Kimberly Montgomery‟s refusal to see things negatively was a huge advantage to her over the years. That is, however, until she didn’t take the signs of a heart attack or her family history seriously, and it almost cost her her life.
When Kimberly became ill one afternoon after a hot yoga class, she came up with many explanations for her nausea and profuse sweating – a heart attack wasn‟t one of them. Instead, she was sure she simply hadn’t cooled down from class. Or it was food poisoning. Or the onset of menopause even crossed her mind. She was sure it was nothing critical.
When her symptoms persisted, a friend convinced her to walk to a nearby urgent care clinic. She was transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital, but even that wasn’t enough to worry her. When Kimberly asked the doctor – who was about to perform a heart catheterization procedure – if he could wait a few minutes until her family arrived, he told her there was no time to lose. She had just had a heart attack.
Kimberly, like many women, was completely unaware that nausea and sweating are two major symptoms.
“When I heard the words “heart attack,‟ I finally started worrying,” she says. “I was no longer in denial about what was happening to me.”
The doctor assessed the damage to her heart and found one artery with a 75 percent blockage and another with an 80 percent blockage. Two stents were inserted, and the cardiac rehab process began.
An avid exerciser, Kimberly found the recovery process frustrating.
My Story: “I Thought I Was Having A Hot Flash” was originally published on blackdoctor.org
