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TEMOIGNAGES
Nurse (Issoire, France)

Emilie, 36 years old

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I lost my husband suddenly in July 2019. After he passed away, I had treatment with a psychiatrist. We had three young daughters and I had to keep fighting for them. I didn’t smoke, but was very stressed by all the things I had to take on by myself. In September 2019, about two months after my husband died, I was having a calm day at home with my girls. I had all the symptoms of a heart attack. I work in cardiology and I know these signs well. First, I had pain in my lower chest that felt like a stomachache. Then this morphed into pressure and tightness in my chest. After that, I felt pain and numbness in my left arm and pain in my jaw that finally radiated into my back. I called the EMS. My electrocardiogram readings had changed and my troponin levels had increased. I was admitted to intensive care immediately with a suspected heart attack. But the coronary angiography was negative. In reality, it was a stress—or takotsubo—cardiomyopathy. My heart had been broken by my husband’s death. Things like this don’t just happen to other people. I knew the symptoms since I’m a cardiology nurse. So I want my story to help other women listen to their bodies and get help when they feel unusual or persistent cardiac symptoms. Thank you to Women’s Cardiovascular Healthcare Foundation (Agir pour le Cœur des Femmes) for the work they’re doing.

 

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Cendrine, 34 years old

Cleaner from Béthune, France

“My leg was hurting for several days. Then slowly my foot started turning blue. I ended up not being able to put any weight on it. My doctor sent me to the hospital. I’ve been smoking around one and a half packs a day since I was 16 and I’ve been taking the pill for about the same amount of [...]

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Lucie, 70 years old

Retired (Lys-Lez-Lannoy, France)

At 70 years of age, I was in good health and never thought I’d one day be diagnosed as a person with heart failure (dilated cardiomyopathy). I had a narrow escape… It was the only organ I didn’t think would be affected. Until that point, my physical condition hadn’t caused any problems as I [...]

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Rosita, 68 years old

My name is Rosita. I’m 68 years old and for more than 35 years, I’ve suffered from various cardiac issues related to a malformed mitral valve. In 1998, I had a very successful mitral valve plasty procedure, but still had a stroke in 2012 after hastily completed thrombolysis. Fortunately, there [...]

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