Heather's Story - Heart of Lancaster 2021
Heather's Story - Heart of Lancaster 2021
“We all felt that it could be anxiety related. I didn’t really fit the picture of heart attack.” At just 33, Heather Elliott of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania was experiencing a heart attack brought on by a coronary artery spasm. She shared her story during our 2021 Heart of Lancaster digital celebration. #HeartOfLancaster
Content
0.72 -> [Music]
1.68 -> my name is heather elliott i am 34 years
4.08 -> old and i live in lancaster county
6.72 -> it was june 18 2020
9.84 -> and i started experiencing
12.88 -> some upper left-sided chest pain
16.72 -> pretty intense i was getting ready for
19.76 -> work and getting my kids up i have two
22.16 -> boys
22.88 -> and we were getting ready to go to my
25.519 -> mom's
26.24 -> so i really just thought it was my my
28.4 -> reflux
29.359 -> and that i couldn't have been having a
31.359 -> heart attack or any cardiac issue at 33
34.559 -> and i wasn't stressed it was a really
36.64 -> good day um
38.239 -> started off normal i've had way more
40.399 -> stressful mornings with two little boys
42.96 -> um so i definitely didn't think it was
44.879 -> cardiac related
46.16 -> and that's why i kind of just went about
48.079 -> my day and figured it would go away
50.239 -> so after dropping them off i drove
52.399 -> another 20
53.28 -> 25 minutes to my office and
56.399 -> um although i didn't make it so i had to
59.84 -> pull over
60.719 -> things started to get a little worse for
62.32 -> me my chest pain was
63.92 -> definitely worse i began sweating the
66.159 -> ironic thing or the weird thing was my
68.159 -> fingers went
68.96 -> stick straight and i literally could not
71.68 -> bend
72 -> them and my arms felt like they weighed
74.64 -> a ton
76.08 -> uh so i called my husband and he got a
78.96 -> hold of 9-1-1
80.56 -> by the time 9-1-1 arrived i should say
82.88 -> the ambulance
83.759 -> i um i was feeling better so i actually
86.799 -> declined to go with
88.08 -> the ambulance my blood pressure was
90.479 -> normal my symptoms had started to
92.159 -> dissolve
93.119 -> and we decided just to go to my actual
96.72 -> doctor's office
97.759 -> and the ekg that was performed compared
100.32 -> to my previous ekg
102.079 -> did reveal some changes and i was having
105.6 -> st depressions at that time i declined
108.56 -> blood work
109.6 -> we all felt that it could be anxiety
111.28 -> related i didn't really fit
113.759 -> the picture of heart attack
116.799 -> i'm usually a pretty calm person so for
119.52 -> me
120.079 -> to think i had an anxiety attack i just
123.04 -> i couldn't overcome that
125.04 -> and i decided to reach out and get that
126.88 -> blood work that i declined
128.72 -> and my primary care doctor called me
131.52 -> that evening about nine o'clock
133.52 -> with the results of my blood work i had
135.92 -> an elevated troponin
137.599 -> because i have been in the medical field
139.28 -> for quite a while now um once the
142.56 -> results came back i clearly knew what
144.959 -> the blood work level meant
147.36 -> it is a cardiac enzyme marker so i knew
150.879 -> that there had to have been some type of
152.64 -> cardiac damage
153.92 -> and she had wanted me to report to the
155.599 -> emergency room
156.959 -> so i did and we got to the emergency
159.599 -> room
160.239 -> next thing i knew i had a whole bunch of
161.599 -> people in my room just getting
163.36 -> information more blood work
165.76 -> x-rays things like that they determined
168.08 -> that i likely suffered a coronary artery
170.08 -> spasm closed my coronary artery about 70
174.56 -> and i was administered nitroglycerin
178.72 -> and started on a new regimen of
181.28 -> medication
182.56 -> so i have been religious about taking my
185.12 -> medication just because
186.8 -> i do worry when is it going to happen
188.879 -> again
189.84 -> since my prognosis has been good i have
193.519 -> been better but
194.48 -> those first couple months the emotional
196.48 -> effects that i had
198.159 -> were were new to me i hadn't
201.76 -> experienced those concerns or those
204.72 -> worries
205.68 -> or the why was also another issue
209.44 -> a lot of people say it's because of
210.72 -> stress i will put a lot of stress on
213.12 -> myself
213.599 -> my mom i work full time and i'm in
216.159 -> school for my bachelor's
217.76 -> that is the only reason we we can really
219.68 -> come up with anything so i think that
221.36 -> was
221.76 -> one of the more difficult parts of it of
224.56 -> not knowing really why that happened
226.64 -> and still not really knowing the
228.4 -> coronary artery spasm that caused my
230.879 -> heart attack is not something that a lot
233.12 -> of people are aware of
234.4 -> or it's just not talked about often so
237.28 -> it's important for me
238.319 -> to let people know about it just so that
242.239 -> they don't ignore those symptoms of
244.159 -> chest pain and shortness of breath
246.239 -> i had wrote a blog just to tell my story
249.599 -> so that people realize that this is
251.84 -> something that can happen to them
253.36 -> even at 33 and i think after heart
255.76 -> attacks
256.56 -> it's something that we do to ourselves
258.32 -> where um i know i did it to myself where
260.56 -> i felt like i didn't want the attention
262.72 -> that i kind of felt like people may have
264.32 -> thought or maybe doubted me or
267.12 -> that i was making it out to be something
269.36 -> that it wasn't
270.16 -> so my advice would be to not worry about
272.56 -> that
273.199 -> to take care of yourself listen to your
275.68 -> body
276.8 -> and when when you know you need
280.4 -> treatment
281.28 -> go ahead and go ahead and go for it
283.6 -> don't don't be
284.88 -> scared that you're overreacting
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kalyyfKX1U