Surprise attack

Surprise Attack - Sandy Abramson

Sandy Abramson’s birthday tradition includes an annual checkup with her doctor. What she learned on her “48th birthday” visit changed her life.

After an EKG showed an abnormal heart rhythm, Abramson’s doctor recommended more testing. The results surprised everyone.

“When they told me I’d had a heart attack, all I could say was ‘Oh my gosh – I’m so young,’” recalls Abramson, a St. Louis Park, Minn., psychologist and mother of three boys. “I was completely shocked and terrified to find out I’d had a heart attack and never knew it. My friend’s husband said his heart attack was the worst pain he’d ever felt, yet I felt nothing.”

Symptoms differ

Women often experience different symptoms of a heart attack than men. It is common for women to never experience chest pain; instead they may experience shortness of breath, nausea, fatigue and back or jaw pain.

“My only symptom was that I had been feeling more tired than usual. I’d been having a tough year, so I didn’t think much of it. I am lucky tests caught it,” Abramson says.

Two Park Nicollet Heart and Vascular Center cardiologists went into action. Sarah Vernon, MD, performed an angiography and found one of Abramson’s arteries 100-percent blocked, which means part of her heart muscle had stopped working. Soma Sen, MD, then placed two stents in the artery to keep it open.

Fear factor

Abramson spent one night at Methodist Hospital, Park of Park Nicollet Health Services, before going home. Then she stayed home.

“Before my heart attack, I wasn’t afraid to do anything. But afterward, I wouldn’t even leave my house. If I could have one heart attack and not know it, I feared it would happen again.”

It took nearly a month for Abramson’s fears to lessen.

“Dr. Sen has been wonderful, so reassuring and understanding. This really made me question my mortality. I don’t know what I’d have done without cardiac rehab. The staff is incredible. They’ve made me feel like I can get back to my life without being scared.”

Knowing the warning signs of heart attack could save your life.

Classic symptoms:

• uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain in center of chest
• pain spreading to shoulders, neck, arms, stomach or jaw 
• lightheadedness, fainting, sweating or nausea
• shortness of breath

Symptoms common to women:

• unexplained anxiety, weakness, fatigue or overwhelming tiredness
• pain in upper back, neck, throat or jaw 
• feelings of breathlessness without chest pain
• cold sweats, clamminess and flu-like symptoms
• fainting spells