Channing Mueller woke up one Sunday morning feeling a little depressed. She was 26 years old and had been out the night before, so she figured this was an annoying but common hangover and she just needed to sweat it out.

When she stepped out of bed, she immediately knew something else was going on.

Her heart began to race. Her breathing quickened, as if she had sprinted 5km. Then she felt nauseous.

Mueller stumbled into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. Her skin was the whitest he’d ever seen, covered in a sheen of sweat.

She crawled to her nightstand and grabbed her phone. She said Mueller had a roommate, but she knew she wasn’t strong enough to scream for help. When her roommate answered, Mueller responded, “Something is wrong.”

When Mueller arrived at the emergency room of a hospital near Washington, D.C., her heart was still racing and she could not control her breathing. Doctors examined her heart’s electrical signals and conducted two blood tests.

Hours later, they found out exactly what had happened.

She had had a heart attack.

Muller was airlifted to a cardiac ward at another hospital, where more extensive tests revealed that his heart’s arteries were 70% blocked. But her doctors were puzzled as to why she had a heart attack.

She had no obvious risk factors. She was an avid runner. She didn’t smoke. She has been a vegetarian for 10 years. She was a vegetarian and had no family history of heart disease. She did not have high blood pressure or excessively high cholesterol.

Given the lack of risk factors and the level of obstruction, doctors were hopeful that she could get it under control with medication and monitoring. She was sent to her home to recover and was told to start her cardiac rehabilitation in about a month.

A month later, her heart started beating again.

This time she knew what was wrong.

Muller went straight to the hospital, where doctors confirmed he had suffered a second heart attack. Her blockage worsened to 90%.

Her medical team placed stents in her arteries to allow blood to flow in and out of her heart at a healthy rate.

When Mueller started cardiac rehabilitation about a month later, she could not walk more than a block without sitting down. She could barely carry on a conversation without getting nervous. And she found herself needing frequent long naps to get through her days.

On her first day in rehab, her doctor asked her what her goals were for the program. Without hesitation, she said, “I want to run again.”

Muller has been a runner since college and loved sports. The month before her heart attack, she walked 60 miles in three days during a three-day cancer fundraiser. She came back wanting to run a half marathon. And she wasn’t going to let her heart problems stop her now.

Slowly but surely, Müller made his way to the goal. She started with just a few minutes of cardiovascular activity. She was wearing her heart monitor. She worked with her doctors to stay within her fitness limits, and she took care of her discipline to avoid overextending herself or her heart.

She set her sights on the American Heart Association-sponsored 10K, to be held six months after starting cardiac rehab.

“I wanted to run all the way to the end without taking a break,” she said.

She crossed that goal off her list and continued.

Muller suffered a heart attack in 2011. Since then, she has run her eight marathons and counting. And she accomplished that by applying the same philosophy that took her from walking the block to running a marathon.

“I really approach every race and take it one mile at a time,” she said. Although she didn’t choose to live her life with a heart condition, she has learned to accept the hand she was dealt and still find a way to continue doing what she loves. , she added.

“My heart attack really taught me to never take my fitness for granted. Even when everything hurts and it’s hotter than hell, it’s an honor to be able to run.” said Mueller, who currently lives there. Chicago.

Muller’s current cardiologist, Dr. John Irwin, said Muller’s careful and persistent approach was a key part of her ability to stay healthy and run long distances.

“She did all the right things and gradually moved towards a return to running,” said Irwin, medical director at North Shore Hospital/Endeavor Health. “She first started with 10km training and then she steadily increased the amount of running, increasing her confidence in her endurance and heart condition.”

He also noted that her quick response to a heart attack leads to long-term success, as she may experience symptoms differently than men and the signs of a heart attack can be harder to identify. pointed out that this is particularly important for some women. Irwin said Muller’s story illustrates how heart disease can affect anyone.

“Her heart recovered very quickly because she sought treatment immediately,” he said.

Stories from the Heart chronicles the inspiring journeys of heart disease and stroke survivors, caregivers, and supporters.