Draper woman unable to breathe was actually having a major heart attack


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MURRAY — Jolene Wolstenholme's energy level had been low. She chalked it up to the regular symptoms of getting a little older.

"I just thought I was terribly out of shape," said Wolstenholme, who lives in Draper and is 53. "Not thinking of heart attack, I thought I just had to get my butt to the gym or get down to the treadmill or walk a little faster."

She was working from home one day in 2013 and took a hot shower. What happened next shocked her.

"When I stood up it felt like someone had hit me from the middle of my back because I lost all my breath," she said. "I just couldn't breathe at all."

She drove herself to InstaCare, unaware she was having a major heart attack.

"They said, 'Does your arm hurt, does your neck hurt?' No, my neck doesn't hurt. 'Do you have an upset stomach?' No my stomach doesn't hurt. I just can't breathe."

The fact that a heart attack wasn't on her radar is common. It's not always classic chest pain in women. They may have pain in the shoulder or back or elsewhere. Sometimes women don't have pain at all, just a vague discomfort, general ill feeling, or shortness of breath, dizziness and light-headedness, according to doctors.

At InstaCare, Wolstenholme felt like an elephant was sitting on her chest. They rushed her to the ER where a doctor told her, "The good news is you're in the right place, the bad news, you've had a major heart attack," she said. "I'm like, 'Can you repeat that?' Was I hearing things?"

Dr. Lee Burke at Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute said women may have unusual symptoms during a heart attack. "What we were all taught in medical school, the classic effort-related chest discomfort is more typical for men," he said.

Burke advised all women with a strong family history of heart disease who experiences chest pain or an "ill feeling" to seek help.

"Especially just a sense of something's really just not right," he said. "They just feel something's not quite right. They can't always put their finger on it."

The main artery to Jolene's heart was blocked. After a stent and balloon angioplasties, she's back to good health and enjoying the family she loves.

Burke warns women not to ignore the symptoms, especially if they have high cholesterol or after menopause.

"They catch up with men very fast. They need to be cognizant that just because they're feeling poorly but they don't have classic symptoms of chest pain, doesn't mean it's not their heart," he said.

Some women who have had heart attacks thought it was just acid reflux or the flu.

For free heart health screenings and fun activities visit Intermountain Medical Center's Family Heart Fair Saturday, Feb. 6, from 9-1 p.m., at 5121 So. Cottonwood St. in Murray.

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Heather Simonsen

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