PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Life is about turning adversity into opportunity.
A West Oak Lane woman is sharing her shocking story about heart failure and a heart transplant to educate others.
Teresa Alexander's crash course in heart disease began when she was on her way to work with chest pains and difficulty breathing.
“I thought he was anxious because he was driving in heavy traffic,” she said, adding, “I thought maybe he had indigestion.”
Teresa made a U-turn and went straight to Temple University Hospital, where tests revealed a defective mitral valve.
She received a pig valve and was brought back to life, but doctors said, “It's not about if you need a heart transplant, but when.”
Just seven years later, Teresa got a new valve because the first one failed. This time it was mechanical.
But valve replacement surgery failed to halt the progression of her heart failure, and in early 2018 Teresa's doctors told her to begin the process of being placed on the transplant list.
Dr. Eman Hamad, a heart failure specialist at Temple Health, says there could soon be 10 million Americans with heart failure, up from 6 million today.
“So the number is increasing exponentially,” Dr. Hamad said, adding that the number of young women is also increasing.
But Dr. Hamad says many people could be saved by first recognizing that they are at risk.
“Patients with diabetes, high blood pressure, smoking, obesity, etc.”
Then perform actions on those conditions –
“If we can diagnose it early, if we can prescribe the right medication, and if we can educate people on how to take care of themselves,” Dr. Hamad says.
The 8th Annual Heart Failure Awareness Day will be held on Friday, February 16th at Temple's Rock Pavilion.
In addition to serious educational sessions, you'll also have fun while learning.
“There's a wheel with questions and answers about trivia about heart failure, what to eat and what to drink, and you win prizes,” she says.
“And then there's laughter yoga, which is really great for learning how to de-stress and just laugh,” says Dr. Hamad. “It’s really about how to live and how to de-stress.”
The focus is on empowering patients and building a partnership with the Temple medical team.
“Just being aware that you can potentially reduce your chances of developing such a disease can be very helpful,” she points out.
“A lot of patients, when we bring them into these educational sessions, they learn from each other because they start asking, 'How do you do this?' and 'How do I do this?' Because we actually start educating each other,” she added.
Nurse Linda Rupert says low-sodium cooking demonstrations are always popular at awareness days, especially those tailored to different cultures.
Many spice blends used in cooking are high in salt.
“They can definitely get the same taste if they make their own special seasonings. They mix their own garlic with their own little spices, but eliminate the salt. This way Now, not only can you help the patient, you can also help the family,'' Rupert said.
“We teach families how to make better choices when preparing meals,” she says of the event.
But with each visit, she takes the time to share lessons about living with heart failure.
Teresa was placed on the transplant list in October 2018, but that was too soon.
On October 25, she woke up unable to breathe and went to Temple University Hospital.
Her condition was so dire that doctors planned to give her an LVAD to keep her healthy enough for a transplant.
On October 30th, as Teresa was waiting for her LVAD, a friend came to visit and prayed by her bedside for a new heart.
A few minutes after her friend left, as she was about to eat, Teresa's transplant team came into the room and told her not to eat because they had found her a new heart.
Teresa received a new heart on Halloween, but she says it was “a treat, not a prank.”
“After a few days I was walking, talking, eating and everything else,” she says happily.
Now, she's busy caring for her three young grandchildren and helping Temple raise awareness about heart failure.
“Whenever they call me, I'm right there,” she says enthusiastically.
Teresa is also a Gift of Life ambassador and speaks to others about organ donation.
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