Heart Disease: It Can Happen to You

Heart Disease
This picture was taken hours before I went into cardiac arrest.

Heart disease is something I never thought I would battle.

I ate plenty of fruits and vegetables and went to CrossFit several times per week. I’m good, right? I heard the statistics regarding women and heart disease and looked the other way. I remember being much more nervous about developing breast cancer than heart disease, even though the statistics tell a very different story. Per the American Heart Association, heart disease is the NUMBER ONE killer of women, causing 1 in 3 deaths each year. These figures are astounding, so why do so many of us think we are invincible?

This is my story.

It was the spring of 2012 when I first became concerned about chest pain I was having while running. I was only 26 at the time, so I thought I was losing my mind. After much debate with my fiancé (now husband), I decided to see a cardiologist. They determined the pain was muscle related, but found that I have a rare congenital heart disease called Long QT. The hereditary disease makes it more likely for you to experience cardiac arrhythmias, which can lead to sudden death. It was all very terrifying, but after numerous tests the doctors determined that I was low risk to have a cardiac event. There were multiple medications I was no longer able to take and I was instructed to come back immediately should I ever feel like my heart was racing. For some reason, I left the office and decided I was fine. My heart disease wasn’t real, it was a fancy medical term that doctors used.

Fast forward three years when early one May morning my life changed forever. My son’s motion monitor alarm went off, and I remember asking my husband if he was going to check on him. The next thing I remembered was waking up with paramedics standing over me. My husband was explaining to them that he had performed CPR. I remember thinking, “I didn’t feel anything, there’s no way he could have done CPR”. I couldn’t move; I couldn’t speak. I resorted to thrashing and screaming. They carried me out to the ambulance while I screamed for my son. He was only 6 weeks old, and I had never been away from him.

Looking back, we didn’t connect the dots.

The doctors thought I’d had a seizure and admitted me to the hospital for 24-hour monitoring. It was Long QT rearing its ugly head, but for some reason, in the moment, we didn’t think about it. I was young and healthy and we didn’t believe something like this could happen to me. Later that evening, I began feeling extremely dizzy. My head was pounding, and I immediately knew I was going to faint. My mom called the nurse and the last thing I heard her say was, “This doesn’t look very good”, while looking at my heart monitor.

Heart Disease
I spent my first Mother’s Day in the hospital. I was so grateful for my husband that ordered catering from my favorite restaurant.

I partially woke up after being shocked by the paddles. I remember my body jolting and thinking it was a dream. There was no way my 28-year-old, healthy self was living out a scene from Grey’s Anatomy. They shocked me again and again trying to get my heart back to a normal rhythm – eight times total – and I have burn scars on my chest to prove it (I call them my battle wounds). I remember the nurse telling me she had performed CPR, and again thinking that was impossible because I didn’t feel it. After this episode my husband connected the dots and they called my cardiologist. I had an internal cardiac defibrillator implanted the next morning. That evening it went off twice, but it was far less terrifying than the external defibrillator.

Heart disease will impact more than your heart; it will change your life.

My nine nights in the hospital were excruciating, as I was away from my son and developed debilitating anxiety that I have battled ever since. I’ve committed myself to trying to find the positive in all of it by enjoying every day. I will have this disease my entire life and my son will too, as he inherited the Long QT gene from me, but it won’t control our lives. I won’t give it that satisfaction.

I am a survivor.

My husband saved my life. My nurse and the doctors saved my life. My implanted defibrillator saved my life. I am beyond lucky. My story could have ended much differently. Are you confident you could save someone’s life with CPR? If not, I challenge and beg you to learn. Do it for the people that are most special to you. Most classes are a few hours long; a small sacrifice considering the good that could come from it. Do you know and understand the symptoms of cardiac related events in women? If not, read them here, and listen to your body.

You might think you are too young or too healthy, but you’re not.

Looking back, I was having arrhythmias before my episode, but I didn’t think about it. I could have likely prevented my harrowing experience had I believed heart disease could happen to me. Silly I know, because the doctor told me I had heart disease.

Heart disease can happen to any of us; it doesn’t discriminate. If you think you could be having heart-related symptoms, please seek help immediately. Don’t let you or your fellow moms become a statistic. Raise awareness and talk about it.

As women, we owe it to each other.

Heart Disease
We recently celebrated my son’s first birthday. It was an emotional milestone for me, as I was so grateful just to be there.

You can watch a recap of my story here. 

Ilex Gelpi
Ilex grew up in the Wichita area, leaving for four years to attend the University of Kansas. After earning a degree in Finance, Ilex returned to Wichita (against all odds) to chase a great career opportunity. Shortly after returning, she met her husband Michael at a local bar and they have been married for 6 years. The couple has two boys, ages three and one. Ilex left her career in finance at Koch to try the stay at home mom gig and loves it. She is a survivor of heart disease and lives with T1D, which leads her to live each day to the fullest. She loves spending time with family and friends, going to the gym and is always in the middle of a great book. Ilex enjoys giving back to the community and is currently serving as Past President of the Ballet Wichita Board of Directors and a sustainer in the Junior League of Wichita.

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