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Women's Cardiovascular Healthcare Foundation
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TESTIMONIALS
Employee at an agricultural factory, Denain (59)

Laetitia, 42 years old

Laetitia, 42 years old

After smoking for 20 years, I am quitting for good on August 20, 2024, with the help of nicotine replacement therapy. At the same time, I am getting back into sports, while maintaining a busy schedule with my job at an agricultural factory and my family life with two daughters in sports studies.

Since taking time off work is seen as laziness, I go to work even when I'm not feeling well. To curb my cravings for cigarettes, I set myself the personal challenge of running the Paris half marathon eight months later. I inform my manager, who exceptionally grants me a day off the day after the race.

A few months passed and I finished the marathon, unfortunately without being able to rest the next day, as my job is physically demanding. My legs were very sore, I was tired and I wasn't recovering. Two weeks later, at breakfast, I had a sharp pain in my chest that came and went, like severe spasms, and I started vomiting. The pain was unbearable, so I went to the emergency room. When I arrived at the hospital, my electrocardiogram was normal. But an hour later, my troponin levels were too high. I was immediately transferred to intensive care, where I had a stent inserted.

It was a myocardial infarction, which may have been caused by the combined effects of smoking, stress at work, and fatigue. Six months later, I am still on sick leave and am thinking about changing careers.

 
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Carole, 46 years old

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