What rare lung disease led to heart failure?

The rare lung disease diagnosed was pulmonary arterial hypertension, which led to heart failure due to untreated fluid retention.

How did a mother's health crisis begin after her twins were born?

After having twins in 2017, she experienced a traumatic postpartum period, followed by severe fatigue, breathing difficulties, and significant fluid retention that led to a heart failure diagnosis.

What is the role of advocacy in her life after a pulmonary arterial hypertension diagnosis?

She advocates for others with pulmonary arterial hypertension, inspired by meeting someone with the same condition and motivated by the positive impact her shared experiences have on others.

Home / Health / From Twins to Diagnosis: A Mother's Fight for Life

From Twins to Diagnosis: A Mother's Fight for Life

5 Feb

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Summary

A young mother was diagnosed with pulmonary arterial hypertension.
Fluid retention caused significant weight gain and breathing issues.
She now advocates for others after a near-fatal diagnosis.

From Twins to Diagnosis: A Mother's Fight for Life

A woman's life was profoundly altered following the birth of her twins in 2017, an experience that culminated in a traumatic postpartum period and a subsequent severe health crisis. Initially dismissed as exhaustion and altitude sickness after a move to Colorado, her symptoms of extreme fatigue and difficulty breathing worsened.

Rapid weight gain in the summer of 2018, coupled with swollen ankles, initially led her to suspect another pregnancy. However, multiple negative tests and a trip to the emergency room revealed a much graver reality: she was in heart failure.

Extensive medical evaluations led to a diagnosis of pulmonary arterial hypertension, a rare lung disease that had caused heart failure due to untreated fluid retention. Doctors determined her condition was severe, necessitating immediate treatment to save her life.