Fresno mom shares heart attack experience to raise awareness about women's heart health

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Fresno woman is sharing her heart attack experience to raise awareness about the importance of cardiac care.

Nicole James showed Action News pictures of her celebrating her 40th birthday in Cancun with her family.

"I felt fine," she explained. "I felt totally normal, like I recovered."

Looking at a picture of her zip-lining, one would never guess James had a heart attack two weeks prior -- when a Sunday afternoon with friends turned into a trip to the hospital.

"I remember sitting in the kitchen talking to one of our guests, and all of a sudden, I started feeling chest pain. It was just a sudden onset. So I excused myself and went upstairs," recalled James. "I'm having difficulty breathing. I noticed that my left arm went numb."

James's husband called 911, and the paramedics took her to the hospital, where doctors confirmed she had a heart attack.

"They took me upstairs to the surgical room, and that's when the cardiologist looked at me. He said, 'Ma'am, you have a tear in your main artery and you shouldn't be here right now. This is what we call a widowmaker," she said.

Multiple tests later and doctors couldn't explain the tear, but James was just grateful to be alive.

Now, almost four years after her heart attack, she's warning others that a heart attack can happen to the healthiest and most active women.

However, according to a Central California doctor and American Heart Association ambassador, there are risk factors women should be aware of.

"High blood pressure and diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol and then a sedentary lifestyle," explained Dr. Srilakshmi Madhusudhan, with Dignity Health Foundation. "Then anybody who is a smoker or excess alcohol use or any drugs."

None of those risks applied to James, which is why she urges women to take care of themselves to be there to care for their loved ones.

"We're working moms. We're stay-at-home moms, some of us are single moms, we're wives," she said. "We have so many commitments and relationships that pull on us."

James sees a cardiologist once a year. Her last heart screening was this week, and her doctor said everything looked healthy.

For news updates, follow Amanda Aguilar on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.