Credelle Castleberry didn’t feel like her 55th birthday was any great milestone, but little did she know how close she came to it being her last. “I turned 55 years old on March 31 and the next day I had a massive heart attack,” she explains.
In the preceding days, Credelle experienced the telltale signs of an impending heart attack: irritating chest pain, shortness of breath and dizziness. Instead of making a trip to the emergency room, Credelle made an appointment with her primary care physician.
“I visited my doctor, who is affiliated with Beth Israel Medical Center, and she recommended I have an electrocardiogram (EKG), stress test and blood test. Taking her advice, I scheduled appointments for the tests we discussed,” she recalls.
Things seemed somewhat back to normal until the morning of April 1, when excruciating chest pain woke her. “It was a burning pain in the center of my chest, much worse than the pain I had endured earlier in the week,” she says. This was no April Fools' joke. It was time to get to the emergency room.
Life-saving team
When Credelle arrived at Beth Israel Kings Highway Hospital in Brooklyn, her pain indicated something was terribly wrong. “I felt light-headed and nauseated, and I remember a dull pain beginning to radiate down my arms.” An EKG confirmed her suspicions. Doctors told Credelle she was having a heart attack just before she slipped out of consciousness. The minutes that followed were crucial.
Cardiologist Aaron Berger, MD, along with a team, worked to resuscitate Credelle. “She had no vital signs and we brought her back to life,” Dr. Berger says. “We put her on life support and I transferred her to Beth Israel's Petrie division in Manhattan.” There, a team of interventional cardiologists inserted a stent that would unblock a clogged artery. The next day, Credelle awoke in the ICU with a new lease on life.
Risk factors were first sign
Like many people, Credelle had been managing a few medical conditions, but didn’t realize how her risk factors stacked against her. A self-proclaimed pack-a-day smoker, she also had high cholesterol, high blood pressure and a family history of congestive heart failure.
“High cholesterol, elevated blood pressure and smoking can lead to plaque buildup in the heart’s arteries, causing them to harden and narrow,” Dr. Berger says. “If the plaque erupts, it can cause a blockage and lead to a heart attack. Ms. Castleberry made the right decision to seek emergency help that fateful morning. Situations like hers don't always result in such a happy ending. ” A healthy diet, daily exercise, quitting smoking and medication often can modify the risk factors for a heart attack and improve the likelihood for a favorable outcome.
Change of heart for the long term
Following her heart attack, Credelle had to re-evaluate her lifestyle habits to protect herself from another heart attack. She strives to make a body, health and mind transformation. No more fried foods and no more cigarettes. With Dr. Berger’s support, Credelle gradually started a supervised exercise program, new diet plan and close monitoring of her medications for cholesterol and blood pressure.
“I haven’t smoked a cigarette since that fateful day, and I’m eating healthier. My diet includes more fruits and vegetables, and I try to eat some type of fish, like salmon, two or three times per week,” she says. “And, although I suffer from severe back pain due to an injury from a fall, I try to walk as much as I can in my neighborhood to help strengthen my heart.”
Dr. Berger also closely monitors Credelle’s blood thinner medication, blood pressure and cholesterol to make sure she’s taking care of her heart health. “She’s done a good job at recovering and her heart health is good,” he says.
“I am sincerely grateful to the doctors at Beth Israel Medical Center and I am a true believer in a higher power. If sharing my story helps one individual, it’s worth it being told. I want to let others know to listen to your body. If you think you could be having a heart attack, don’t ignore the signs – get to a hospital,” Credelle says.
“If I had gone to the emergency room at the first sign of chest pain, doctors probably could have fixed the blockage before I actually had the heart attack.”
Learn your risk for heart attack. Register for a FREE heart-health screening at LiveWellNewYork.com or call 1-855-411-LWNY (5969) for more information.
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