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Saturday, March 21, 2020

COVID-19

Self-quarantine is much like having a forced pajama day.  Those of us living with a chronic illness are familiar with loneness.  After all, that is all that is how most of our days are lived.  However, that does not make us exempt from feeling isolated.  We are now faced with fears of our illness in a time of crisis.  We have been forced to become experts in preventing symptoms from escalating, and we know how to get ahold of our care team to mitigate our diseases from exacerbation.  So, what do we do when we are faced with the possibility of a flare under a strained health system?  Our physicians may not be available as readily as they once were. What are you doing to care for yourself during this time? Do you have a plan in place for today's healthcare climate? Tell me what you are doing, and how you are coping? 
For me, I value my online rare disease family. I am grateful to see patients reaching out to other patients for support.  I believe as we are practicing prevention from acquiring COVID, we need to practice self-care now more than ever.  Being at high risk means becoming creative in our emotional and physical health.  I highly recommend reading those books you have meant to read... always too many books and not enough time to read. We have been given time to reflect and think about what matters in this life.  Use this time wisely, go for a walk outside, bring out those sketchbooks, or have a home spa day.  Meditate, practice gratitude, and living in the present.  Take the time to make that phone call to your family and friends.  This is a time for growth and building resiliency. 
I look forward to the day I can connect again with my FMD family and give each of you a gentle hug. For now, virtual hugs until we see each other again.  

Thursday, August 2, 2018

Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome (MALS)

Please welcome my guest blogger Michelle Griffith
Michelle is a MALS patient from Dallas, TX. She graduated from Texas A&M University in 2016, and hopes to return to school and study physical therapy. Michelle authors the blog "It's Not IBS", where she shares the positive insights, lessons, and medical tips learned from an ongoing intricate health journey. 



Here is a taste of her blog: 

Crises can be very uncomfortable and awkward for people not directly involved. You want to help, but you aren't quite sure how. Where is the line between helpful and intrusive? At what point am I being insensitive or overbearing? How do I contact the person experiencing a crisis and offer support, without reminding them of what they are going through?

I sure wish I was better at answering those questions. I wish I could tactfully and empathetically offer support to anyone in any crisis. But I can be awkward, and I always overthink things, and I tend to not speak up enough even when I really want to. So I have no idea what most people would find comforting in their darkest days. But from my pretty intense experience of trying to keep my body functioning, there were a few things that always provided comfort.

Even on the days where my insides felt like they were being ripped to shreds then hardened into a statue, and all I could see was a "fun house" blur of a world from nonstop visual distortions, and my body trembled and bottomed out from hypoglycemia, and I was on fire in a 60 degree room, and I was terrifyingly weak and malnourished...   TO READ MORE CLICK HERE




On a personal note, I would like to thank Michele for bravely putting her experience into words so that others like her can find support and validation. MALS is a rare disease; additionally it is an invisible disease. Physicians, friends, and family have a difficult time understanding how someone who appears healthy on the outside struggle daily with pain, malnutrition and decreased energy. The pain is complex in that it is multifaceted affecting the nerves, blood supply, and our basic anatomy. Treatment varies on the individual, surgery is a successful option for many, for others the condition becomes chronic. More awareness, education, and research are needed. Again, thank you, Michele, for your advocacy, it is appreciated!

Kari Ulrich RN
Rare Disease Patient/Advocate

Sunday, October 8, 2017

A vascular surgeon shares his thoughts on Takayasu's Arteritis and Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome (MALS)

My guest blogger shares with us his experience as a vascular surgeon, presenting his notes on a patient with Takayasu’s Arteritis and Median Arcuate Ligament Syndome (MALS) It is my pleasure to welcome:


Wednesday, September 27, 2017

My stroke occurred over a three day period... By Johnathan Michael Thompson

Today my guest blogger shares with us his experience with Fibromuscular Dysplasia (FMD). Although FMD is more prevalent in young, and middle-aged women, it can be found in men. It is my pleasure to welcome Johnathan Michael Thompson.



Here's the story of my stroke as far as I can remember:

May of '06

My stroke occurred over a three day period in early May of '06. The first I went to the doctor complaining about a whooshing sound in my ears and suffering from nausea. I was given medication and sent home. I didn't know I was suffering the first stages of a stroke.

In the pre-evening the next day the light was much too bright for my eyes and I was suffering from same nausea, whooshing in my ears. When I arrived at the ER at Lancaster General Hospital I waited five hours before someone saw me. My wife was suspecting a stroke. I had a family history of strokes because my mother died of an aneurism when she was 31. My twin brother and I were two, my younger brother was one.

The physician who saw me was saying that I was having a migraine because of the sheet I had over my head because of the very bright lights. Having never had migraines, my wife insisted that I was having a stroke but to no avail. The doctor sent me home with morphine.

