logofg

TEMOIGNAGES
Architect from Brest, France

Pascale, 43 years old

placeholder image

“I didn’t have any chest pain when I had my heart attack. I had gastric pain deep in my sternum and I thought it was bad digestion. I also had pain in my back. I thought it was my spine, which had already been hurting. I tried to soothe the pain with a hot water bottle, but it still spread. I wasn’t worried, but one day I had to stop in the middle of climbing the stairs because I was too out of breath. I told myself I needed to stop smoking. But I never thought about my heart. At the time, I was stressed and not sleeping much. Then one day, I went out to run errands and felt an odd pain in both my arms. It wasn’t my muscles. I felt like something was pressing on me. I told myself it was stress. I took a pain killer and spent the rest of the day feeling quite unwell. In the evening, I had chest pain between my ribs, but I didn’t want to bother the emergency medical services with that. I woke up at 1 a.m. in pain and my daughter insisted on taking me to the hospital. They took an x-ray of my lungs and then an electrocardiogram. And then everybody rushed into the room. I was having a huge heart attack. They did a coronary angioplasty right away and put in a stent. If I had waited any longer, I wouldn’t be here anymore.”

 

SEE ALSO

placeholder

Emilie, 36 years old

Nurse (Issoire, France)

I lost my husband suddenly in July 2019. After he passed away, I had treatment with a psychiatrist. We had three young daughters and I had to keep fighting for them. I didn’t smoke, but was very stressed by all the things I had to take on by myself. In September 2019, about two months after my [...]

READ MORE

placeholder

Chantal, 70 years old

There’s a BEFORE and an AFTER. For a number of years, I suffered from an arrhythmia. Despite an electric shock and medications, I was having more and more episodes lasting longer each time. At 68 years of age, I was unable to plan activities, an outing or even accept an invitation because of my [...]

READ MORE

placeholder

Marie, 59 years old

Administrative Assistant (Paris, France)

Last summer during the heatwave, I had difficulty breathing and shortness of breath, even though walking was my favorite pastime. I lead a healthy life and eat a balanced diet. I decided to see my doctor because of the chronic fatigue and shortness of breath. I was worried about light pain in my arm [...]

READ MORE

 Your gift improves
prevention for women at key moments in their lives