A Foodie's Heart, My Story

My name is Martha, I am 27 years old, I am happily married to what seems like the most wonderful man in the world and my best friend. I am the mother of one angel and this is my story...


When I was 25 my husband and I decided to try and have a baby. We got pregnant right away and my pregnancy was great! Up until the last month of my pregnancy. Two weeks before my due date I went to the hospital thinking I was going into labor only to find out my daughter was dead and I was going into heart failure. I had what is known as Peripartum (or postpartum) Cardiomyopathy. It happens in 1 or 3-4000 pregnancies and little is known about the condition. My particular case is believed to have been caused by undiagnosed preeclamsia.


I left the hospital with an ejection fraction (EF) of 15-25%, a bag full of meds and a new diet. I was on a sodium restricted diet of 2000 mg a day and a liquid restricted diet of 2 liters a day. I am a self-proclaimed foodie. I love to cook food, bake food, eat food, watch food shows, read about food in three words....I LOVE FOOD! And here I found myself unable to use salt, it was a big challenge for me. However, through a lot of research and experiementation I have found that through a wider use of foods, herbs, and spices one can achieve food bliss without the use of too much (if any) salt! Through good food choices, exercise and a decreasing amount of medication I am happy to report that today (9 months after my heart failure) my heart has an EF of 65-75%, my LDL & Triglycerides are in the low 50's and I am beginning on a year-long journey to pregnancy and then hopefully parenthood!





So what have I learned, I've learned life's short so don't waste it! I've learned that with determination and the appropriate research you can live a healthy life without giving up flavor.


My purpose for this blog is to raise awareness of heart issues that can affect women of all ages and to share information that I find on the internet from reliable sources and recipes that I find and/or come up with to help others lead a happy & healthy life!





To Your Health!


M.