Anaïs, 37 years old

Three years ago, I started feeling a steady pain near my left shoulder blade. It went away when I applied anti-inflammatory cream. Nothing to worry about. Then I started feeling a tingling sensation when I climbed stairs. I saw my doctor, who ordered a troponin test to put my mind at ease.

In his opinion, I was too young to have a cardiovascular problem. I exercise for five hours a week, I don’t smoke, I don’t take birth control pills, etc.

On the very day of the blood test, the lab calls me and asks me to go to the emergency room right away. I leave work and head there immediately.

They do an electrocardiogram and a cardiac ultrasound, which come back perfectly normal. But the coronary angiogram revealed two blocked arteries, one of which was 99% blocked.
It was a heart attack. Everything happened very quickly; they placed two stents, and then I spent two nights in the ICU. I was 1% away from death...

The reasons for the heart attack? Beyond family history and stress, there’s no specific explanation.

In the six weeks that followed, despite having been saved, I felt dead inside. Everything was called into question—my relationship, my job, and so on. We don’t often talk about post-heart attack depression, and we aren’t necessarily offered mental health follow-up—which is a shame.

Then, I spent six weeks in cardiac rehab. I had high hopes for it, because I needed to connect with people who’d been through the same thing. I finally felt understood…

In the 15-person rehab group, there were three of us women between the ages of 30 and 40! Proof that this happens to young women too…

I’m lucky to meet wonderful people with whom I’ve formed strong bonds. And the man with whom I’ve been rebuilding my life for almost three years. He’s there following a “young” heart attack, just before his 50th birthday. He doesn’t understand why it happened to him either, or what he’s doing there.

I went through rehabilitation trying to get medical answers to “why me?” I didn’t get them…

But now, I like to think that I had a heart attack so I could meet the man of my new life! And that answer soothes the psychological wounds of such an event.

I just wanted to share my story to say that, indeed, this doesn’t only happen to other people, to those in poor health, or to men.

Martine, 61 years old

Primary care doctor (Colmar, France)

I’m 61 and I love outdoor sports, the mountains and nature. Even my bout with breast cancer 30 years ago couldn’t knock me out of the game. Instead, it helped me heal. In 2017, during a period of enormous chronic stress due to family and professional commitments, I suddenly felt pain in my chest [...]

Samra, wise woman

40 years old, Corbeil

"I am a midwife and regularly read your posts. We've just come back from vacation and my mother has to go home to the north-east. During the night, she feels nauseous and vomits. In the morning, she gets up and takes a shower. I find her sitting on the edge of the bed, pale, sweaty and out of [...]

Evelyne, 68 ans

Pediatrician, Carry-le-Rouet

For many years, my work and professional commitment to children and their families had been exciting, but extreme. Exhaustion lurked behind excessive energy and hyperactivity, accentuated by the degradation of the medical profession. It was also natural that my family and my responsibility to them [...]