The third and final day I had a meeting with a guy who I was doing a freelance job. I drove over to the place, it was a short ride from my home, met with him a the President of the Ad agency. Little did I know but I left my keys is the car and my battery had died. I called the Creative Director of the place I was doing another freelance job and he picked me up.

I was ready to begin the day. About eleven in the morning I saw 'floaters' in both of my eyes. I tried to get up out of my seat but found myself stumbling. My CD said 'Quit screwing around' but when I spoke to it came out garbled. I knew right there that I was having a 'true stroke.'

The folks at the Ad Agency called wife and said there was something wrong with your husband. I went back to my family physician and confirmed my stroke.
I was driven in an ambulance and put on a respirator.

I lost 20-25 pounds, my stroke still affects my right side. No longer can I draw with my right arm.

My Fibromuscular Dysplasia happened to me, a male, usually happening to a female and to my carotid arteries instead of occurring in the kidneys.

Thank you Johnathan for sharing your experience and spreading awareness of FMD!

Friday, May 12, 2017

Misdiagnosis of Fibromuscular Dysplasia in Women By: Kari Ulrich RN









Misdiagnosis of Fibromuscular Dysplasia in Women

Kari Ulrich RN

Aspen University

Professor Bonnie Kehm, PhD, RN

January 20, 2017












Abstract
This paper explores gender bias as a contributing factor in misdiagnosis of fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD), a vascular disease in females.  It has been established that over 90% of diagnosed FMD patients are women. In a disease that is vascular in nature, it is reasonable to look at comparisons in female patients with cardiovascular diseases.  Although FMD is different from atherosclerosis, FMD and heart diseases share similarities in risk factors.  The articles reviewed included current literature on FMD and gender bias in health care, including cardiovascular disease.  The sources were used to understand the bias towards women’s health care historically in addition to gender bias in heart disease.  As research about gender disparity in women’s health become available, the sharing of results are essential in clinical practice as well as indoctrination in medical training.  Indeed, as a consequence of these comparisons and consideration of the history of gender bias in health care, gender bias is undeniably a factor in the misdiagnosis of FMD in women.
            Keywords: Fibromuscular Dysplasia, Gender Bias, Women






