I walk to inspire young people to take care of themselves! As a cardiac arrest survivor, I am one of the lucky ones. I urge people to go to their annual physicals, ask questions, and be curious about their health. Heart disease does not discriminate - I was a healthy, active, 25 year old with no knowledge of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Let's walk to save lives and celebrate the wonderful work of the American Heart Association!
Full Story:
My heart story began in the fall of 2021, at a routine doctor's appointment, I was told that I should see a cardiologist for a heart murmur. I thought that was strange, but given my family history of heart disease I followed her advice. In February 2022, after an echocardiogram, and wearing a heart monitor, my cardiologist detected hypertrophic cardiomyopathy or HCM. HCM is a disease in which the heart muscle becomes thickened. The thickened heart muscle can make it harder for the heart to pump blood. He also told me I had an 8% chance of sudden cardiac death in the next 5 years…. I knew that was a small percentage but I was nonetheless shocked (no pun intended). We decided we would get a second opinion - how could someone this young be at risk for cardiac death?
However, a week after that appointment my life changed. I had my first cardiac arrest at my gym in Porters Neck, Amplifly - Ride Lift Flow. Thankfully, there were three nurses in my workout class and an AED (automated external defibrillator). I am grateful everyday for their quick ability to perform CPR and understanding of an AED. I remember seeing stars while running and then nothing until I woke up in an ambulance. I will never forget the sounds of the sirens, the helpless feeling of being in a stretcher and hearing the word trauma over and over again. I was completely overwhelmed.
As you can tell, my cardiologist was right and my big heart needed help. The first thing he said to me in the hospital was “that thing saved your life” pointing to the AED.
While at the hospital in Wilmington (NHRMC), he placed an ICD (implantable cardioverter-defibrillator) in my chest. If you don’t know, ICDs shock the heart when an abnormal heart rate is detected - basically an AED in my chest.
A family friend referred me to a physician at the Mayo Clinic who specializes in HCM. So in April 2022, my dad and I flew up to Rochester, Minnesota to see Dr. Steve Ommen at Mayo, as well as Dr. Joe Dearani, a cardiac surgeon. We discussed surgery and decided it was not needed with the ICD as the ultimate safety net.
Fast forward to May, after being cleared to workout by Mayo, and just 3 weeks before my wedding. Same scenario. Running in a work out class and boom. I fell back and thought I fainted from dehydration. I tend to be a stubborn patient and I don’t like to be told “you cannot do X” especially when it comes to exercise. The gym called my husband and he drove me to the hospital. We both knew it likely was heart related despite still talking about the heat and being dehydrated. Turns out my ICD shocked me and although I felt fine, it was time to wake up and realize the severity of HCM.
After weighing pros and cons, I had a septal myectomy surgery in June of 2022. They removed part of the septum that was preventing blood flow. Believe it or not, I had to have the surgery twice, because the surgeon knew how important exercise was to me and he was not satisfied with the final echocardiogram. He wanted to go back in and actually performed an apical myectomy, a slightly different procedure but it still involved a sternotomy. Although I do not recommend having open heart surgery, especially two back to back, it was needed and I feel great today.
