Gigi Campos and Marlen Tejera’s paths might never have crossed — with a more than 20-year age gap between them, they’re at different points in their lives, both personally and professionally. But something unexpected brought them together: They both had heart attacks. They both went into cardiac arrest. And they both nearly died.

The experience created a deep connection between two women who were once strangers but now share a common mission: to empower and educate other women about heart health, prevention and self-care.

“Heart disease is the number one killer of all women everywhere,” Ms. Campos says. “Unfortunately, our stories are not as unique as we wish they were.”

 

(Watch now: Gigi Campos and Marlen Tejera’s paths might never have crossed but something unexpected brought them together: Both had heart attacks, went into cardiac arrest and nearly died. The two now share a common mission to educate other women about heart health, prevention and self-care. Video by Alcyene de Almeida Rodrigues.)

Taking Good Care

Their stories start differently, yet they have certain things in common. When their hearts stopped, both had already sought help at Baptist Health South Miami Hospital because they were experiencing puzzling symptoms. Being in the right place at the right time saved their lives. They were revived thanks to the skill and speed of medical experts from Baptist Health Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute.

As part of their recovery, both women took their cardiologist’s advice and went through cardiac rehab, where therapists encouraged them to join the WomenHeart of Miami support group. And that’s where their friendship began — at a monthly meeting, where Ms. Tejera tearfully explained what brought her there. She was greeted with open arms.

“It was a very touching moment because as you’re sharing your story, you get emotional — you’re reliving what you went through,” Ms. Tejera says. “Having two members, and specifically Gigi, come over and give me a hug, welcoming me and telling me it’s going to be okay, was meaningful. And that’s how I think we bonded.”

Gigi Campos also remembers the day vividly. “Her story resonated with me since that had been my story just a year prior.”

A Friendship Bolstered by a Cause

Today they share each other’s lives in addition to their passion for being Heart Champions, educational ambassadors for the national WomenHeart organization. They partake in each other’s activities, challenges and joys.  

“It did start in a strange place, in a support group, but I think we are friends — genuine friends,” says Ms. Tejera, 58. “I would even go beyond to say that most of us in the support group are friends. You bond over something very tragic in your life that you didn’t expect, or didn’t think it would ever happen to you, and that alone gives you this sense of sisterhood and friendship.”

In addition to celebrating their traditional birthdays together, they commemorate what they call “heart birthdays,” the anniversaries of their cardiac events.

“Some of us also refer to it as our ‘did-not-die’ day,” Ms. Campos says. “That might sound a little morbid, but it is a celebration of the fact that we are still here, that we have the opportunity to tell our stories and to empower other people to take care of themselves and their health.”

Gigi’s Story: Expect the Unexpected

No one expects to have a heart attack at age 34, but that is exactly what happened to Ms. Campos.

She was halfway through her usual two-mile walk with her husband two years ago when she began to feel a light pressure in her chest. “I thought that it must be nothing. No big deal. I’m sure that I just slept wrong,” she recalls. After completing her walk, she went home, showered and went about her day. At work, however, the discomfort continued.

“I decided that I should probably seek medical attention, but I didn’t think it was serious enough to go to the hospital,” she says. Instead she went to a nearby Baptist Health Urgent Care, where tests revealed an unusual heart rhythm. The medical staff recommended a full cardiac workup, and an ambulance was called to transport her to South Miami Hospital.

On the way, Ms. Campos was uncertain what to think. She was a trim 120 pounds, exercised regularly, ate well, watched her cholesterol. Maybe this was a panic attack? She was grateful for the professionalism of the hospital staff as they investigated the mystery.

A Surprising Diagnosis

Over the next few hours, it became clear that Ms. Campos needed a cardiac catheterization because one of the arteries to her heart was completely blocked. But then, just as she was being taken into the procedure room, her heart stopped.

“A code was called, and they were able to revive me,” she says. She got two stents that day to keep the blood flowing to her heart. After a two-day stay in the intensive care unit, a third stent was added. 

