BlogLooking back a decade after a 20-week ultrasound upended our world with a congenital heart disease diagnosis, I share the lessons I wish I could tell my terrified past self - from balancing fear and hope to realizing that a medical journey eventually becomes just one chapter in a thriving child's story.
BlogWhen a massive heart attack struck at just 35 amid heavy work stress and a newborn at home, I learned that heart disease doesn't wait for old age. From navigating misdiagnoses in Nepal to rebuilding my life and career in Canada, this is my journey of survival, lifestyle change, and listening to the warning signs we too often ignore.
BlogFor over a decade, I lived in constant fear of my own heartbeat, navigating unexplained racing spells, an SVT diagnosis, and years of hyper-vigilance. Then, at 36, the moment I always dreaded finally happened: a spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) and a heart attack. Six months later, I am learning to rewrite my relationship with my heart, moving past the fear, embracing the emotional healing, and finding an extraordinary peace in ordinary moments.
BlogIt started as a subtle feeling on a work trip in Whistler. Within days, I was on life support, facing a rare, 'often fatal' auto-immune diagnosis. This is the story of how a gut feeling saved my life, the miracle
BlogIt was a complete accident. I'd never shown any of the typical symptoms of heart failure previously, but as I lay on the gurney in the cardiologist's office in Novi Sad, Serbia, the casual tone the doctor used made what she found seem like much less of a big deal.
BlogIt has been a little over six months since my sister Helen passed away—a day so painful it is forever etched in our minds and hearts.
BlogFor Jenny, February 24th is a date etched into her memory and her heart: A yearly milestone that brings a complex mix of gratitude and vulnerability as it crosses the 5 year mark.
BlogWhat a roller coaster life has been. From my first symptoms at thirteen during a cross-country ski race to a heart transplant decades later, my journey with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy has been one of resilience, advocacy, and fighting to be heard.
BlogFor Bonnie, the heart has always been a source of fascination. Drawn to fitness and inspired by the incredible complexity of the human heart...
BlogHello, I'm Paula Henderson, a grateful member of HeartLife — Community Support for Heart Patients and Caregivers. I was born with a congenital heart disease called Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy (HOCM).
BlogWhen I was 19 years of age my 11 year old cousin had a sudden cardiac arrest while jogging in gym class. After much investigation into why, my family were told that my father, my aunt, my younger cousin and myself all had a hereditary disease called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM).
BlogI was 20 years old when I experienced heart failure due to severe dilated cardiomyopathy. One week I felt okay for the most part; the next, I had all the symptoms—shortness of breath, swelling in my legs, extreme bloating...
BlogMy journey with complex congenital heart disease (CHD) began at birth. 1 in 100 babies are born with CHD. My first heart surgery was at two days old and then again at nineteen months old.
BlogMy name is Nancy Hansen, and I've been reflecting a lot lately on just how grateful I am for the care and compassion I've received at the Heart Institute.
