At 41, Lakeisha Brown had the heart of a 90-year-old

Lakeisha Brown began feeling unwell in January 2018. The indisputable fact that she was having trouble respiration apprehensive her, but she assumed it was anxiety. Running a home, raising 4 daughters and running a catering company was quite a burden. She tried to get well, but the problem persevered. After three days of severe discomfort, she sought help. “I thought it was something minor,” Brown tells ESSENCE.

“I went to an urgent care clinic and then they referred me to the first cardiologist I saw,” he says. Expecting a quick resolution to the problem, she called her supervisor and said she needs to be in the office before lunch. However, the specialist presented Brown with shocking news. “He then told me that ‘you have the heart of a 90-year-old’ and that I was suffering from congestive heart failure,” he recalled. The message didn’t fit Brown’s image of herself and her lifestyle. “I could not imagine it because I used to be 41 and going to the gym 4 times a week. I didn’t eat dairy products. I didn’t make meat. So I believed: why is that this happening?

“My heart rate was around 20 percent. I believe a normal heart rate is around 55,” he adds. “I later discovered that I had a genetic predisposition. My maternal grandmother died of heart failure, which I had no idea about. I didn’t understand it may very well be conveyed this fashion.”

According to a study published in the European Society of Cardiology: “The genetic contribution to heart failure is highly heterogeneous and complex. For any patient with probable hereditary heart failure syndrome, genetic counseling is recommended and important.”

Nevertheless, the doctor selected a treatment plan that didn’t alleviate the symptoms Brown complained about. “He prescribed medication for water retention. They kept asking me about the fluid, and I replied: I didn’t have it. It wasn’t a sign for me. It was a weight on my chest,” he says. When her doctor beneficial checkups every six months, she assumed the problem was not as pressing as he had previously suggested. She took his advice, stuck with the water tablets and moved on. In May 2018, he modified his tune and beneficial implantation of a pacemaker-defibrillator. She felt relieved that there could be something there “just in case.”

“I think I’m fine, I feel great,” he says. “I just moved on with life. I went back to work, went back to catering for my daughters, and only after being admitted to the hospital again did I see a second cardiologist.”

Over time, her heart function deteriorated. “It got to the point where my organs stopped working and I didn’t realize it,” she says. The second doctor treated her for water retention, nevertheless it had little effect, just as the first doctor’s efforts had no effect. “I still had about 20, 25 percent, something like that. At this point, the situation had not improved in almost three years. The third cardiologist also didn’t complete the treatment plan.

Another hospitalization prompted her to hunt advice from her relatives. A childhood friend took her to an authority in one other state who usually handled cases like hers. she spent 4 hours on the phone attempting to get an appointment with them, nevertheless it was value it. “I didn’t know there was a difference between a cardiologist and a heart failure specialist,” Brown says.

He beneficial the Abbott HeartMate 3 LVAD, a device that would potentially help improve her condition. This was a previously unexplored option that made a huge difference. Improving her heart function allowed her to return to work at LA Browns Baking and Catering before she was furloughed because she felt so well.

Now, Brown and her 4 daughters openly share their health history and treatment plans to support one another, knowing their genetic link to heart disease. They are usually not paranoid, but have learned to be proactive. “We have open discussions about what’s going on,” he says. “It’s more organic and I don’t feel like I have to, you know, shove it down their throats.”

She shares her experience publicly to save lots of others from what she did. She recommends that individuals contact a health care skilled, discuss issues of their pedigree and take heed to their bodies moderately than assuming that persistent aches and pains are only minor annoyances. “When you don’t feel well, don’t attribute it to stress; don’t think it’s just kids soccer or whatever is going on or problems in your relationship,” he says.

“Please, please go and get checked out as it could be for many other reasons.”