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Personal Heart Stories

Heart disease is not a statistic.  It's a disease that affects men and women in every community in the United States—and may affect you.  It can alter or damage your life, or even take it away.

  • Diane, Age 59 - My experience with heart disease started with typical symptoms—I couldn't breathe one night and it felt like there was an elephant sitting right on top of my chest.  Not knowing what was going on, I went to the emergency room.  The doctors diagnosed me with arthritis of the rib cage behind the heart.  I was relieved to hear the explanation—so relieved that I did not hear the doctor advise me to see a cardiologist as soon as possible.  Two years later, I was unable to finish climbing a flight of stairs, so I returned to see the doctor again.  Read more about Diane >>
  • Sharon, Age 49 - I suffered a heart attack that affected 50 percent of my heart function.  At the time I was a registered dietician—I practiced good eating habits, led a healthy lifestyle, and didn't have any risk factors for heart disease.  What surprised me the most was that I was in relatively great physical shape, but right before my heart attack I couldn't even manage to walk up a flight of stairs without stopping to rest.  Read more about Sharon >>
  • Shannon, Age 35 -  I was three months pregnant with my second child when I started having a racing heartbeat.  I was concerned so I went to the emergency room of a small hospital while I was on vacation with my family.The doctor performed an EKG, echocardiogram, and other diagnostic tests.  Based on these test results the physician sent me immediately to a major teaching hospital in Boston.  There I was diagnosed with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy—thicker than normal heart walls, which makes it difficult for the heart to pump blood.  Read more about Shannon >>
  • Christen & Maria, Age 20 & 38 - (Maria) While I was pregnant with my third child at age 32, I started experiencing complications with my pregnancy.  Unfortunately, my OBGYN failed to diagnose my early symptoms as heart disease.  After I went back to the hospital and saw another doctor I was shocked to learn that I was having a massive heart attack.  The doctors couldn't identify what caused or triggered my heart attack.  Read more about Christen & Maria >>

 Source:  National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/hearttruth/stories/index.htm