I guess, that we could have a big flu season this year based on what we’re seeing in other parts of the world, and particularly Europe and elsewhere,” said Dr. Adam Lauring, University of Michigan. Go get a flu shot.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/18/h...
www.cnn.com/2025/11/18/h...
The surprising mental health benefits of constructive wallowing after getting a serious diagnosis:
"There is one thing even worse than wallowing in that rotten feeling - and that is NOT wallowing in it.”
Dr. Tina Gilbertson
myheartsisters.org/2025/03/16/c...
"There is one thing even worse than wallowing in that rotten feeling - and that is NOT wallowing in it.”
Dr. Tina Gilbertson
myheartsisters.org/2025/03/16/c...
Constructive wallowing after a serious diagnosis
“There is one thing even worse than wallowing in despair – and that is NOT wallowing in it ” – Dr. Tina Gilbertson
myheartsisters.org
November 18, 2025 at 7:08 PM
The surprising mental health benefits of constructive wallowing after getting a serious diagnosis:
"There is one thing even worse than wallowing in that rotten feeling - and that is NOT wallowing in it.”
Dr. Tina Gilbertson
myheartsisters.org/2025/03/16/c...
"There is one thing even worse than wallowing in that rotten feeling - and that is NOT wallowing in it.”
Dr. Tina Gilbertson
myheartsisters.org/2025/03/16/c...
A patient, a caregiver and a cardiologist walk into a bar...
"While doctors are knowledgeable about disease, they don't adequately appreciate that illness changes everything for the patient..." Dr. Rita Charon, author of Narrative Medicine
myheartsisters.org/2020/07/26/n...
"While doctors are knowledgeable about disease, they don't adequately appreciate that illness changes everything for the patient..." Dr. Rita Charon, author of Narrative Medicine
myheartsisters.org/2020/07/26/n...
A patient, a caregiver and a cardiologist walk into a bar…
This study analyzed three narrative points of view, revealing “a strong difference” between how heart failure is perceived by patients, by their family caregivers, and by their heart fa…
myheartsisters.org
November 18, 2025 at 4:05 PM
A patient, a caregiver and a cardiologist walk into a bar...
"While doctors are knowledgeable about disease, they don't adequately appreciate that illness changes everything for the patient..." Dr. Rita Charon, author of Narrative Medicine
myheartsisters.org/2020/07/26/n...
"While doctors are knowledgeable about disease, they don't adequately appreciate that illness changes everything for the patient..." Dr. Rita Charon, author of Narrative Medicine
myheartsisters.org/2020/07/26/n...
Reposted by Carolyn Thomas 🇨🇦
Women in medicine are calling out the gender gap in healthcare and research. From male-focused studies to underrepresentation in trials, these disparities impact care globally.
Watch the powerful video from @thelancet.com
#WomensHealth #WomenInMedicine #CardioSky
Watch the powerful video from @thelancet.com
#WomensHealth #WomenInMedicine #CardioSky
Women and Health: Uncovering Health-Care Disparities
Despite women comprising half of the global population, women’s health issues are underreported, underrepresented, and underprioritised. Women's health research receives a disproportionate share of funding. Contrary to popular belief, obstetrics and gynaecology alone do not encompass women’s compreh
www.youtube.com
November 16, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Women in medicine are calling out the gender gap in healthcare and research. From male-focused studies to underrepresentation in trials, these disparities impact care globally.
Watch the powerful video from @thelancet.com
#WomensHealth #WomenInMedicine #CardioSky
Watch the powerful video from @thelancet.com
#WomensHealth #WomenInMedicine #CardioSky
My podcast interview with Jim Donovan:
"Questions Women Should Ask About Heart Health"
www.donovanhealth.com/blog/questio...
"Questions Women Should Ask About Heart Health"
www.donovanhealth.com/blog/questio...
Questions Women Should Ask about Heart Health – Carolyn Thomas
Carolyn is a Mayo Clinic-trained women’s health advocate, heart attack survivor, and author of "A Women’s Guide to Living with Heart Disease" and the Heart Sisters Blog
www.donovanhealth.com
November 16, 2025 at 3:09 PM
My podcast interview with Jim Donovan:
"Questions Women Should Ask About Heart Health"
www.donovanhealth.com/blog/questio...
"Questions Women Should Ask About Heart Health"
www.donovanhealth.com/blog/questio...
Quality of Life vs. Length of Life? Pick One.
"My treatment plan felt like an endless conveyor belt. My only role was to jump onboard whenever told to do so - while desperately trying not to fall off. . ."
myheartsisters.org/2025/11/16/q...
"My treatment plan felt like an endless conveyor belt. My only role was to jump onboard whenever told to do so - while desperately trying not to fall off. . ."
myheartsisters.org/2025/11/16/q...
Quality of Life vs. Length of Life? Pick One.
The focus of cancer treatment has always been to increase overall survival – but is quality of life even more important than length of life?
myheartsisters.org
November 16, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Quality of Life vs. Length of Life? Pick One.
"My treatment plan felt like an endless conveyor belt. My only role was to jump onboard whenever told to do so - while desperately trying not to fall off. . ."
myheartsisters.org/2025/11/16/q...
"My treatment plan felt like an endless conveyor belt. My only role was to jump onboard whenever told to do so - while desperately trying not to fall off. . ."
myheartsisters.org/2025/11/16/q...
Reposted by Carolyn Thomas 🇨🇦
Therapy Dogs are all Very Gud Dogs. Did u ever meet a Therapy LLama? www.npr.org/sections/sho...
