Teri Edelson

It was 1 in the morning, 42-year-old Teri Edelson was downstairs in the condo she shared with her parents. Something was very wrong. “My chest and arm hurt. I started sweating and crying due to the pain,” says Teri. After a few moments, the feeling passed, but Teri knew she needed to get to the hospital. Her parents wanted to call 911, but Teri felt she was good enough to have them drive her. She got in the car and within moments was slumped over. Her parents called 911 and the ambulance met them at the entrance to the condo complex where they lived.

“Teri was experiencing a widow-maker heart attack, which occurs when the left anterior descending artery, which supplies blood to the larger, front part of the heart, is blocked at its origin,” says cardiac surgeon Dr. Vishva Dev. “This artery serves a big portion of the heart, so it is a particularly dangerous place for a clot and a lot of damage can be done to the heart if blood flow is not restored quickly.”

“The EMT’s (emergency medical technicians) worked on me for 45 minutes and shocked my heart 13 times,” says Teri. “They thought I was gone — but their perseverance paid off, they finally heard a faint heart beat and got me to Los Robles soon after.”

Teri was in the hospital for 10 days, all of which are a blur. Teri doesn’t remember much about the incident and has speech and cognitive issues as a result of the heart attack. Looking back she does remember feeling tired a few months before — but otherwise, she had no noticeable symptoms.

“I’m happy. I’m alive,” she says. “This is my new normal. I can’t walk far and I can’t do two things at once — but I’m here — and that’s a blessing.” Her advice to other women is simple — pay attention to your body. Go to the doctor regularly and call 911 if you suspect a heart attack. “Don’t worry about the bill! Get help fast — and learn CPR.”