Heart disease survivor shares her story of resilience and hope

FOX 2 – She is a woman with a passion for fitness, but that came to an abrupt end when she collapsed on her 31st birthday and doctors discovered something that shocked them.

They diagnosed her with a genetic heart condition that often causes sudden death.

“I wasn’t the example of heart disease,” Kristy Sidlar said.

Sidlar shocked her doctors when she suddenly collapsed at the age of 20.

“Originally I was teaching a fitness class and fainted and was then misdiagnosed,” she said. “I mean, I don’t blame them for what they knew at the time. It was the correct diagnosis.’

It wasn’t until she fainted on the side of the road years later – while training for a triathalon – that doctors realized something was seriously wrong.

“He looked at my chart and he looked at my echocardiogram and my X-rays, and he said, ‘I honestly don’t know how this woman can walk down the hall.'”

Her heart failed. Sidler was diagnosed with a heart condition that often causes sudden death in young, healthy people.

“One in three women die from heart disease and we don’t realize how common this is,” she said. “Unfortunately, we hear a lot more about cancer than we do about heart disease. They are all important. They can all be very deadly, but 80% of heart disease is preventable.”

Although Sidler couldn’t prevent her condition, a focus on wellness helped her recover faster than most.

“I really believe that if you’re stressed, if you’re sick, if you’re not sleeping well, if you’re worried about your finances, if you don’t have the resources to go to the doctor, you don’t be so resilient,” she said.

Her support system and balanced lifestyle kept her strong leading up to her transpant. Now she has a healthy heart to match her new life.

“I knew life would be great after the transplant – I just didn’t know how great it could be,” she said. “The first time I was able to run on the treadmill was the most intense feeling of joy and excitement and ugly tears for many, many, many minutes.”

Sidler spends the time she reclaimed as an advocate for heart health. Her message for others: look for the signs.

“Take care of yourself first, look at the people you love and make sure they take care of themselves because blood pressure is a silent killer.

“We often don’t know we have these symptoms until it’s too late. So let’s get ahead of it, let’s be preventative.”

That’s why knowing your numbers is so important. You may feel good, but you want to make sure your heart isn’t working too hard.

Kristy is committed to sharing her story and fighting heart disease – she is an author and president of the Circle of Red – the American Heart Association’s association that helps fight heart disease and stroke.

As the American Heart Association celebrates its 100th anniversary, it wants to share the stories of 100 survivors.

If you would like to share your story, please send an email [email protected].