Heart Health Talk After Her Coronary Stent with Karen Kunz, Who Ran Over 90 Marathons

Episode 29
Join your hosts Carmen and Sophia Micsa to find out how Karen Kunz, a nurse and runner, who ran over 90 marathons took charge of her heart health to avoid open heart surgery, even though she passed the stress test. February is heart health month and our guest has a powerful message, especially for women athletes and non-athletes.
Karen Kunz is 67 years old from the Chicago area and one of 8 children. Karen has a B.S. in Exercise Physiology and a BS in Nursing. She started running in 1974(pre-Title 9 era) as a freshman in college and received XC & Track scholarship in her last 2 years of college. When she was 39, Karen’s daughter was born “brittle bones,” which inspired her to go back to college & learn medicine. From 1982 to 1989, Karen ran for Adidas professionally. She also coached for 2 colleges & was a private coach since 1980. Karen ran her first marathon in 1979 and about 1000 races total.
Karen Kunz has practical and wise advice regarding fitness, running, and heart health:

• Running is a microcosm of life. You need to keep going, as you never know what you can accomplish.
• Karen ran for Adidas professionally and has been grateful for the opportunity.
• At 67, after Karen got a coronary stent to open up her left anterior descending artery, she is still running marathons. Her next big race is the Tokyo marathon, which she will run representing her Arete team, the Sacramento branch.
• Karen's message for all women is to trust their instincts just like she did when the stress test came back fine. She had to push for a heart flow test because she had worked with cardiac patients and knew what to ask for.
• Getting a baseline is quite important in taking control of your health.

On this Seeds of Sunshine episode:

• Learn to be proactive with your fitness and your health.
• Women's heart issues manifest differently than men, so pushing for the correct tests can make the difference between making it alive or not.
• Learn how Karen thrived after girls were allowed to play sports just like the boys.

To read the article that Runner's World wrote about Karen Kunz, please check out the link below:
At 59, Karen Kunz is Healthy, Lean and Fast | Runner's World (runnersworld.com)
To connect with Karen Kunz, please follow her on FB and IG under runnerkk. Her account is private on IG.

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Full editing credit & art design to my daughter Sophia Micsa.
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