Danielle McColrian had to work from home. When she went to her post office, she saw an ad on the bulletin board for a guy who did remodeling.

She called, he came out, and that was it. They married when she was 39 years old and Joe was 32 years old. A year later, they decided to start a family. After several miscarriages, she conceived twins using in vitro fertilization.

She was admitted at 30 weeks due to pre-eclampsia, a type of high blood pressure that occurs during pregnancy. Otherwise, the pregnancy and birth went smoothly, and babies Gianna and Joey were healthy. When Danielle felt pain in her shoulder within the next few weeks, she attributed it to carrying around her two young children.

One evening, she and Joe left the baby with Joe’s aunt and went to a Philadelphia Phillies baseball game. When she got home, Joe was so concerned about the pain in her shoulder that he called her obstetrician. While on the phone, Daniel collapsed. Her heart had stopped beating.

Joe called 911. Knowing CPR, he began chest compressions. At the hospital, Daniel was placed in a medically induced coma. Doctors inserted a stent in one of his arteries, which was blocked in two places, and his other artery, which was 100% blocked. She was diagnosed with spontaneous coronary artery dissection. This is a rare cause of a heart attack that occurs when blood flow is blocked by a detachment or tear in the lining of a coronary artery wall.

At the hospital, Daniel was afraid to go to sleep, fearing he wouldn’t wake up. Her obstetrician and cardiologist told her that what happened could be related to her pregnancy. They also reassured her that the longer her birth passed without any side effects, the more likely she would be fine.

Her heart function did indeed return to the level of someone who had never had a heart attack, and life went on. She and Joe loved spending time together and watching the twins grow.

When Joey and Gianna were about 4 years old, Joe began having health problems. His feet and ankles were swollen. He could barely tie his shoelaces. At 6-foot-3 and weighing 250 pounds, he suffered from extreme fatigue, trouble sleeping, and heartburn.

Heart disease was not uncommon in Joe’s family. His father suffered a severe debilitating stroke at the age of 58 and died 12 years later. His mother had been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, a type of arrhythmia. However, in Joe’s case, blood tests showed no abnormalities in his heart function, Daniel said. It seemed likely that he had a kidney problem.

On January 29, 2019, Joe was at home and not feeling particularly well. Daniel went to work that day and then picked up the twins from kindergarten. When she returned, the house was pitch black. She felt something was wrong. She told her children to wait downstairs for her. Then she found Joe. She began CPR, but he died of sudden cardiac arrest. He had undiagnosed cardiomyopathy.

“At that moment, my own heart condition was at its worst. But the prognosis was very good and it healed quickly, so I was able to recover from it. Then, your husband suddenly passed away.” she said.

she stopped. “It’s been a long journey.”

Daniel makes sure to tell the twins the story of how he met their father, show them photos and share what kind of man their father was. She makes sure her family gets enough exercise. Gianna She has taken four different dance classes. Joey plays soccer and baseball and eats foods that are good for her heart.

“For a long time, what we were dealing with was the reality that Dad wasn’t here,” she says. “But now that they’re older, we’ve talked a lot about having to make sure their hearts are healthy, and that wasn’t the case with daddy.”

Joe’s sister, Amy Novak, became involved with the American Heart Association because of a family history of heart disease. She is a local member of the Go Red for Women executive leadership team.

“Everyone knows someone whose life has been affected by heart disease,” Novak said. “Our family background is steeped in heart disease loss and survivorship, which made it easy for us to tell our personal stories to reach others for help.”

The twins are also helping spread awareness. In second grade, they brought home a pamphlet about the Kids Heart Challenge. The Kids Heart Challenge is an AHA fundraiser focused on teaching children how to keep their hearts healthy.

“I said to them, ‘We should do this in memory of our dad and raise money so other people don’t have to live without him like we did,'” Daniel said. Told. “He was a big-hearted person and had a big heart.”

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