Stories from the Heart

The following are stories submitted to us by members
of our community. Read their stories and see how
heart disease has touched their lives. 

(Check this page periodically, as we post new stories as received.)

Sabrina's Story New Boston, Michigan - My first child, Dakota Allen, was born on December 4, 2002. Like most first-time parents, we were ecstatic and amazed at what had just taken over our lives. But before our joy had time to shine, we were given news that would forever change the shape of our world. Dakota had pulmonary stenosis. More... Natalie's Story Toledo, Ohio - Education saved my life when at 32 years old, a sudden loss of vision triggered me to realize something was wrong with my heart. More... Barbara's Story Northwood, Ohio - Heart disease affected my life at a very early age. Actually, it has affected my whole family. When I was six years old, my baby sister Joni Lynn was born. My mother noticed that when Joni would drink her bottle that her lips would turn blue and she would stop and gasp for air while drinking. Joni's little fingers and toes would also turn blue. My mother called the family doctor and he told her that it was nothing. More... Karl's Story Toledo, Ohio - On Friday, August 20, 2004 I went into cardiac arrest while I was at work at St V's. My friends performed CPR on me for around 40 minutes. I also understand that during this time I went into PEA (pulseless electrical activity). I was transferred to the ER from the surgery lounge. They were going to try one last dose of amiodorone and give it one more minute to work before they would call the code if my rhythm did not get going. More... Michelle's Story Findlay, Ohio - I was 37 years old and working in registration at St. Vincent. I developed heaviness in my chest that did not feel like anything I had ever felt before. It did not get better, or go away. It was difficult for me to breath. I was not gasping, it was more of a discomfort. When this did not go away I went to the ER, thinking that maybe I needed an x-ray. More... Judith's Story Toledo, Ohio - Twenty-five years ago I met my soul mate. I was 40 years old and never married, and suddenly I fell in love. A bit of a complication though – he had heart disease and had already had open-heart surgery. More... Angela's Story Sylvania, Ohio - I am the daughter of a heart attack survivor. My mom’s first heart attack was at the age of 50. She then had a second heart attack in 2004, on the night of my birthday. More... April's Story Toledo, Ohio - My name is April and since I was born, I have had pulmonary stenosis and a slight heart murmur. I had my first cardiac cath when I was just five years old. Since I was ten, I’ve also had an echo every two years. More... Barb's Story Newport, Michigan - My story is actually one of my father and cousin. My father passed away of a heart attack at age 47 – just eight days before he was scheduled for bypass surgery. It was two days after I had turned 14 years old. More... Eugene's Story Toledo, Ohio - I was experiencing a lot of pain and was told that it was acid reflux. Eventually, the pain was so bad that I went into St. V’s emergency room. The staff there told me that it wasn’t acid reflux. More... Jacquline's Story Toledo, Ohio - Years ago, I was taking a walk with my dog and began to have difficulty breathing, but had no pain prior to that. I turned around and returned home and called my doctor. After listening to my symptoms, the doctor immediately sent me to a cardiologist. More... Joni's Story Findlay, Ohio - My son Bryce was diagnosed with aortic insufficiency when he was just nine years old. More... Matina's Story Sylvania, Ohio - In 2003, I was at a Greek Dance in Tarpon Springs, Florida. At about midnight, I started to experience an unusual pain in my arms and shoulders. Initially, I just attributed the pain to my arthritis acting up because my arms were raised for so long while dancing. More... Richard's Story Oregon, Ohio - In September 2005, I was experiencing some tightness in my chest. I made an appointment with my doctor to undergo a stress test to see what was wrong. More... Sandra's Story Toledo, Ohio - In 1990, at the age of 50, I had my first heart attack. I remember I was shopping and felt bloated and nauseous, like I was getting a terrible flu bug. More... Tom's Story Toledo, Ohio - I came from a family of 14. Life growing up was difficult – I grew up in an orphanage in Maumee and didn’t eat the greatest – mostly carbs and a little meat. I always considered myself to be relatively healthy and active. I wasn’t lazy by any means. In high school, I wrestled, played baseball, football and swam. I didn’t eat candy, ice cream, or other junk food and didn’t drink pop like most kids do nowadays. More... Tom W's Story Toledo, Ohio - My heart story happened two years ago, when I was 50 years old. I was at a friend’s house for a cookout. I left the cookout and walked three blocks to the local convenience story to pick up a few items. While I was in the store, I began to feel really hot and sort of strange. More... Velma's Story Toledo, Ohio - Recently, I