While teaching a fitness class, she had a massive heart attack
By Stefani Kopenec, 美国心脏协会 线上电子游戏飞禽走兽
拉托纳·哈尔(Ratona冷雾)在一家自行车工作室进行了20分钟的晨练,这时她感觉好像开关被打开了, triggering pressure in her chest. 这让这位44岁的两个孩子的母亲非常困扰,她从自行车上下来,站着教了剩下的25分钟课.
大约两小时后, 她又回来教另一节动感单车课,还是站在她的自行车旁边. A client suggested she may have heartburn. 她觉得可能是她早餐的咖啡和橙子造成的, Harr bought an antacid on her way home.
那天晚上, still feeling the "weird sensation" in her chest, 尽管如此,哈尔还是在她在佛罗伦萨拥有的健身和瑜伽工作室里领导了一个健身班, 肯塔基州. 她告诉她的客户她感觉不是100%,所以她不会和他们一起做练习.
因为她从来没有心脏问题,所以哈尔从来没有考虑过去看医生或去医院. 那是2021年2月,她的注意力更多地集中在维持课程表上,因为疫情给她的生意造成了经济损失.
接下来的两天,哈尔感觉不太好,但也不知道是什么问题. She got a massage in hopes that would help; it didn't. 第二天,当她在自己的工作室教有氧运动和力量课时,疼痛又来了. 只会更激烈.
"On a scale of 1 to 10, it was like a 15," Harr said.
She broke into a pouring sweat. 她的左臂麻木了. 她非常害怕,走到其中一位参与者——她的朋友凯瑟琳·福斯面前, a physical therapist – and asked Fauls to keep an eye on her.
Fauls知道Harr有慢性背部问题,她很少抱怨, so if she was worrying about something, 一定很严重. Fauls told her to stop the class. Fauls then asked if there was a doctor or nurse present.
两个护士走上前来. They checked her pulse, which was racing. At this point, Harr could hardly breath. Meanwhile, a friend called 911, then phoned Harr's husband. 救护人员抱着哈尔,希望能让她平静下来,直到救护车到来.
医护人员给她做了心电图,告诉她是心脏病发作.
At the hospital, the medical staff took another reading of her heart. 她的情况非常糟糕——能活着真是太幸运了——哈尔回忆起一位急诊室医生说过的话, "I can't even believe you're here."
Harr was taken to the cardiac catheterization lab, where doctors examined the internal workings of her heart. 心脏病专家发现她的左前降支100%堵塞, 它是心脏最大的动脉,几乎一半的心脏血液都流向这里. Full blockages there are frequently deadly. He inserted two stents to restore blood flow.
小时 later, Fauls' phone rang. Answering, she heard: "I'm alive!" Hearing those words from Harr caused Fauls to burst into tears.
哈尔幸免于难的原因之一是迅速的反应:911报警电话发生在上午8:56.m.; she headed to the cath lab by 9:33 a.m.
Still, the damage to her heart was extensive. She was in heart failure; her heart was no longer able to supply adequate blood flow to the rest of her body. 她离开医院时穿着一件除颤器背心,以防心脏停止跳动.
At the start of her recovery, 以前甚至很少服用维生素的哈尔正在服用11种药物. 每周三次, she went to cardiac rehabilitation, where the staff monitored her heart while she exercised.
"My therapist would always say, “我们只是想提醒你, even 虽然 you're the youngest and you think you're the fittest in here, 你其实病得最厉害. You're the only one in the life vest,'" Harr said.
这位从事健身工作近20年的教练辞职6个月. Then, with her doctor's OK, she gradually ramped things up.
“我有很多焦虑,回来教书也有一点创伤, because I almost lost my life teaching. 只是害怕, I could just have a heart attack and die, and die in front of a group of people,她说.
Last year, Harr was in a yoga class when her heart rate spiked. She was diagnosed with tachycardia, 或者心跳加快, 并接受了阻断导致心律异常的通路的手术.
In September, she had another cardiac event, again while working out.
哈尔在带一个自行车班的时候昏倒了,从自行车上摔了下来. She was unconscious for roughly 60 to 90 seconds. 这个问题是由一种叫做心室颤动的不规则心律引起的.
Harr received an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, or ICD. It's a machine placed in the chest to monitor the heart's rhythm; if it detects a problem, it can shock the heart back into a normal rhythm.
现年47岁的哈尔正试图找出她生命中最好、最安全的道路. She's not sure what that will look like.
她学会了一件事, 虽然, 在治疗心脏病方面,医学和技术有多先进.
"There's so much amazing technology and preventative measures,她说. "You can still live a very vibrant life."
发自内心的故事 记录心脏病和中风幸存者、护理人员和倡导者的鼓舞人心的旅程.