Marion, 31

Since I was 15, I’ve had episodes of chest pain, palpitations, and a feeling of unease. Because of these symptoms, I’ve seen several cardiologists and made multiple trips to the emergency room, only to be told I was suffering from anxiety.

That is, until the fall of 2024....

I changed jobs and started doing physical labor. At the same time, I was dieting, managing the household, and taking care of the kids...

One evening, I felt faint. I had chest pain and pain in my left arm. I was taken to the ER.

After an electrocardiogram and a normal troponin level, the diagnosis was still the same: nothing serious, probably an anxiety attack…

“Your heart is in great shape, everything’s fine!” the cardiologist at that hospital told me. I ended up believing him, for a while…

About a week later, my symptoms were still there… At the risk of looking crazy to my family, I decided to see yet another cardiologist… But this one didn’t look at me the same way.

Even though he was puzzled—since I was young and had no risk factors—he ordered a stress test and a coronary CT scan based on my symptoms.

They revealed a congenital abnormality of the coronary arteries. My right coronary artery originates in the wrong place and runs between the aorta and the pulmonary artery, which can lead to sudden death during exertion…

Surgery was scheduled. But between the diagnosis and the procedure, I had to wait a long month, feeling as though I had a sword of Damocles hanging over my head...

The surgery went well, and I’m slowly recovering from this ordeal. Physically, I find that my body is healing quickly, but mentally, it’s not easy...

I am incredibly grateful to my cardiologist, the professor, the cardiac surgeon, the intensive care unit, the cardiac surgery department led by Prof. Collart at La Timone in Marseille, and the Clairval cardiac rehabilitation center in Marseille, without whom the life-saving surgery would not have been possible...

I wanted to share this story to encourage you to trust yourself, listen to your body, and follow your instincts, no matter what others might think of you… It’s your own life that’s at stake!

Françoise, Antony

Manager, 52 years old

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