Despite a nearly 20-year age difference between them, two women in Arlington share similar stories of having a heart attack. They want other women to know that heart attacks can happen at any age, and they hope to motivate others to lead a healthier lifestyle.
Shonda Freeman is a 52-year-old grandmother, while Domonique Reagan is a 33-year-old mother of five. Both women wish they had listened to their bodies and heeded the warning signs before falling victim to full-blown heart attacks.
In an interview with NBC DFW, Freeman described the symptoms she experienced.
“I had this cough, a persistent cough that I could not get rid of. And no matter where I went, doctors I talked to were like, ‘You know, maybe it’s acid reflux,’” she said.
For years, Freeman also experienced tingling and pain in her arms but could not figure out the cause. On top of that, the coughing made the arm tingling worse.
She expressed, “The coughing gets so bad that my arm just kind of felt like a brain freeze. Not really hurting, but a brain freeze. The pain and the tingling would just travel to the middle of my hand.”
Her doctors ordered a stress test and an EKG, but the results showed nothing of concern. However, further testing eventually revealed that Freeman had a 70-80% blockage in her arteries. Within 2 weeks, she underwent open-heart surgery.
However, Freeman still suffered from her a heart attack, just 30 days later.
She shared that the initial symptoms she experienced mimicked acid reflux, so she took some medicine. After her chest began to tighten, she drove herself to the hospital, where the heart attack was confirmed.
Freeman suffered two more heart attacks after that. She believes that lifestyle and diet were the culprits, and is now implementing a workout routine.
Meanwhile, 33-year-old Reagan never considered the possibility of a heart attack, especially at her age. She works as an insurance broker and also has a part-time job at a gym, where she exercises regularly. Because she lived a healthy lifestyle, she disregarded the warning signs that arose last December.
Reagan began experiencing severe chest pain and shortness of breath, off and on for a couple of days. On day three, it stayed consistent and the pain worsened from her shoulders and neck all the way to her back.
When the pain began, she immediately thought she was just overworked, or that perhaps she had a possible case of COVID-19. Thinking back, she realizes she had not listened to what her body was saying.
When Reagan arrived at the hospital, she had normal blood pressure and low cholesterol, but tests showed she was in the midst of a heart attack. During surgery, five stents had to be inserted to clear the blockage.
According to her doctors, genetics played a role in her heart attack. Reagan’s mother had died of a heart attack at the age of 45.
Both Freeman and Reagan recovered with cardiac rehabilitation at the Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital.
“The first day was really awkward. I’m the youngest one there. So a lot of the other patients were just like staring at me. When I first checked in, they were like, ‘You’re in the wrong place.’ I get that a lot. But the nurses there were very comforting,” Reagan shared.
The cardiac rehab manager at Arlington Memorial, Brenda Doughty says women are now experiencing heart attacks more frequently; heart disease is the number one cause of death among women, killing one in five.
Dr. Carl Horton of Texas Health Physicians Group noted that anyone can fall victim to a heart attack, regardless of their age. Symptoms vary from person to person but may include pain in the chest and arms, nausea, and sweating.