Misdiagnosis of Fibromuscular Dysplasia in Women
            Recognizing a vascular event in women with fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD) is imperative in avoiding misdiagnosis.  When a woman arrives at the emergency room complaining of a headache and neck pain, most physicians will formulate a list of differential diagnoses, usually thinking of common causes while ruling out the most dangerous ones.  Physicians will do a proper workup and imaging, and when the results come back negative, they often diagnose women with stress or anxiety.  Significant clinical signs are there, so why are health care providers missing them?  Women with undiagnosed fibromuscular dysplasia are often sent home only later to suffer a heart attack, carotid dissection or stroke.  Although fibromuscular dysplasia is thought to be more prevalent than breast cancer, misdiagnosis in these women is a critical concern (Burton, 2009).  Women with fibromuscular dysplasia have an increased risk of an adverse event through misdiagnosis due to gender disparities.
Literature Review
            Several articles have been written about fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD), but gender bias has not been considered a factor in the misdiagnosis of FMD.  This review examines information on FMD and gender bias in health care.  The journal articles are peer reviewed and were retrieved online from Google Scholar and ProQuest.  One newspaper article was used, which gives a perspective from the patient point of view.
Fibromuscular Dysplasia
            The current literature establishes that FMD is a disease that predominantly affects the female population, and symptoms are often dismissed (Olin et al., 2014).  Gender bias may play a critical role in the misdiagnosis of FMD, as evident in the literature on women’s health care.  Similarities of gender bias as it relates to women diagnosed with cardiovascular disease are compared to women diagnosed with FMD.
            FMD is defined as a rare, non-inflammatory vascular disease that affects mid to distal arteries.  It is different from atherosclerotic disease, which is caused by inflammation.  However, inflammatory biomarkers have been found in a cohort of FMD patients (Ganesh et al., 2014).  Medial FMD is the most common classification of FMD and accounts for greater than 90% of the diagnoses today (Olin et al., 2014).  FMD is not a well-understood disease due to little to no natural history recorded in the past 75 years (Shivapour, Erwin, & Kim, 2016 p. 376).  The limited knowledge of FMD contribute to physicians not recognizing FMD manifestations.
            The current literature suggests that FMD is underdiagnosed.  The prevalence of FMD in the general population has been mainly based on renal transplant donors with limited information from cerebral angiography studies and autopsy studies.  Information from the Cardiovascular Outcomes in Renal Atherosclerotic Lesions (CORAL) trial showed that of the 58 participants who were screened for FMD and conversely diagnosed with FMD during the trial, 44 were female (Shivapour et al., 2016, p. 378).  The exact prevalence of FMD in the general population is unknown although Brinza and Gornik (2015) have noted that 90% of FMD patients are women (para. 1).  Research is needed to understand epidemiology in the general population.
            FMD can affect any vascular bed but is commonly seen in the renal and carotid arteries.  Symptoms of FMD vary depending on the vascular bed involved.  Typical symptoms include a headache, high blood pressure, dizziness, and pulsatile tinnitus.  FMD should be suspected in young women who suffer arterial dissections, transient ischemic attacks, or myocardial infarctions as these afflictions may be life threatening (Brinza & Gornik, 2016).  Out of seven FMD patients featured in a Wall Street Journal article from 2009, two were diagnosed at autopsy after suffering from cardiac-related deaths due to FMD.  The remaining five patients stated that their symptoms had been dismissed by health care providers as being stress related or psychosomatic (Burton, 2009).  It should be noted that not all patients are symptomatic, and some patients are diagnosed incidentally when being tested for unrelated ailments.
Gender Bias
            The Institute of Medicine (IOM) reports that historically, women’s health needs have been neglected (Wenger, 2012).  Women make up approximately 50% of the population and are major consumers of healthcare.  Nevertheless, until recently, women have been excluded from the medical curriculum (McGregor et al., 2013).  For example, the medical school curriculum does not cover gender bias, and there is minimal teaching on rare vascular disorders such as FMD.  Women’s health initiatives have been addressed over the past few decades.  In the early 1990s, medical institutions started to address the problem by incorporating women’s health curricula into medical education (McGregor et al., 2013).
            Lack of familiarity with FMD, predisposition of females to this disease, and vague presenting symptoms can lead to misdiagnosis of FMD.  According to Wenger (2012), females are 52% more likely to have a delay in emergency care for cardiac symptoms than men (para. 24).  Similarly, Brinza and Gornik (2015) describe a major problem with the care of FMD patients, noting that the time from the start of symptoms to the time of diagnosis is approximately seven to nine years (para. 6).
            Common misconceptions of FMD are found throughout historical literature and have been noted by Olin et al. (2014).  There is a misconception that all coronary, carotid, and renal disease is inflammatory in nature.  This misconception may lead physicians to miss the diagnosis of FMD by relying on tests that show inflammation.  As such, physicians may forgo imaging that would demonstrate FMD.  Cardiovascular events often present differently in women than in men.  Coronary FMD has recently gained attention in the medical literature as a predisposing condition for spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD).  Brinza and Gornik (2016) state SCAD presents as an acute coronary syndrome.  Furthermore, Wenger (2012) notes that 50% of women with acute coronary syndrome have no evidence of obstructive disease in their coronary arteries (para. 14).  Coronary FMD may be underdiagnosed due to the appearance of the artery.  Olin et al. (2014) describe coronary FMD as a focal narrowing whereas medial FMD has a string-of-beads appearance.
            The history of gender bias in women’s health care influences how women with FMD are treated presently.  Gender bias has been evident in the accounts of patients and families, describing how they were dismissed by medical professionals (Burton, 2009).  Gender bias in clinical practice continues to be a challenge today (McGregor et al., 2015).  Acknowledgment of gender bias in women’s health care and continued education are critical factors in reducing misdiagnosis of FMD.
Discussion
Understanding Fibromuscular Dysplasia
            In order to understand the risk of adverse events for women presenting with fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD), there needs to be an understanding of the disease, itself.  As discussed in the literature review, FMD is a non-inflammatory vascular disease that affects mid to distal arteries.  FMD can affect any vascular bed and is commonly found in the intracranial and renal arteries.  FMD is currently considered a rare disease, although several leading experts argue that it is not rare but rather overlooked (Brinza & Gornik, 2016 p. 45).  The importance of knowing the difference of FMD compared to an inflammatory disease such as atherosclerosis is imperative in making a correct diagnosis.  For example, an FMD patient complaining of neck pain, headaches, or dizziness may be worked up for carotid artery disease, especially if the physician hears a bruit.  The physician may proceed with an ultrasound of the neck thinking that atherosclerotic plaque is the cause of the bruit.  With carotid artery FMD, the distal portion of the carotid artery must be visualized, or the diagnosis would easily be missed.  As Olin et al. (2014) point out, atherosclerosis occurs at the proximal portion of the artery, unlike FMD, which is seen at the mid to distal arteries (p. 1056).  This scenario could happen in any of the vascular beds.  Interestingly, FMD can affect men, women, and children but is more prevalent in young, and middle-aged women.
Gender Bias a Consideration in Misdiagnosis
            Gender bias cannot be ignored as a factor for misdiagnosis of FMD.  History suggests women have been underrepresented in health care as far back as the pre-1940s.  McGregor et al. (2013) have noted that women had been protected from clinical trials since before World War Two, and they go on to say that this was out of fear of harm to a woman’s unborn child (p. 2).  However, this is not the entire reason.  Women’s hormones played a role.  It was thought that because women had fluctuations in hormones, men would be more suitable as subjects to represent both sexes (McGregor et al., 2013).  For decades; women were seen as having uncontrollable hormones, and in turn, this led to stereotyping women as hysterical and anxious when presenting with symptoms such as a headache, dizziness, or chest pain.  Since it takes, on average, seven to nine years to be diagnosed (Brinza & Gornik, 2015), female patients have been left to believe that their symptoms are imagined.  According to Burton (2009), a female patient described going to the emergency room experiencing severe abdominal pain and was told that her symptoms were all in her head, she was later diagnosed at another hospital with intestinal ischemia secondary to FMD.  Another female patient explained that it took three visits to two hospitals before she was finally diagnosed with a carotid dissection.  It would be another year before she was diagnosed with FMD as the cause of the dissection.  These experiences are common in the female FMD community.  Dr. Olin, a leading expert in FMD, states that one of the biggest mistakes made by physicians is telling patients that their symptoms are all in their head (Burton, 2009).
Reflections on the Future
            Women’s health is starting to be a priority in both medical curricula and clinical practice.  McGregor et al. (2013) state that changes are being made at the federal level, with the establishment of the National Centers of Excellence in Women’s Health in academic medical centers, focusing on gender disparity in the education of physicians (p. 3).  Dr. Olin et al. (2014) list, as one of the top research priorities, studying the prevalence of FMD in the general population of women aged 16-65 (p. 1069).  Acknowledgment of bias in women’s medical care and knowledge of FMD as a disease that is prevalent in women is vital to decreasing misdiagnosis. 
Conclusion
            Do women with fibromuscular dysplasia have an increased risk of an adverse event through misdiagnosis due to gender disparity?  Gender bias in healthcare is evident throughout literature.  What about gender bias in a disease that is predominate in females?  Could this explain the delay in diagnosis that patients with FMD experience?  The validation that comes from finally being diagnosed is helpful, but the years of damage that has already been done to the body, mind, and spirit, over a period of years, cannot be repaired so easily.  Provider awareness of gender bias when women present with symptoms of FMD will likely improve how patients are perceived.  The acknowledgment that gender bias plays a role in the misdiagnosis of FMD will be a factor in reducing the risk of an adverse event.  Nevertheless, until funding of clinical research is secured in both women’s health and FMD, there is little hope of improving the quality of life in this cohort of patients.