was a patient in the St. Vincent’s cardiac unit. Part of my heart wasn’t getting enough oxygen and I was scared to death. I needed to have a heart catheter. During my stay, the staff there was wonderful. More... Dennis' Story Perrysburg, Ohio - I was a busy executive, but made time to have my normal physicals and stress tests done regularly. I decided to have a more in-depth physical done, and that decision saved my life. More... Laura's Story Toledo, Ohio - Ten years ago, at age 73, I was visiting my sister in Florida. I woke up at 5:00 a.m. one morning not feeling well. I felt “fuzzy”– a little dizzy, a little lightheaded and short of breath. I decided to get up and sit on the couch to see if I might feel better. More... Lora's Story Curtice, Ohio - Around Christmas in 2003, I caught the flu. After recovering, I was back to normal and continued life as usual, not realizing that something was very wrong. About two months later, I began to notice that my heart would race for no apparent reason. More... Marilyn's Story Wauseon, Ohio - I experienced my heart trauma after I went to see my doctor. I was extremely sensitive to cold temperatures and having other health issues. More... Robin's Story Perrysburg, Ohio - In 1999, I was completing a Master’s degree in School Administration, working full time as a Student Services Coordinator and raising two young daughters, ages 5 and 9, with my husband. Although I had been experiencing mild dizzy spells, I attributed them to the added stress of graduate school, lack of sleep and way too much caffeine. More... Bob's Story Toledo, Ohio - I was playing handball 22 years ago at about age 61 and I had a sensation halfway though the game. So, I took a short break, and proceeded to finish the first and second games. But, during the third game I lunged for a shot and had a funny sensation on my left side. I decided to sit out and watch the guys for awhile. More... Jeff's Story Perrysburg, Ohio - At 29 years old, I was one of the youngest people to ever have a triple-bypass performed. More... Julia's Story Temperance, Michigan - My heart story begins with a history of kidney stones. I had one removed and then next year developed another. I thought it was odd that I kept developing the stones, so I went to my doctor who decided to perform an EKG due to some other symptoms that I was experiencing. During the EKG, they discovered something on the left side of my heart. More... Jerry's Story Toledo, Ohio - I am a firefighter and have been fortunate enough to have experience through work with St. Vincent and LifeFlight. I gave LifeFlight its first dispatch over 25 years ago. More... Joanne's Story Toledo, Ohio - My name is Joanne and I have been an employee of St. Vincent for almost 10 years. I work in Telecommunications and the Information department. On August 23, 2002, I came into work at 6:00 a.m. to work the switchboard. I was covering a shift I usually don't work. The operator I was working for likes to take credit for me being alive because I worked for her that day. More... Ken's Story Toledo, Ohio - Most people may be surprised to know that I carry a very important photo of myself in my wallet everywhere I go. This photo is of me, weighing 425 pounds. I carry it both as a reminder and inspiration of how far I have come. More... Linda's Story Northwood, Ohio - In January of 2001, I was on my way into work, walking into St. Charles Mercy Hospital from the parking lot on a very cold morning. At the time, I had been nursing a head cold for a couple of weeks. More... Mike's Story Perrysburg, Ohio - My niece Courtney was born at St. Vincent 15 years ago with a defective mitral heart valve. More... Walter's Story Toledo, Ohio - I had my first quadruple bi-pass in 1994 at St. Vincent. It was performed by Dr. Zacharias. Since then, I have received six stents and 35 EECP or enhanced external counterpulsation treatments, which were administered 35 days in a row. More... Betty's Story Toledo, Ohio - My heart story began when I fell down in my yard one afternoon and was in a coma for five days. More... Grover's Story Bowling Green, Ohio - I had a massive heart attack on November 4, 1991. More... Angie's Story Deshler, Ohio- My father was diagnosed with heart disease about 10 years ago. More... Richard L's Story Toledo, Ohio- As I was preparing to have cardiac vascular bypass on my foot to improve my circulation (I am a diabetic), the surgeons asked me how I was feeling. I told them I had tingling in my fingers. More... Tana's Story Curtice, Ohio- Today, I am 51 years old. My heart story began 9 years ago when I was just 42. More... Gary H's Story Bryan, Ohio - My name is Gary. I’m alive today because of a person that donated their heart. It all started back in September of 1999. I worked in the construction industry and I had gotten into some poison ivy on the job. More... Connie K's Story Oregon, Ohio - Although my personal story didn't start until January 8, 2001 - just ten days after giving birth to my son, Noah - my first exposure to heart disease was when I was ten years old and my father suffered his first heart attack. More...