One mother’s regular workout ended up revealing a shocking health issue. While on the treadmill, she suffered from a heart attack and it turned out to be something that could have killed her. It’s rare that a mom in her 30s would have a heart attack, but her condition could prove eye opening for others.
The woman is now opening up about what happened to her, hoping that sharing her story will shed light on the fact that these things could happen to anyone at any time.
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She had been feeling off, but pushed through.
Justine Carter, 33, was 12 minutes into her treadmill workout in May, when she started feeling short of breath. Then the Utah mom started feeling a shooting pain from her back to her chest. Almost immediately, she began vomiting.
“I’m not dead yet, but I feel dead,” Carter said in a video message to her sister, according to news affiliate FOX13.
Carter then called her husband, Kevin Carter. He was on his way home, and stayed on the phone with Justine and their 4-year-old son Tucker.
There was a period where they didn't know if Justine was alive.
“She stopped talking and I asked Tucker, ‘What’s mom doing?’” Kevin told FOX13. “‘She’s, she’s sleeping, dad,’” Tucker replied.
As he was on his way home, Kevin’s mother Teresa Carter, a longtime nurse, was also on her way to their house. Shortly after Teresa’s arrival, she began performing CPR while they waited for EMS to arrive. When EMS arrived, they immediately jumped in to perform CPR.
“They just kept working on her here at our home, then, they started talking about, ‘Well, pretty soon we’re going to have to call it,’” Kevin explained. They performed CPR for 25 minutes as Justine lay lifeless on the floor.
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Thankfully, Justine survived.
“The next thing I knew, I woke up in the hospital,” Justine told Fox News.
When she got to the hospital, doctors discovered that Justine had spontaneous coronary artery dissection. She spent several days in a medically induced coma that allowed her body to rest and recover.
“They told me I had a heart attack,” Justine told FOX13. “I remember my husband being there telling me what had happened and asking him if I was going be OK.” They weren’t sure about her neurological function would return, but Teresa Carter said, “Thankfully, when she woke up, she knew us all! It felt like a miracle.”
Justine is incredibly lucky.
Dr. Mark Bair, the ER physician who treated Justine called her “very lucky.”
“However, due to the wonderful things that were done in the field, first — her mother-in-law starting bystander CPR, jumping right on that — followed by the resuscitation efforts of our EMS crews and getting her heart rate back, and then the ongoing efforts in the hospital that preserved her brain function … today, she is perfectly normal.”
Justine got to reunite with the ER doctor and the first responders who saved her life. “All I can say is, ‘Thank you,’” she said.
Justine has a new outlook on life.
“My life has definitely changed. I feel like I’m trying to be more intentional with my time,” she told FOX13. “Everything is small now. We don’t have to rush. Take your time, love your family, love those around you.”
Justine has completed cardio rehab and is now able to take her dog on walks, but she hasn’t been cleared to do any more strenuous activities like running and hiking.
Justine offered a warning for other women during her interview with Fox News. “If something feels ‘off,’ don’t hesitate,” she said. “Just call 911, because a lot of things can be prevented if you do that.”
