07/19/2025
Barbara Collura couldn't understand why she became breathless and sweaty simply from climbing the stairs to a balcony at a concert.
She ran regularly, ate a healthy diet and had no serious medical issues. Climbing stairs never bothered her before. Why was it a problem now?
The next day, she was again short of breath. And now she also had pain in her upper back as well as her left arm and jaw. The day after that, she felt a burning sensation that radiated from the center of her chest.
She knew she needed to get to an emergency room. Those were symptoms of a heart attack.
At the ER, tests revealed nothing out of the ordinary. She let the staff know about her family history of heart disease, but she was sent home.
The symptoms worsened so she saw a cardiologist the next day. He reviewed the testing done from the day before and attributed her symptoms to anxiety.
That night, the pain returned. She called her sister, a complex care coordinator in a hospital emergency room, who told her to go back to the ER and "cause a ruckus."
There tests revealed that she'd had a heart attack. An artery in her heart was 99% blocked. A stent was inserted into the artery to restore blood flow.
Barbara went home soon after and was essentially told to keep up her existing exercise routine. She requested cardiac rehabilitation but was told the program was for people who didn't previously exercise.
She sought a second opinion from doctors at another hospital. Once again, her self-advocacy paid off.
Further testing showed that Barbara had elevated levels of lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a), a type of cholesterol that is genetically determined and can increase the risk for heart disease and stroke if levels are raised. She's now part of a drug trial to see if she can lower that number and, hopefully, lower her risk.
"I can't control my family history, but I can control my risk factors.”
