BOSTON (WHDH) - A Boston woman shared her story of survival with 7NEWS after suffering two heart attacks in as many years.
In 2019, Wendy Canty left work with severe nausea and dizziness — symptoms she would later find out were the result of a heart attack.
“Before I knew what was going on I was taken to Tufts for a quadruple bypass within 24 hours,” she said.
It took months for her to recover and she was left with a large zipper scar on her chest.
Canty said she thought that with the surgery behind her, and a healthy combination of diet and exercise – she was good to go.
“After the bypass, I guess I naively thought, ‘Great, they fixed me,” she said. “I didn’t think that it would only last me two years.”
Last summer, she started experiencing those same symptoms again. A visit to her cardiologist revealed the worst, three of the four valves were blocked and she needed a second surgery.
That is when she found out she was a candidate for the world’s smallest heart pump. Not only would the procedure leave her with little to no scarring, but it would also allow her to have an incredibly short recovery time.
“It went great,” said Canty. “I was able to walk out of Tufts the next day. I was back at work within a week.”
Post-surgery, Canty said she is doing well but wants her story to serve as a reminder for women to be aware of all the symptoms of a heart attack.
“Even to this day, I would say I didn’t know I was having a heart attack,” she said.
The CDC says heart disease is the number one killer of women in the US.
For more information on recognizing the symptoms of a heart attack in women, click here.
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