What SCA Means to Me

Natasha Fleischman - Survivor

Natasha Fleischman is an active 38-year-old wife and mother of two boys. She coordinates a program in Adult Basic Education and is active as a volunteer in the school district where her children attend school. She goes on 20-mile bike rides, has tackled the rapids while whitewater kayaking, and rode some of the most exhilarating rides at Disneyworld. Pretty good for a woman who had Sudden Cardiac Arrest five years ago.

A life-changing moment
Natasha has no history of heart disease. In a check-up one year prior to her Sudden Cardiac Arrest, her doctor gave her a clean bill of health. She was young, she was healthy, she was successful. Life was good.

Then, on Jan. 24, 2002, her heartbeat abruptly and unexpectedly stopped while she was eating lunch at the St. Paul (Minnesota) School District Office, where she worked.

"I fell over, I had no pulse, I wasn't breathing," Natasha explains. The quick thinking of co-workers, one of whom knew CPR, saved her life.

No one ever considered heart disease as the cause. Her co-workers thought she had choked on a carrot while eating lunch.

Unlike a heart attack, when a plaque buildup in the heart's arteries prevents blood flow to the heart, Natash's heart started beating too fast and was unable to get blood from the right ventricle to the left ventricle. Blood ceased to pump through her body, depriving her of oxygen. She was rushed to Regions Hospital, where her husband, Bob, and mother, Mary Ann Jagodzinski, met her.

The doctors performed countless procedures and tests. One doctor told Bob that his wife probably wouldn't survive and he should prepare himself for the worst. Her mom stayed up all night holding oxygen to her daughter's nose, hoping that Natasha had made it to the hospital before suffering permanent brain damage. According to the American Heart Association, brain damage can occur just four to six minutes after the heart stops pumping blood.

"They kept me in a coma for a few days hoping that my brain would be able to repair itself," Natasha says. "When I came to, I didn't recognize many people, including my own children. I told crazy stories about why I was there, often not realizing that I was in the hospital."

She was diagnosed with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. Doctors installed an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) a medical device used to help prevent death from arrhythmias. An arrhythmia is a change from the normal sequence of electrical impulses, causing abnormal rapid and irregular heart rhythms. Her ICD paces her regularly (set not to drop below 80 beats per minute). It is different from a pacemaker in that —if her heartbeat flutters dangerously out of control — the defibrillator will shock her heart back to a normal rhythm, much like the paddle you see doctors and nurses using to shock people back to life on the TV show ER.

"Only mine is internal," Natasha explains. "It will shock me if I'm ever in ventricular fibrillation (over 185 beats per minute)."

The ICD is a pacemaker-sized device implanted under the skin, just below the collarbone. It's about the size of three silver dollars.

Understanding the symptoms
The doctors told Bob that his wife would live, but would likely never be the person he knew. Hearing that Natasha would never be the same was devastating.

Seven days later, Natasha began thinking clearly again. Her first memory of the ordeal is looking up at the surgeon who was implanting her ICD, then dozing off as the anesthesia kicked in. She woke up in the hospital room and asked her mom what was happening. Her memory was back, she was making sense, she finally understood the situation she was in.

Within a month, with the help of several medications and excellent medical care, Natasha started improving rapidly. She had more energy now than before she had been hospitalized — even though she had been exercising and going to the YMCA — which suddenly made sense.

"I didn't realize I wasn't feeling well," she says. "I didn't realize that one of the classic symptoms of heart disease is shortness of breath. I was 33 and thought I was out of shape."

All along it was a disorder of the heart muscle, something no amount of exercise could fix.

She rationalizes that her age and healthy lifestyle probably factored into her quick recovery. Natasha was lucky to have lived, let alone make a full recovery. According to the American Heart Association, as many as 95 percent of all Sudden Cardiac Arrest victims die before reaching the hospital.

An awakening
Most healthy 33-year-olds — with no history of heart disease — don't expect to face a life-threatening emergency at such a young age. The situation served as a wake-up call to Natasha.

"In many ways I feel like this is the hugest blessing," she says. "Before this happened, I didn't realize how many good friends I have. I'm closer to my husband now. I make different choices as to how I run my life. Instead of focusing on a power career, I do what's best for me and my family."

She was touched by the outpouring of support from friends and family. Friends ran errands for her when she was unable to drive. Her neighbor brought her son to preschool.
Nearly dying at such a young age put everything into perspective for Natasha. She doesn't get into silly arguments with her husband. She spends quality time with her loved ones.

"Heart disease does not have to mean the end of life for women, but it will make us appreciate our lives that much more. I now have a great prognosis. However, I will always remember those first months when I didn't know if I would live. That is what will always keep me grounded," she says.

Pay attention to your body
In 2004, Natasha was selected to attend a symposium for women with heart disease, sponsored by WomenHeart (www.womenheart.org). She is now a trained national spokesperson who dedicates time to educating women about the risks of heart disease.

"It comes out of nowhere for most people," she says. "Pay attention so you know when you're having symptoms. Don't brush it off because you're too busy. Make yourself a priority and get checked out when necessary."

As a survivor of Sudden Cardiac Arrest, she is more healthy and active than ever before.

"I don't let this stop me," she says. "If anything, it's more important than ever to be active. It's the activity that keeps your heart strong."