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A local woman being treated at Saint Luke Hospital has an important warning today for busy moms... don't ignore the early signs of heart problems.
Local 12 Medical Reporter Liz Bonis has her story in today's Medical Edge.
Just a few months ago, Mary Brooks was on a family vacation when she started having chest pain and what she thought was indigestion.
Mary Brooks, Mother: "It was right in here, it wasn't a pressure, just kind of an ache, and it went up to my throat."
Mary never told her son, Ben, however, because she says she didn't want to interrupt the family fun.
Ben Brooks, Son: "She never once mentioned to me she had chest pain."
Mary's now in cardiac rehab. She found out when she got home. She narrowly escaped a heart attack.
"She had a 95 percent blockage in her vessels in her heart."
What makes Mary's story so unique, however, isn't that her signs and symptoms were all that unusual, or that she didn't want to inconvenience anyone. What made all the difference is that Mary's son works in a very unique place, which makes her a likely candidate to know these symptoms and to be a very likely candidate for early intervention. You see, Ben is a hospital nurse, but not just any nurse.
"I'm the emergency department manager."
Time and time again, Ben says, he had warned his mom about the early warning signs for heart problems.
"She very easily could have thrown a little bit of a clot and had a heart attack."
Both mother and son now say, if this can happen in their family, it can happen to anyone, anywhere. Their message now?
"Don't put it off. I was just one of the fortunate."
That and sometimes, even on vacation, the best thing you can do is interrupt the family fun.
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