Heart failure survivor Darlene Anita Scott. (Photo by Lechele Jackson) When Darlene Anita Scott started experiencing shortness of breath at age 41, her first worry was how it would affect her running. In her 20s, she was a frequent gym-goer who loved spin classes. Running arrived in her 30s after Scott, a poet and creative…
Mandy Marquardt at the 2020 UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Canada. (Photo by USA Cycling/Casey B. Gibson) Mandy Marquardt spends her days training and racing furiously around a velodrome. She’s a track sprint cyclist, and by age 16, she already was winning medals in junior events when a routine checkup revealed high blood glucose….
Lowell Chase had a heart murmur caused by a leaky heart valve. (Photo by Cindy Wilson) A lifelong athlete who rowed for Brown University and enjoyed the occasional cycling road race, New York City attorney Lowell Chase thought of himself as nearly invincible. So when a routine physical in his late 20s revealed a heart…
Marla Sewall survived a cardiac arrest in her bathtub. (Photo by Ilona Serchenko) For Marla Sewall, regular jogs are an important part of her routine. At 52, it helps her maintain her physical and mental health. “It makes me feel good,” she said. In addition to her regular outings near her home in the Dallas…
After ignoring troubling symptoms and test results for more than a decade, TV news reporter and endurance athlete Erin Ivory was diagnosed with heart failure. (Photo by Amy Aiello) As TV reporter Mike Lowe ran the Lifetime Chicago Triathlon in August, he heard shouts of, “Do it for Erin!” Lowe was running in honor of…
Katherine Romano went to the hospital with back and arm pain, nausea and other symptoms. (Photo courtesy of Katherine Romano) Last October, Katherine Romano was cleaning her house when her neck started to hurt. She kept going, trying to complete her chores, until the pain shifted to her upper back. “It was so terrible, it…
After surviving a stroke in 2014, Patrick Wright now goes to the gym regularly and follows a healthy diet. (Photo courtesy of Michelle Ates) Patrick Wright was back home after ringing in the new year with family and friends at his grandmother’s house. Around 2:30 a.m., he woke up to go to the bathroom. He…
LeCount Holmes overcame atrial fibrillation and COVID-19. (Photo courtesy of Dianne Holmes) About a month into the COVID-19 pandemic, LeCount Holmes saw on television that Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan was within a mile of his house for a big announcement. Because Prince George’s County was one of the areas hardest hit by the coronavirus, a…
Stroke survivor Pamela Anderson Bowen experienced a rare side effect caused by a rewiring in the brain. (Photo courtesy of Pamela Anderson Bowen) Most people Pamela Anderson Bowen meets wonder about her accent. Sometimes they try to guess the origin. Maybe Russia? What about Sweden? “I’m from here,” the North Carolina resident will answer. Then…
Heart attack survivor Renick Blosser with his surgeon, Dr. Grace Ayafor. (Photo courtesy of Renick Blosser) On a frigid morning this February, 44-year-old Renick Blosser set out on his typical Saturday routine. He grabbed a cup of coffee and took his dogs for a walk in the snow near his home in suburban Akron, Ohio….