I am a wife, a mother of three teenage children, a business woman, a group fitness instructor, a church volunteer, a RI legislative advocate, and my most proud accomplishment, the one that has allowed me to achieve all of the above - a Survivor of...

Holly C. Vancouver, Washington A stroke didn’t ruin my life, it changed it. When I was 32 years old and eight months pregnant with my first child I awoke in the middle of the night and the left side of...

My father, Miguel, was an athlete his entire life; he did all the right things and took care of himself.  At the age of 48, he suffered his first heart attack while playing soccer. Like most men his age, he didn’t recognize the symptoms of a heart attack.

Sally, Montana Shortness of breath, insomnia, and headaches. At 34 years old I wasn't sure what was going on, but it continued to get worse. When I was finally diagnosed with pulmonary arterial hypertension, the cardiologists confirmed that I have...

Steve, Idaho On May 22, 2010 I suffered a stroke. I was helping my mother- and father-in-law move into their new home across the street when I started to feel different. I went to walk back to my house and...

Tracey Kennedy Rhode Island In 1991, at 28 years of age and 6 months pregnant, I experienced a stroke causing blindness in my left eye for a period of 3 years. The cause - a hole in my heart. I was...

My 15 year old daughter was a perfectly healthy, typical child who survived a stroke nine years ago caused from chicken pox. This is pretty rare and does not happen often in children. Maggie couldn't walk or even hold her head...

Julie, Alaska I was born with a hole in my heart.  At school, I was unable to participate in P.E. without a doctor’s note. Each time I did a strenuous activity, I could feel my heart rapidly beating. I was...

Margaret, Alaska I decided to have a complete physical after feeling shortness of breath, extreme fatigue, chronic cold and sinus symptoms, and heart palpitations. During my physical the doctors found I had mitral valve regurgitation. Within four months of my...

I inherited a condition from my mother known as cardiomyopathy. I have an enlarged left ventricle that pumps inefficiently causing irregular and life threatening rhythms.