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TESTIMONIALS
Emergency Physician, Bordeaux

Cathy, 58 years old

Cathy, 58 years old

“I’ve been an emergency room doctor for 28 years. I’m very active—I exercise 7 hours a week: running, strength training, and walking. I’ve never smoked.

My mother is 80 years old, a heavy smoker, but she has no cardiovascular issues. My father died young in an accident. I have no cholesterol issues; I went through menopause at age 54, and I don’t take hormone replacement therapy.

A few days ago, I performed a very difficult emergency medical response (SMUR) procedure on a 14-year-old boy who had suffered a cardiac arrest.

Beyond the tragic death of a teenager, I went through one of the hardest experiences of my career… The parents who were there wanted to watch the resuscitation efforts, which I can understand. But instead of hugging each other or taking the agitated younger brother—who was screaming his rage at the medical staff—into their arms, the family remained scattered, each lost in their own grief. I had never witnessed such a scene… This lack of compassion and solidarity under such extreme circumstances deeply moved me.

I returned to the hospital and continued my work; I was on call for 24 hours.

At 2:45 a.m., I went up to my room, where I felt an unusually intense, wave-like back pain.

Your comments came back to me in a flash. I went back down to my ward, where I performed an electrocardiogram while the pain was occurring, and it showed electrical changes. Diagnosis: acute transient myocardial ischemia due to a spasm complicating an obstruction of the anterior interventricular artery (AIV), the main branch of the left coronary artery.

Coronary angiography revealed a 50% stenosis of the LAD.

Thank you for raising awareness—it really struck a chord with me and may have saved my life… ”

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