References
Brinza, E., & Gornik, H. (2015). Fibromuscular dysplasia: Renewed awareness and new insight     regarding an orphan disease. American College of Cardiology. Retrieved from:   http://www.acc.org/latest-in-cardiology/articles/2015/02/27/08/54/fibromuscular-dysplasia-renewed-awareness-and-new-insights?w_nav=LC
Brinza, E.K., & Gornik, H.L. (2016). Fibromuscular dysplasia: Advances in understanding and      management. Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine, 83(2), 45-51. doi:    10.3949/ccjm.83.s2.06
Burton, T. (2009, June 27). “The ‘rare’ disease that isn’t”. The Wall Street Journal, Retrieved from http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124605981966763611
Ganesh, S.K., Morissette, R., Xu, Z., Schoenhoff, F., Griswold, B.F., Yang, J., . . . McDonnell, N.B. (2014). Clinical and biochemical profiles suggest fibromuscular dysplasia is a systemic disease with altered TGF-β expression and connective tissue f eatures. Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Journal, 28(8),  3313-3324. doi: 10.1096/fj.14-251207
McGregor, A.J., Templeton, K., Rojek Kleinman, M., & Jenkins, M.R. (2013). Advancing sex and gender competency in medicine: Sex & gender women’s health collaborative. Biology of Sex Differences, 4(11) 1-6. doi: 10.1186/2042-6410-4-11
Olin, J., Gornik, H., Bacharach, M.J., Biller, J., Fine, L.J., Gray, B.H., . . . Stanley, J.C. (2014).     Fibromuscular dysplasia: State of the science and critical unanswered questions. AHA   scientific statement. Circulation, 129(9), 1048-1078. doi:10.1161/01.cir.0000442577.96802.8c

Shivapour, D.M., Erwin, P., & Kim, E.S.H. (2016). Epidemiology of fibromuscular dysplasia: A   review of the literature. Vascular Medicine, 21(4), 376-381. doi: 10.1177/1358863X16637913

Wenger, N. K. (2012). Gender disparity in cardiovascular disease: Bias or biology? Expert Review of Cardiovascular Therapy, 10(11), 1401-11. doi: 10.1586/erc.12.133

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