02/01/2026
Por favor, con la salud no se juega, prevención antes de intervención.
Modifica tu estilo de vida
Debra Wallace doubled over in her theater seat from a wave of nausea. She asked her friend to get her coat and meet her in the bathroom, where she threw up. When she emerged from the stall, three women – nurses at a nearby hospital – asked if she was OK.
Debra told them she’d been sick, was nauseous and felt as if an elephant was sitting on her chest. One of the nurses took Debra’s pulse and said, “I think you’re having a heart attack.” Debra wasn’t convinced. But her friend gently, but firmly, told her she should be in an emergency room.
Fifteen minutes later, Debra was hooked up to an electrocardiogram machine at the same hospital where her husband, Harry, died from congestive heart failure 10 years earlier.
The EKG confirmed she was in the throes of a heart attack. Doctors rushed her to the cardiac catheterization lab. Debra ended up with three stents in her heart’s arteries to improve blood flow. She returned home five days later with plans for twice-a-week outpatient cardiac rehab for six weeks.
At the time of her heart attack, Debra didn’t know that women’s heart attack symptoms can be different. Chest pain or discomfort is still the most common sign, but women may have other symptoms, such as the nausea and vomiting she experienced.
The ordeal prompted her to re-evaluate many things. If something happened to her, her son, Adam, who has autism, would be alone. She vowed to make a will and special-needs trust.
Debra now has a better understanding of her health, especially the importance of a healthy diet. She bought books about healthy eating, vegetarian meals and the Mediterranean diet. She cut back on candy, ice cream and cookies, and lost over 40 pounds. Three years later, she remains committed to her new routine.
“You have to take care of yourself so you can take care of your child,” Debra said. “Don’t ignore the warning signs, make the changes, and then keep them because it’s so easy to go back to your old ways.”