Anxious at the Portland airport? Beni the Llama is here for you, spreading joy
The gentle animals are part of Portland International Airport's effort to counter travel stress with soothing elements from nature.
www.npr.org
November 15, 2025 at 5:49 AM
Therapy Dogs are all Very Gud Dogs. Did u ever meet a Therapy LLama? www.npr.org/sections/sho...
Reposted by Carolyn Thomas 🇨🇦
European cancer docs say "given the current lack of clinical data to support the development of formal guidelines," they published their own 'perspectives' instead.
As a breast cancer patient, I'd prefer my treatment decisions to be based on actual data.
www.thegreenjournal.com/article/S016...
As a breast cancer patient, I'd prefer my treatment decisions to be based on actual data.
www.thegreenjournal.com/article/S016...
ESTRO recommendations on preoperative radiation therapy in breast cancer: current and future perspectives – Endorsed by ASTRO
In the multimodal management of breast cancer, the sequence of treatments — surgery,
systemic and radiation therapy (RT) — is primarily based on historical and empirical
practices. The traditional “su...
www.thegreenjournal.com
November 15, 2025 at 1:47 PM
European cancer docs say "given the current lack of clinical data to support the development of formal guidelines," they published their own 'perspectives' instead.
As a breast cancer patient, I'd prefer my treatment decisions to be based on actual data.
www.thegreenjournal.com/article/S016...
As a breast cancer patient, I'd prefer my treatment decisions to be based on actual data.
www.thegreenjournal.com/article/S016...
Good news for drug companies, announces Marty Makary: ("Makers of promising personalized medications will receive FDA approval for their drugs WITHOUT randomized controlled trials if they can produce 'several' patients doing well on so-called 'bespoke therapy."
What could go wrong?
What could go wrong?
The science around hormone therapy to treat menopause has changed a lot since the FDA issued warning labels 20 years ago. Now the labels are being removed, here are 6 things to consider.
Is hormone therapy for menopause right for you? 6 things to know
The science around hormone therapy to treat menopause has changed a lot since the FDA issued warning labels 20 years ago. Now the labels are being removed, here are 6 things to consider.
n.pr
November 15, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Good news for drug companies, announces Marty Makary: ("Makers of promising personalized medications will receive FDA approval for their drugs WITHOUT randomized controlled trials if they can produce 'several' patients doing well on so-called 'bespoke therapy."
What could go wrong?
What could go wrong?
Optimistic, pessimistic or realistic: take your pick
"Optimism bias suggests that most people tend to under-estimate how susceptible to harm they are – including to a serious health crisis."
myheartsisters.org/2025/07/06/o...
"Optimism bias suggests that most people tend to under-estimate how susceptible to harm they are – including to a serious health crisis."
myheartsisters.org/2025/07/06/o...
Optimistic, pessimistic or realistic: take your pick
Optimism bias: when we tend not to expect problems we have not already experienced.
myheartsisters.org
November 15, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Optimistic, pessimistic or realistic: take your pick
"Optimism bias suggests that most people tend to under-estimate how susceptible to harm they are – including to a serious health crisis."
myheartsisters.org/2025/07/06/o...
"Optimism bias suggests that most people tend to under-estimate how susceptible to harm they are – including to a serious health crisis."
myheartsisters.org/2025/07/06/o...
Would you drive your car if its brakes were "failing"?
And do our physicians cling to the hurtfully inaccurate name “heart FAILURE” simply because that’s what they’ve always called it?
myheartsisters.org/2019/09/22/c...
And do our physicians cling to the hurtfully inaccurate name “heart FAILURE” simply because that’s what they’ve always called it?
myheartsisters.org/2019/09/22/c...
Would you drive your car if its brakes were “failing”?
Once you hear the words “heart failure” aimed at you, you cannot unhear that diagnosis. When will physicians finally stop saying these hurtful words out loud?
myheartsisters.org
November 12, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Would you drive your car if its brakes were "failing"?
And do our physicians cling to the hurtfully inaccurate name “heart FAILURE” simply because that’s what they’ve always called it?
myheartsisters.org/2019/09/22/c...
And do our physicians cling to the hurtfully inaccurate name “heart FAILURE” simply because that’s what they’ve always called it?
myheartsisters.org/2019/09/22/c...
Reposted by Carolyn Thomas 🇨🇦
Living with both fibromyalgia and heart disease: "Both conditions are invisible and many of the symptoms are similar. Both seriously affect our quality of life..."
myheartsisters.org/2017/11/05/d...
myheartsisters.org/2017/11/05/d...
Living with both fibromyalgia and heart disease
Dr. Barbara Keddy has spent five decades living with fibromyalgia, and almost five years more recently as a heart attack survivor. She explains: “Fibromyalgia is the most challenging in my li…
myheartsisters.org
November 12, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Living with both fibromyalgia and heart disease: "Both conditions are invisible and many of the symptoms are similar. Both seriously affect our quality of life..."
myheartsisters.org/2017/11/05/d...
myheartsisters.org/2017/11/05/d...
Living with both fibromyalgia and heart disease: "Both conditions are invisible and many of the symptoms are similar. Both seriously affect our quality of life..."
myheartsisters.org/2017/11/05/d...
myheartsisters.org/2017/11/05/d...
Living with both fibromyalgia and heart disease
Dr. Barbara Keddy has spent five decades living with fibromyalgia, and almost five years more recently as a heart attack survivor. She explains: “Fibromyalgia is the most challenging in my li…
myheartsisters.org
November 12, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Living with both fibromyalgia and heart disease: "Both conditions are invisible and many of the symptoms are similar. Both seriously affect our quality of life..."
myheartsisters.org/2017/11/05/d...
myheartsisters.org/2017/11/05/d...