I was diagnosed with a heart condition called Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome when I was in high school. WPW is a congenital heart condition characterized by an extra electrical pathway between the heart's chambers, causing rapid heart rate (tachycardia).

In 2016, I woke up one morning not feeling well. I blacked out while getting ready for school and knew something was not right. When I came to, I noticed my heart was racing. I immediately alerted my mom and she took my bp, which was extremely low (60s/50s). The bp machine would not register my heart rate. We went to her work, where she was finally able to get a heart rate on me (took many tries and 2 different machines). My resting HR was in the 170s. Mom and her coworkers got me up and took me to a room where they ran an EKG, which was abnormal. During that time, my HR jumped into the 200s. The doctor determined I needed to go to the ER. Mom took me to the ER, where I sat for hours. My heart corrected itself after racing uncontrollably for hours. At the ER, the attending told us I needed to be sent to Birmingham for an ablation. No cardiology consult or anything. Thankfully, we knew where a cardiologist would be. He decided then to take me on as a patient and put me on a beta blocker to control my rhythm. That has done wonders for me.

Fast forward to 2025. I was at work one day and started not feeling well. I wear an Apple Watch and an Oura Ring to track my heart rate since it can be unpredictable. Except this time, my HR was low and my bp was high. One of our onsite medics ran an EKG on me and what he told me next sent me into a panic. He told me I needed to be rushed to the hospital because it was saying I was having an acute MI (heart attack). He gave me nitro and aspirin. One of my coworkers, who I consider one of my work moms rushed me to the ER where they rushed me back and ran another EKG. Thankfully, my labs and test came back with no indication of an MI (thank you god). Turns out, I had a very bad case of indigestion.

That same year, I decided to begin seeing a cardiologist at UAB. He taught me something I did not know about my condition. There are 2 types of WPW, type A and type B. He told me I have type B, which affects the right side of my heart. Therefore, anytime I get an EKG, I'll always have a dictation of acute MI. He put me on a heart monitor and decided to continue me in my medication. Himself, like my other cardiologist did not want me having an ablation so young due to the risks of having to have a pacemaker.

I say all this to say how important it is to get your heart checked. It never hurts to get a second opinion also. Both doctors have been so good to me during this journey.

If you're able to, please consider donating to the American Heart Association. This foundation is important to myself and many others who deal with heart issues.

I'm excited to be participating in the 2026 Birmingham Heart Walk \u2764\ufe0f