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Stacy Smith, MD
Smith gently advocates that fact to her patients every day. As an interventional cardiologist with the Memphis Heart Clinic, Smith specializes in heart disease and the care of women. For many years, doctors didn't realize that women experienced heart attacks differently than men. In fact, this illness was once considered a "male" disease, which frequently meant women went misdiagnosed and under-treated. While women give voice to some of the same feelings of pressure that men describe when experiencing angina, female symptoms can also include extreme fatigue, shortness of breath, dizziness, nausea, indigestion or gas-like pain, weakness, and pain across the back or arms. Such symptoms generally appear in women a decade or so later than in men. But since heart disease develops very slowly and is directly related to lifestyle choices, symptoms of clogged arteries or obstructed valves usually don't begin to surface until people reach middle age. Even still, heart disease is not an old woman's malady; young women can have it, too. Those who mistakenly think they're protected until they reach menopause; it's simply not the case. Smith's work focuses on heart disease education. She believes enlightening women to the importance of prevention is key to increasing the overall health of the entire family, especially since women make the majority of healthcare decisions for their husbands and children. Patients learn how eating a balanced diet or putting regular exercise into the family schedule can pay off in significant health dividends. Through these sorts of efforts, Smith hopes to slow the prevalence of the disease.
When not seeing patients, Smith's time is spent in the cath lab, trying to undo the damage people are prone to do to their bodies through smoking, poor nutrition, and sedentary lifestyles. Addressing such deterioration is much more doable today and devices, like valve stents, provide much promise for heart patients of tomorrow. "This is the new frontier in heart care, putting stents in valves that enter the heart and open the door of the heart," said Smith. In recent years, great progress in procedure and technology has advanced the treatment of heart disease. The development of statins, stents, and ACE inhibitors are integral for improved quality of life for patients. Such products "have revolutionized what we can do to treat patients," said Smith, "both with coronary or artery disease and heart failure." In addition, Smith cites the more extensive use of the defibrillator in helping to prevent people from sudden death by heart attacks. "It's an unbelievable advantage," she said.
Rather than doing heart surgeries, Smith would prefer to nip the problem of heart disease in the bud. Many times, it is reversible, she notes, though it becomes more difficult when damage is advanced. She tells her patients to avoid processed foods and to be more aware of lifestyle choices, a message of particular note for Mid-Southerners, where obesity rates hover at 30 percent and stroke and hypertension are significant. Smith said such problems are exacerbated by excessive weight gain, putting significant stress on the heart and circulatory system. It was a trip to the neighborhood butcher shop near their home in Los Angeles, Calif., that opened Smith's eyes to the marvels of the heart. She was just 6-years-old at the time, but when she spotted a cow's heart tucked amid the other meats displayed at the butcher's counter, she was captivated. Her mother (much to her credit) recognized her daughter's curiosity and purchased the heart so Smith could go home and dissect its valves and arteries. Later, her parents gave her an educational toy called the Visible Woman, which showed, in clear plastic, the female anatomy, complete with skeleton, arteries, and removable vital organs. It was these early learning ventures that Smith credits with sparking her desire to study medicine, and cardiology specifically. She went on to receive her medical degree from the University of Southern California School of Medicine in Los Angeles, and did her residency in internal medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Mass., while serving as chief resident at Brockton VA Hospital in Brockton, Mass. She initially entered academia with fellowship training at Washington University School of Medicine/Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, Mo., where she later joined the faculty as an assistant professor of medicine and pathology. She then left university life for private practice in Memphis. She's been with the Memphis Heart Clinic most recently since 2008. When not on rounds at the clinic, Smith enjoys the company of her husband and their two King Charles spaniels, "the most spoiled dogs in Memphis," she said with a laugh. Not surprisingly, Smith practices what she preaches, serving up fresh salads for dinner most nights and exercising regularly. Bookmark:
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