Jael

A Sudden Health Crisis

It was a warm evening, and I had just finished an ice cream with a friend visiting from Italy. We were walking through the Marktplatz when suddenly, I felt excruciating pain across my chest, just below both breasts, radiating up through my chest, neck, and jaw. I also felt the same pain in spots on both of my forearms. At first, I thought it would pass, but it didn’t. I told my friend something was seriously wrong and asked her to call my husband.

It didn’t occur to me that I might be having a heart attack. At 51, I was fit, worked out regularly, had normal blood pressure and cholesterol, and felt healthy. I wondered if I was having an anaphylactic reaction to the pistachio ice cream I had just eaten. The pain became so intense that I started to feel lightheaded and nauseous. I told my friend I thought I was going to vomit. Meanwhile, she was on the phone with my husband, telling him to come quickly. She suggested it might just be an anxiety attack, but at that moment, I knew I needed help — immediately.

Seeking Help and Waiting for the Ambulance

I ran into the nearest business, which happened to be a fitness center. There was no one at the reception desk, so I called out, “Please help, is anyone here?” I quickly made my way to the back of the gym, found a bathroom, and began vomiting. My friend, still on the phone with my husband, followed me. A gym employee came in and asked what was happening. I yelled, "I need an ambulance!" When I finished vomiting, I returned to the reception area, where the gym worker was already on the phone with emergency services. My husband pulled up outside, and my son ran in, ready to take me to the hospital. The gym worker told me I couldn’t leave and must stay until the ambulance arrived. I felt I didn’t have much time and tried to leave, but she insisted I stay. Just a few minutes later, the ambulance arrived. I was later told that waiting for the ambulance likely saved my life. Had I driven with my husband, I wouldn’t have received treatment quickly enough.

Diagnosis and Treatment in the Hospital

At the hospital, a full team of doctors was waiting for me in the ER. They immediately rushed me to the cath lab, where the doctor performing the procedure discovered a tear in my left anterior descending artery (LAD). He explained that this was "normal" for women my age and that I would be admitted to the ICU, followed by a few days on the cardiac floor, with treatment focused on medication. I felt incredibly fortunate that the ambulance arrived so quickly and that I had a skilled doctor who diagnosed me right away.

After the procedure, the pain subsided temporarily, but it returned later that evening and continued into the next day. I was scared because I didn’t know that post-heart attack pain is normal. I was given painkillers for two days.

Language Barriers and Medical Challenges

My hospital stay was stressful because I don’t speak German, and the language barrier made communication difficult. It was uncomfortable when doctors and nurses spoke around me in German, and I didn’t understand what they were saying. When I was discharged, I was told to find a doctor within three days because I would only be given enough medication for that period. When I asked for help, I was told to "Google it." Every doctor I contacted had a voicemail in German that I couldn’t comprehend.

The Shocking Diagnosis: SCAD

I was terrified because I didn’t fully understand what had happened to me. It wasn’t until later that I learned my SCAD (Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection) had caused a 100% blockage, resulting in a massive heart attack. No one in the hospital had explained this to me; all I knew was that I had a dissection in my coronary artery.

Finding Support and Professional Guidance

Fortunately, I found a wonderful cardiologist in Wiesbaden, who saw me the day after my release because I was still experiencing chest pressure. He was kind and attentive.  

Soon after, I was connected to the SCAD support group in Germany through the UK-based SCAD support group I had contacted. The members from the German group, provided me with care, support, and advice when I needed it most. They encouraged me to find a SCAD specialist as soon as possible.

I was referred to a specialist in the UK, and he responded quickly to my request, scheduling a Teams meeting within two weeks. During the meeting, the doctor explained my condition in detail and what my prognosis would be. I learned that there is damage to the apex of my heart, but my ejection fraction is 58%, which is good news. I thank God daily for allowing me to survive.

The doctor also explained that SCAD is often linked to stress and hormones, which made sense to me, as I had been under extreme stress and anxiety for five months leading up to the heart attack. Both, the specialist from the UK and the cardiologist in Wiesbaden, have been a beacon of light during this frightening time.

Returning Home and Moving Forward

Since the heart attack, I’ve decided to return to the United States to be closer to family and to a medical system I understand, where I can also speak the language. I will be forever grateful to the excellent paramedics and doctors in Germany who saved my life, and to Dr. Kraus and Dr. Adlam for their exceptional care, guidance, and support. I am now taking life one day at a time, trying to enjoy each moment and view life with a new perspective.