A woman who survived a heart attack after recognizing unusual symptoms has thanked comedian Rosie O'Donnell for saving her life. Denise Warner, 57, is originally from the United States but now lives in London, United Kingdom, and last year survived a heart attack—despite initially shrugging off the symptoms. "Last May, I was watching TV, when both my arms and hands started tingling," Warner told Newsweek.
"I thought maybe it was just carpal tunnel pain and blew it off." She went to lie down, but the strange feeling persisted, and she started feeling "like my chest was in a vice." But, she said, "I didn't have any stabbing pain, I wasn't clutching my chest like you'd see on TV, I didn't have any shortness of breath. But I was feeling hot, and then I threw up—not even nauseous, just out of the blue." "And that was the moment I remembered Rosie O'Donnell talking about HEPPP." Comedian and actress O'Donnell suffered a heart attack in 2012 at the age of 50, and has since spoken about the symptoms she experienced, in comedy specials and social media videos, in an effort to warn others. She uses the acronym HEPPP to describe the symptoms of a heart attack in women: Hot, exhausted, pain, pale, and puke.
Warner had previously seen O'Donnell talking about this, and as she suddenly threw up, "that was the moment I remembered." Warner woke her wife, Jem, and they sped to the hospital, where it was confirmed she was experiencing a "significant cardiac event." She underwent an angioplasty, a procedure to create more space inside an artery to allow blood to get through. And, as she was recovering, shared with the doctors and interns about O'Donnell's acronym that helped her realize what was happening. "When I first saw the comedy special, I didn’t think much about it and I was just happy that Rosie was ok after her heart attack, but it obviously stuck with me because I think she sang a little mnemonic song and acronym and went into detail more about how women’s symptoms are different than men," Warner said.
"But honestly, I didn’t give [it] any more thought until the moment I threw up that night. That was the moment I knew something more was going on—it wasn't a panic attack." She admitted: "If I hadn't remembered what Rosie said, I probably would have chalked it up to something else and ignored it." Common heart attack symptoms include chest pain that may spread to the jaw, shoulder, arm or back, shortness of breath, feeling weak, dizzy or nauseous, and sweating profusely, according to the Cleveland Clinic. In O'Donnell's stand-up special, A Heartfelt Stand Up, she described HEPPP as "hot, exhausted, pain, pail, puke," and turned the words into a short, humorous musical piece.
She said on an episode of The View that the special was in part to "inform women what goes on when you have a heart attack, how you're going to know." Warner told Newsweek that, after surviving the medical emergency, she messaged O'Donnell on social media to thank her. "She immediately wrote back and said that she’ll never tire of hearing it," Warner said. "Rosie was delighted and told me she’s glad at the outcome and wished me all the best." She described O'Donnell as "open, honest, transparent and kind," and said that, today, she is "happy and alive." Newsweek has contacted representatives for Rosie O'Donnell via email for comment on this story.
Is there a health issue that's worrying you? Do you have a question about heart health? Let us know via [email protected].
Extract — continue reading at the source.
