Mrs Tanner had to undergo three surgeries and receive two stents as part of her treatment.
A mother who initially believed she had the flu but discovered she had suffered a heart attack has spoken out about her ordeal and sent a message of warning to fellow women.
Jenna Tanner shared her story: Good morning, America. “I thought I had the flu or an upper respiratory infection or something,” Tanner told GMA.
Last year, Tanner, 48, became ill during an outbreak of a combination of coronavirus and influenza at her home in Oklahoma.
“I had a momentary pain in my chest and I thought it was my lungs,” Tanner said.
Initially, Mrs. Tanner chose not to seek medical attention. “I didn’t want to tell her husband because I thought he would tell her soon that she had to go to the hospital. And I didn’t want to spend any more time in the hospital waiting room, so I ignored him. ” she said.
But ignoring her pain nearly cost Mrs. Tanner her life. She said she lost consciousness two days later and when she regained consciousness, she immediately realized she was in the middle of a severe heart attack.
“It felt like an elephant was sitting on me. I couldn’t move,” Tanner said. “I couldn’t move at all. I was so scared.”
by american heart association, heart attacks are the number one killer of women in the United States. Despite this, experts say women tend to ignore the signs of a heart attack.
“Women can usually have symptoms unrelated to chest pain, but I think that’s one of the reasons why it’s downplayed. Mainly because of what people generally think a heart attack is like. It doesn’t feel like that,” said Dr. Donner, a medical correspondent for ABC News. Darian Sutton explained.
The most common symptom of a heart attack for men and women is chest pain, but women also experience other symptoms such as shortness of breath, nausea, and back, shoulder, and jaw pain.
“All of these symptoms are important to be aware of if they occur suddenly, as they can be a sign of something more sinister,” Sutton says.
Tanner said when he regained consciousness, he crawled to his cell phone, located it two rooms away, and safely called for help.
After the heart attack, Tanner had to undergo three surgeries and had two stents inserted as part of his treatment. A year later, she reports that she feels better, and she encourages other women to pay attention to their bodies, saying it’s important not to ignore her symptoms like she did. Emphasized gender.
“Heart health is important for women. Don’t ignore heart pain,” Tanner says. “Even if you think it’s your lungs and you and your kids have been to the doctor 20 times in the last two months, take it seriously.”