Heart Health Advocate Denise Castille Announces Launch of New Book For Survivors To Thrive After A Heart Attack

Heart Health Advocate Denise Castille is announcing the launch of her new book, “I Don’t Want To Die Like This: A Survivor’s Guide To Thriving After A Heart Attack,” available on Amazon in February.

Castille survived a widow-maker heart attack at the age of 46, and she says the entire journey was a learning experience. “This book is a guide for people who have experienced a heart event, so they don’t’ make the same mistakes I did,” she says.

The key lesson learned was to advocate for self. “I was experiencing symptoms that I wrote down on a spreadsheet and gave to my cardiologist,” she says, “The doctor didn’t even look at it, and she told me I had no heart valve or blockage issues.”

Yet weeks later when Castille needed an ambulance, the paramedic said she was positive for a myocardial infarction, and the ER doctor informed her of a 99% blockage in her left anterior descending artery. “The lesson there was to seek more than one medical opinion in the first place, and that there’s not just one type of test,” Castille says, “There are many diagnostic tests that can reveal the causes behind heart issues.”

Castille also wants to give a message specifically to African-American women like her. “Black women have a tendency to shrug off symptoms because we’re busy with other things and focused on taking care of kids, spouses, or someone besides ourselves.” However, she wants women to know that symptoms appear differently than they do for a man, so women need to pay attention. “I am constantly hearing women’s stories on this issue,” she says, “and some of them have said they thought they pulled a muscle in their back, or they thought they had the flu.”

Castille speaks about heart health on her podcast, “Healing Hope For Your Heart.” She also directs Fresh Start for Your Heart, a 501(c)3 organization with a mission to encourage heart healthier communities.