A Maine mom who had a heart transplant has an important message
The American Heart Association says complications during pregnancy are increasing and they are often overlooked as warning signs for a woman’s heart health.A Westbrook mom who needed a heart transplant despite having no family history of the disease hopes expecting moms will pay attention to their health.“I just started to notice more swelling and shortness of breath,” Tiffany Dunn said. “This was the summer of 2018.”The symptoms got worse for Dunn. She was 37 weeks along when doctors said she was in heart failure.“We need to get all of the fluid off of you and by the way, we’re going to have to deliver your daughter tomorrow morning.”It was a shock. She had a C-section and her baby spent two weeks in the NICU.“I was diagnosed with peripartum cardiomyopathy and oftentimes it can improve after the birth of the baby, and so they were hoping that would be the case for me,” she said.But unfortunately, in March of 2019, just months after giving birth, she suffered a stroke.“My legs started hurting, I was getting really dizzy and lightheaded and I couldn’t feel my left leg,” she said, “I ended losing my speech. I all of the sudden just couldn’t talk.”Doctors said her heart wasn’t pumping at full capacity. She needed what’s called an LVAD, a left ventricular assist device. Two years after that, she received a heart transplant at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.She says this was a hard journey physically.“But I mostly focused on my daughter and my family and I think that helped me to stay positive and optimistic,” Dunn said.She’s grateful for her family, friends and the support from organizations like Heart Brothers Foundation. They gave her husband a place to stay near the hospital when she received the transplant.Today, she’s approaching her one-year mark and she says she’s doing great. Throughout it all, she was still in school.“Only a couple of months after having my transplant, I was able to graduate and walk across the stage,” she said.She hopes women will take charge of their heart health and bring anything that feels off to their doctor. She says the work done by groups like the American Heart Association is crucial in the fight against heart disease.
The American Heart Association says complications during pregnancy are increasing and they are often overlooked as warning signs for a woman’s heart health.
A Westbrook mom who needed a heart transplant despite having no family history of the disease hopes expecting moms will pay attention to their health.
“I just started to notice more swelling and shortness of breath,” Tiffany Dunn said. “This was the summer of 2018.”
The symptoms got worse for Dunn. She was 37 weeks along when doctors said she was in heart failure.
“We need to get all of the fluid off of you and by the way, we’re going to have to deliver your daughter tomorrow morning.”
It was a shock. She had a C-section and her baby spent two weeks in the NICU.
“I was diagnosed with peripartum cardiomyopathy and oftentimes it can improve after the birth of the baby, and so they were hoping that would be the case for me,” she said.
But unfortunately, in March of 2019, just months after giving birth, she suffered a stroke.
“My legs started hurting, I was getting really dizzy and lightheaded and I couldn’t feel my left leg,” she said, “I ended losing my speech. I all of the sudden just couldn’t talk.”
Doctors said her heart wasn’t pumping at full capacity. She needed what’s called an LVAD, a left ventricular assist device. Two years after that, she received a heart transplant at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.
She says this was a hard journey physically.
“But I mostly focused on my daughter and my family and I think that helped me to stay positive and optimistic,” Dunn said.
She’s grateful for her family, friends and the support from organizations like Heart Brothers Foundation. They gave her husband a place to stay near the hospital when she received the transplant.
Today, she’s approaching her one-year mark and she says she’s doing great. Throughout it all, she was still in school.
“Only a couple of months after having my transplant, I was able to graduate and walk across the stage,” she said.
She hopes women will take charge of their heart health and bring anything that feels off to their doctor. She says the work done by groups like the American Heart Association is crucial in the fight against heart disease.