Star-Jones was shocked when she learned she needed life-saving heart surgery in 2010. It wasn’t just the seriousness of the situation.
The lawyer, author and TV personality was shocked to discover she didn’t even know she was sick.
“I was supposed to be Miss Smarty Pants and I had no idea that I might be at risk for cardiovascular disease or that I might need open heart surgery,” she said. “That’s what drove me to become a national volunteer with the American Heart Association. I want to shout from the rooftops and tell black and brown people and women who look like me that heart disease can happen to anyone. is.”
Jones will receive the American Heart Association’s Voice of the Mission Award for her years of advocacy in the fight against heart disease. Jones will receive the award at the AHA’s National Volunteer Awards event, a virtual ceremony open to the public scheduled to begin at 6:00 pm Central Time on Wednesday, June 14th.
“Starr continues to shine a critical light on the importance of heart health for everyone,” said Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association. “I am so grateful for her personal passion and her unwavering advocacy for our mission.”
Born in North Carolina and raised in Trenton, New Jersey, Jones comes from a family with a long history of heart disease. Still, she had heard little, if any, about how to prevent it.
“I’m a fourth-generation heart patient, and I don’t think I ever heard about heart health growing up. heart attack, but heart health is not. ”
Mr. Jones, a former New York City district attorney, rose to fame in the 1990s as a television journalist and analyst and longtime co-host on ABC. scenery. Last year, she took over the role of Fox’s chief arbitrator, television’s longest-running court show. divorce court.
However, as her celebrity status increased, so did her weight. She stated that her obesity affected both her physical and mental health.
“A lot of people can be obese anonymously, except for family and friends, but I was morbidly obese in front of the whole world, and there was an enormous amount of fat shaming,” she said. said.
“I gained 70 pounds in a year and a famous late-night cartoon made a deeply hurtful joke about me. It was one of the darkest times of my life, but I tried to pretend everything was okay. I think that’s when my depression started.” “
Eventually, she sought help from a behavioral therapist. She also received frank counseling from her friends and family.
“A friend of mine came to my house and looked me in the face and said, ‘I’m so scared that if I don’t hear from you in three days, I’ll come in here and find you dead on the floor.’ ” she said.
What ultimately resonated with Jones was advice from her godmother, who had weight-loss surgery at the age of 60. “I wish I had had the surgery 20 years earlier,” she said.
“Her words saved my life,” Jones said. “At the age of 41, I decided then and there to make a change and never looked back.”
In 2003, she underwent gastric bypass surgery and began exercising and eating healthy. In the wake of her weight loss surgery and working on her diet and exercise, she lost 160 pounds in her two years and has maintained her healthy weight ever since.
However, even after losing weight, she continued to feel tired and short of breath. Her cardiologist, Dr. Valentin Fuster, a past president of the American Heart Association, diagnosed “a myriad of problems with my heart,” including a malfunctioning aortic valve.
“I was shocked,” Jones said. “I thought, ‘Why is this happening to me now? I’m finally doing the right thing.'”
In 2010, she underwent open-heart surgery to repair the problem, followed by months of physical therapy and cardiac rehabilitation. Thirteen years later, she’s 61 and she says she feels better than she’s ever felt.
In addition to seeing her doctor regularly, she eats a healthy diet, continues to exercise regularly, and practices self-discipline and portion control with every meal.
“It’s nice to wake up in the morning and feel so good,” she said. “I’m honored to support the American Heart Association and be a messenger in their mission to save lives. This is my life’s work. It’s my way of giving back to the fact that I’m alive.”
