Jude Mabone, 16, was running six miles in cross country practice when he started experiencing chest pain.

A mile from the high school, her chest felt compressed and heavy, like a ton of bricks. Her breathing felt like sucking air through a straw. Her head pounded and her stomach churned. She had a stabbing pain in her left shoulder and she was sweating more than she should.

When she arrived on campus, she called her mother, Kelly Mabone. Kelly took Jude to a hospital in the south suburbs of Philadelphia. Doctors performed a series of tests. After reviewing the results, the doctor told Jude, “You’ve had a heart attack.”

she laughed. How could that be? At her age? What about during exercise? In health class, Jude learned that heart attacks usually happen to people who do “bad things” like smoking, drinking, and not exercising.

Doctors explained that while some people may be more susceptible to heart attacks, anyone can have a heart attack at any time, regardless of age, lifestyle or fitness level.

Jude returned home a few days later in stable condition, but without knowing what had happened. She had five more heart attacks by her 18th birthday, all of them related to running. During that time, she went from one specialist to another in search of the root cause.

“We’re going to continue this treatment until we find someone who can figure this out,” her doctor said.

One day, Jude underwent another electrocardiogram (EKG). This test shows the heart’s electrical signals as wavy lines. This time the reading was abnormal. As a result, a new diagnosis was made: coronary artery spasm.

Essentially, her arteries were constricting (spasmodic), resulting in reduced or stopped blood flow to her heart. She was prescribed beta blockers to relax her arteries and reduce spasms.

And just like that, her problem was solved.

But the years it took to receive a diagnosis took a toll on Jude. Each time she had a heart attack, her hospitalization and subsequent recovery took longer. She spent hours alone in her bedroom. She was embarrassed and kept what was happening a secret from her friends.

During this time, Kelly was worried about whether Jude was okay.

“Every night and several times during the night, I put my finger under her nose to make sure she was still breathing,” Kelly said.

Kelly is a single mother and a Navy veteran. Jude is the third of Kelly’s four children and the youngest girl. Kelly raised them all with rules designed to keep them busy and out of trouble. These include taking voice lessons, playing an instrument, playing a sport, learning a second language, and more.

Jude has found that being active is fun.

She was the least athletic of the family, failing in other sports but excelling in track and field and long distance running. She got so good that her college coaches followed her and ran for them. She eventually went to American University in Washington, D.C., and won a scholarship. (Kelly was worried about Jude’s girlfriend’s heart, especially when she was running.)

When she was 17, she decided that if she was going to die, she would at least have fun, so she made a bucket list. The movie “Miss Congeniality” starring Sandra Bullock inspired her to enter the pageant. She added it to her personal bucket list. She is currently the reigning Miss District of Columbia. At the recent Miss America pageant, she sang an Italian opera piece in honor of her mother and her previous vocal lessons.

Now 28, Jude uses her position as Miss DC to promote heart health.

She encourages people to get medical checkups and learn how to do CPR and use an automated external defibrillator (AED). She taught CPR using American Sign Language to the deaf community at Gallaudet University and created similar training opportunities for residents of low-income neighborhoods in Washington, DC.

Last fall, she shared her story on stage at the American Heart Association’s HeartWalk in Washington, DC. This was the first time she had seriously discussed this story with her fellow survivors. She realized that her withdrawal during her teenage years was to grieve the loss of her own lifestyle and time with her friends.

Now, she encourages those facing health issues to be more understanding of their plight.

“This is nothing to be ashamed of,” she said. “A lot of healing can happen when you open up about it. … I wish I had surrendered to it sooner.”

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