Life for 41-year-old Judi Smith is anything but laid back.
The West Chester mother has three active children who keep her on the move.
But last spring, Judi had to slow down because of some troubling symptoms: lower abdominal pain and extreme fatigue. Her doctor suspected a virus.
But then, there was a sharp pain in Judi’s chest during a workout.
“I stopped. The pain went away, so I started again. And the pain came back. It didn’t go away this time,” said Judi.
She thought she had pulled a muscle.
Then about a week later, Judi was rushed to the hospital with pain she couldn’t ignore.
“They were like, ‘Mrs. Smith, you’re having a heart attack,’” she said.
Doctors found severe blockages in three of her arteries. Surgery quickly followed. Doctors used stents to get the blood flowing again.
Judi told us she came very close to dying.
Dr. Manisha Patel is a heart specialist with Cardiac Vascular & Thoracic surgeons in Norwood.
She says women often show different heart attack symptoms than men, but don’t always notice.
“I think women are very often the caregivers for everyone else in the family and tend to neglect themselves,” she said.
Dr. Patel says heart-related pain might be felt in the right side of a woman’s chest, instead of her left. She may also feel pain in her back, arm, neck or even her jaw. Women might also feel fatigued or short of breath.
Judi says it took a good six months for her to bounce back. Her husband and kids had to pick up some of the slack.
Since then, Judi has had a defibrillator implanted near her heart in case of another attack.
She’s exercising again and her family has a new commitment to eating healthy and slowing down.
“This thing almost killed me. Now it’s my turn. I’m not gonna let it ruin my life.”
The American Heart Association’s “Go Red for Women” campaign encourages you to take charge of your heart health. You can go to their website to take the free heart health assessment.
With information by wcpo.com
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