EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) – Yvette McAtee is calling herself a walking miracle after experiencing congestive heart failure when no one expected it.

She had been having trouble breathing for nearly 10 years and believed it was just asthma.

She said she visited multiple medical professionals for help.

“No one told me why, no one. I went to a lot of doctors, had a lot of MRIs, a lot of ECGs. I felt like I was a guinea pig. Nobody told me why. Tests found nothing,” McAtee said. “All tests came back normal.”

Until one day, her heart almost broke.

Dr. Schaefer, medical director of cardiology at Ascension St. Vincent, discovered what was wrong.

“He came back into the room and said, ‘I hate to tell you, but I have congestive heart failure and I need emergency surgery right away.’

She was diagnosed with severe mitral stenosis, which is essentially a narrowing of the heart valve.

“he [Dr. Sheffer] “I told her family that her heart was so bad that I didn’t even know how she lived,” McAtee said.

After speaking with Dr. Schaefer, he said it’s not uncommon for cardiac complications to go undetected.

“Studies show that women are often underdiagnosed and that high blood pressure and heart disease are less commonly detected,” says Dr. Schaefer.

After emergency surgery, McAtee is adjusting to life with a mechanical heart valve.

“Absolutely not. I always listen to my heart ticking. As long as it keeps ticking, I know I’m ticking,” McAtee said.

She said she wouldn’t be here without Dr. Shaffer and her support system.

“I would like to thank God for my strong family background because it helped me so much when I went through something like that,” McAtee said.

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