Anita Kozeska for Amy's GoRed Campaign Video Testimonials

Speaker: Anita Kozeska

Anita Kozeska: Hi, my name is Anita Kozeska, and I am the owner of Arya Yoga studio located in uh Hollidaysburg. And why women's heart health matters to me personally is because women's heart disease is the leading cause of death in women globally. Also, of course, there's a personal connection, One of my best friends has suffered from what is known as SCAD, standing for a spontaneous coronary artery dissection, and this is a very rare and serious heart condition that can happen to anyone suddenly and it leads to tear in the coronary artery of the heart. This leads to heart attacks, sudden death, or heart rhythm abnormalities, and it requires a proper diagnosis and proper treatment, um, immediately. Fortunately, my best friend, knowing her body, knowing her symptoms after being misdiagnosed and looking for the right space and a secondary consultation and finding the right location has saved life.

Anita Kozeska: One thing I wish more women know about heart disease is that symptoms for heart attacks can be very atypical in women compared to men, while men may experience Typical chest pain, during a heart attack. Women may experience nausea, fatigue, pain in the neck, even in the back, and pain in the throat, shortness of breath. So knowing and understanding this, any of these symptoms can actually lead to heart attack, can save lives. So, better education, better awareness, better understanding, and advocating for ourselves can lead to proper diagnosis, proper treatments, and saving lives. And also knowing about this, we can share with others, can empower other women, and we can actually lead to Women's heart disease to become the least leading cause of death globally.

Anita Kozeska: One small change women can make today for a healthier for it is movement, and that can be any type of movement. I'm certain that each of us can take only 20 minutes of the day and to care for ourselves and to move intentionally, to reconnect with ourselves and to find something that we love and inspire us to move our bodies. For me personally, That's my daily yoga practice. Yoga has transformed my life on so many levels, not just physical but mental, emotional, and it has allowed me to create new connections and community and help and support others. So if you're a beginner and you have never tried any type of yoga practice, I encourage you to give it a try. Yoga does not require any equipment. If you have a mat, that's amazing, but if not, you can use a towel at home. You can just use your bare feet, your bare hands, and just move, connect to the ground, connect to your body and your breath. Yoga not only improves your physical fitness overall, such as strength, your physical strength, your stability, your balance, your flexibility, it also improves your mental health. It boost, improves our mood, our energy, it reduces stress, it reduces anxiety, and these are some of the major factors that can worsen our hearts. So I highly recommend not just yoga, but any movement where your heart rate just speeds up a bit and you move and reconnect with yourself.