“That was the beginning of a very different life,” she says. At first, she says, she felt very “broken.” But after completing the cardiac rehab program to help rebuild her strength and endurance, she became very involved in the WomenHeart support group. As a representative of the organization, she has appeared at the U.S. Capitol to testify about the importance of women’s cardiac health. Her story has been recounted in a national magazine and she participated in an educational documentary, The Making of a Heart Attack, with football Hall-of-Famer Barry Sanders.

“So much of the journey after having a heart attack has to do with taking care of yourself physically and mentally. Cardiac rehab really helps do that, and then the WomenHeart of Miami support group augments that even further by giving you a network of women who are also experienced with heart disease, who have gone through a lot of trials and tribulations,” she says.

Marlen’s Story: A Timely Arrival

Marlen Tejera thought she had heartburn — a particularly bad bout of it. As her discomfort grew, she decided to go to a nearby hospital to get checked out. Upon her arrival she was told the facility was not equipped to deal with such a serious cardiac crisis and that she would be transferred by ambulance to South Miami Hospital.

Serious cardiac crisis? It wasn’t indigestion?

As she was being wheeled into South Miami Hospital on a gurney, her heart stopped. Medical personnel revived her and rushed her down the hall to the cath lab, where she received two stents. “The team in the emergency room really brought me back to life,” Ms. Tejera says.

Ms. Tejera says she had a complete blockage of the left anterior descending (LAD) artery, a major blood vessel in the heart. She knows how fortunate she was to survive. Heart attacks that originate in this artery are often referred to as the “widow-maker.” Ms. Tejera dislikes the term and avoids using it.

“The fact that I did go into cardiac arrest was very, very difficult for me to accept,” says Ms. Tejera. “I was eating healthy, I was walking daily and never had anything with heart disease. I wasn’t taking any medication. My blood pressure and cholesterol levels were normal. It came out of nowhere.”

Finding New Strength

Through education efforts of Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute and the WomenHeart group, Ms. Tejera later learned she did indeed have a risk factor she wasn’t aware of. During her first pregnancy with her now-adult child, she had preeclampsia, a pregnancy complication characterized by dangerously high blood pressure that resolves after childbirth. In recent years, the condition has been linked to an increased risk of heart attack and other cardiovascular diseases later in life. “That’s just something that I learned after the fact,” she says.

Her friendship with Ms. Campos and participation in the WomenHeart group have been part of her healing, she says.

“It has been empowering for me as a woman, working with other women to educate them on heart disease,” she says. “I’m very fortunate to be here — very fortunate to be able to share my story and to let people know that it can happen to them. You need to know about your heart history, your health, your family history, anything that you’ve gone through in life.”

People—and women in particular—should not assume heart disease is someone else’s problem. If that were true, it would not be the number one killer of women in the United States. “I just think people in general think it’s not going to happen to them,” she says. “I didn’t think it was going to happen to me.”

A Strategic Approach to Prevention

The great outcomes are encouraging to preventive cardiologist Jonathan Fialkow, M.D., the Institute’s chief of cardiology and Baptist Health‘s chief medical executive of Integrated Services and Precision Care. He was an early champion and the first medical director of the cardiac rehab program when it was established.

Dr. Fialkow is not surprised Ms. Campos and Ms. Tejera have developed such a deep friendship. The Institute’s cardiac rehab program is carefully designed to help patients gain support and guidance from trained professionals. But often, patients also gain a lot from the people working out beside them, he says.

“One of the biggest positives for patients who go through cardiac rehab is that they’ve met friends,” Dr. Fialkow says. It’s one reason Baptist Health hosts and promotes the WomenHeart group.

“Those relationships that are built by the cardiac rehab folks significantly elevate the patient’s recuperation,” Dr. Fialkow says. “The support groups of people working together who have been through similar things are profoundly important and very unique.”