My name is Andrea, and I'm 42.
The day of my heart attack I was on my way to work.
I woke up in the morning feeling nauseated and tired.
I had heartburn; I thought it was all my morning
sickness from being pregnant.
As my day progressed my symptoms got worse, my jaw tightened,
my left arm went limp, I had extreme burning in my chest.
By the time I had gotten to the urgent care center it had been
six and half hours from the onset of the symptoms
and I was, at that point, so critical I had
to be air lifted to a local hospital.
They were counting my life in minutes.
I got to the hospital, they had to do emergency surgery.
They placed a stent in my artery that was blocked.
I spent 10 days in the coronary care intensive care unit
and during that time I lost the baby as well.
I did not realize that I had all the classic signs, simply
because I honestly had never taken the time to learn what
those signs were or to learn about women and the risks
for heart disease.
My words of wisdom for anyone would be to educate yourself
about your risk for heart attacks and heart disease.
Spending time with my family.
Enjoying my friends, playing with my dogs.
Me.
