How An Ohio Woman Says Listening To 'Here & Now' Saved Her Life

In early September, Cynthia Ravitsky was stuck in a traffic jam on her way to work, listening to Here & Now, when an interview with author Gayle Forman came on.

Forman was talking about her new novel, "Leave Me," about a young, overworked mother in New York who doesn't realize she's having a heart attack.

As Forman was describing the symptoms of heart attacks in women, and how they're are often different than they are in men, Ravitsky realized she was having those symptoms right then.

After a brief internal battle, Ravitsky decided to heed Forman's advice and not ignore the symptoms. Instead of going to work, she drove herself to the ER. There, she learned that she was, in fact, having a heart attack.

Here & Now's Robin Young speaks with Ravitsky about that day and with Dr. Laxmi Mehta, director of the Women’s Cardiovascular Health Program and associate professor of medicine at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, about heart attacks in women.

Cynthia Ravitsky, of Westerville, Ohio.

Dr. Laxmi Mehta, director of the Women’s Cardiovascular Health Program and an associate professor of medicine at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. She tweets @drlaxmimehta. The medical center tweets @osuwexmed.